Greetings once again from a little place I'd like to call the winners circle!
I got work soon so I'll keep this short, as of this second, I have 50,001 words for the month of November (1 more for good measure). I plan on writing more in the coming weeks since I'm on the verge of the grand finale, but Imma just sit back and enjoy this nice victory.
Looking back on this NaNoWriMo and the previous win in 2011 (2012 didn't count, dammit) I can say I never write the same way twice. In 2011, I got off to a nice early lead and cruised to the win, barely adding to my word count once the 50K mark was reached...This year was an up and down affair, never having the luxury of cruising or taking an easy day. There were a couple days where I hit 3000 maybe 4000 words because I was either playing catch up or trying to get ahead in advance of a few days where I knew I wouldn't get much writing in.
Either way, I can't wait for next year and can only imagine what story Ill have in my head to use for the 50K challenge.
......in other news, I've changed the title of the book. "Demonic Investigator" was only a working title and I was never too happy with it. Demons Ascension sounds better in my mind, so that's the title....and I did a google search this time. While "Safe Haven" wasn't an original title in the world, "Demons Ascension" seems to be untouched.
...I originally wanted to rename it to "Demonic Ascension" but that's the title of a Magic the Gathering expansion or something...whatever...a title is a title, it's the substance that's important.
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[Demons Ascension - Bradford]
John refused to let James meet with Detective Bradford in the middle of the police station, so instead they staked him out in the diner down the road he likes to frequent for lunch. John went to Brittany's home to help out, leaving James at his request so he could have at the detective alone. James downed multiple cups of coffee before a black man in a suit and trench coat entered and sat down in a nearby booth. James stood up and walked over.
"I didn't think detectives did the whole trench coat cliché anymore," he said as he sat down across from Bradford. "You must be Praque's friend I heard so much about," Bradford said as he signaled to a waitress and simply ordered for his usual. "So I take it you know why I'm here," James said with a grin "And I'm gonna assume you know all about my history by now."
"I'm a detective," Bradford said as a waitress poured him a cup of coffee "Of course I know all about your history. I've heard two different versions of that story however and I'm curious as to which one is more accurate."
"Versions?"
"Yes. Praque tells it as you being a concerned friend who wanted to catch a killer out of the kindness of your heart. The Cazenovia Police Department meanwhile painted you as a heartless narcissist with no respect for the justice system, let alone other people."
"And the version you lean more towards?"
"I know Praque. He tends to be a little melodramatic but he'd never over sell the details of a case. And I'd have to take the official C.P.D. story with a grain of salt since they originally arrested and charged the wrong man in the murder and called it case closed."
"I'll take that as a slight vote of confidence."
"Just answer me this. You killed the murderer when confronting her. Why? Is it because she shot you first?"
"She did shoot me, yeah, but she dropped the gun. John was there, he wrestled the gun away from her but she had a knife or something that he didn't see. So there I am on the ground, weak and bleeding, while John's getting stabbed. At the time I didn't see much other choice."
"I'm sure Miss Daniels' parents understood," Bradford said sarcastically.
"Who?"
"The girl, Suzan Daniels, was the murderer you shot. Maybe the narcissist claims weren't inaccurate after all."
"Leslie Tomko."
"One of Suzan Daniels victims?"
"You know how she died, but do you know why?"
"They never did get the why out of Daniels on account of her being dead."
"She was a loose end. Suzan was feeling the pressure and offed Leslie in an attempt to stay undiscovered. In the time it would have taken me and John to go to the proper authorities with what we knew and have them get to turn their investigation away from what was us at the time to Suzan, who knew what Suzan would've done to stay hidden. That's why we confronted her directly and right away. Well, John wasn't too sure at the time, he was just following me. And the cops were hot on our trail so they weren't far behind us, so we were actually saving a lot of time."
"You confronted her knowing she had a gun?"
"Well...Honestly, I forgot all about her having a gun at the time. I paid for that blunder. Trust me, I'll never forget about a gun again."
Bradford looked down and slowly nodded his head before looking back at James. "Well Praque's a good guy and I trust him. If I didn't, I'd have already had you arrested for interfering with a police investigation."
"I guess that means you like me," James said with a smile.
"But, I hope you realize I can't have you running around crime scenes and involving yourself, police escort or not."
"C'mon, it's not like I'm doing any damage. And I found that one clue, right?"
"It's funny. I checked in with the morgue before coming here and they said a Dr. Blake was there earlier, ripped open the corpse of Tony Allanson and left it that way when he left."
"Yeah, I never was good at sewing."
"...Because that's the part I'm mad at, right?"
"Look, I can be useful. But right now all I can do is play from behind and figure out stuff you already know. And some things I can't know because you've already collected the clues and John doesn't know about them."
"Is that why you want to talk to me?"
"If I know what you know, then maybe we can knock our heads together and crack this."
"And what police training do you have that'll make you invaluable?"
"You know, most people don't even solve one murder crime in their lifetimes."
"And this is a different type of case."
"And I'm a different type of guy."
"...Wow," Bradford said with a smile, trying to process the arrogance in front of him.
"Just let me show you why John thinks I'm the greatest."
Bradford sighed and waited a moment. before speaking. "You have until I'm done with my coffee to impress me."
"But...didn't you order food?"
"You're looking at my 'usual' lunch order."
"Ok...well, just remember this place give free refills."
"So what can you theorize based on what you've seen?"
"Two major victims were killed the same way, I'd say in ritualistic fashion-"
"What makes you say that? Posing the bodies like Jesus doesn't make it a ritual."
"Cuts in the exact same places, the missing hearts? You're calling that run of the mill?"
"Jack the Ripper took the heart out of his last victim."
"Yeah, he took the heart of the last one. Anne Chapman, Liz Stride, Eddows and Nichols? Their hearts remained."
"Well he took the liver from one of them."
"Point is, Jack the Ripper was constantly escalating his murders, upping the ante every time. First was simply slitting the throat, then a throat slit and some mutilation, climaxing with the complete mutilation of Mary Kelly. Our guy now though? Same murder twice. Stab in the abdomen, drain the body and cut out the heart."
"You're saying our murderer is intentionally draining all the blood from their victims?"
"Every cut made has a purpose. The bodies were handled post mortem? Better to drain the corpse with a few dozen well placed cuts."
"Maybe the hearts are mementos. Our killer might want souvenirs of his victims."
"Doesn't fit with the draining. Takes too long to risk unless it's vital to what you're trying to do. You're also looking for a big, strong person."
"Why strong?"
"We were looking at the same victims, right? Their ribs were twisted and snapped off to give our killer access to the heart."
"Access to the proper tools could do the trick."
"Show me such a tool and I'll go home right now."
"How long is that offer on the table?"
"What we need is a link between Stephanie Praque and Mickey Williams."
"We've got nothing there. As far as I can tell you, they've lived two completely different lives."
"There's a connection. Somewhere those two crossed paths."
"There doesn't need to be a relation. BTK picked people at random, the only connection any of those people had was they were all killed by the same man."
"M.O. varies too much between victims. BTK waited for you in your own home. That might fly with Stephanie, but this guy went after Williams in an alley with two other people present. By the way, what's the deal with Rickey?"
"He's awake, just not talking."
"Are you serious?"
"He and his buddies were already prime suspects for some muggings that took place that night. We have him handcuffed to his bed but he refused to answer questions. All he does is plead the fifth and demands a lawyer."
"This guy might be able to help you track down a killer and you're gonna let him keep his mouth shut. Give him a plea deal or immunity."
"District Attorney won't play ball. Rickey Kenton was wanted for multiple GTAs and robberies and he's the prime suspect in a separate homicide investigation."
"Then it's a good thing I'm here," James said with a smile "I'm not a cop. I don't need to worry about procedure or anything, and maybe Rickey will talk to me without worrying about what he says to a cop."
"And what makes you think I'll let you within ten feet of Kenton?"
"Because it's either this or you go back to having no leads."
"We have fingerprints from the first crime scene."
"And if they matched anything in your system, then you wouldn't be in a diner talking to a civilian, hoping he can give you a clue you've been missing before you unceremoniously send him on his way with your little "tell me everything you know while I drink coffee" game."
"Ok...Maybe you are as smart as Praque says...maybe," Bradford said as he finished his coffee and stood up.
"What can I say? I'm not as dumb as I look."
"Let's go to the hospital then."
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