Romance
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Chapter Eleven The apartment was quiet now, eerily so. The soft hiss of rainfall against the windows had faded to a damp stillness, broken only by the low murmur of voices and the occasional scuff of boots against wood. Chief Mercer stepped through the doorway, nodding once at the forensics tech posted near the threshold.
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Chapter Ten The break room coffee tasted burnt, but Ivy didn’t mind. She held the paper cup between her hands, using it more for warmth than anything else. She stared at the monitor in front of her, the case log on Carr open. She took a slow sip, looking over what she had already recorded:
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Chapter Nine As Ivy stepped into Mercer’s office, it was cozier than she would have expected. The overhead lights were off, leaving the room lit by pale sunlight streaming in through the windows, and the soft amber glow of a standing lamp by the filing cabinet. The office felt lived-in. It was functional but personal,
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Chapter Eight The sidewalks were slick with moonlight. A breeze threaded through the trees, carrying the scent of wet bark and pavement along with it. Mercer walked a half-step behind, his shoulder brushing hers now and then where the sidewalk narrowed. His uniform jacket caught the glow of the streetlamps, his badge glinting, edges damp
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Chapter Seven When she reached the bar, she didn’t sit right away. Mercer sat with one forearm resting on the polished wood, his other hand wrapped around a short glass of something amber. He didn’t look at her directly, just lifted his eyes to the mirror behind the bar and caught her gaze there. His
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Chapter Six – Part Two The feeling of being watched didn’t fade. Ivy sat frozen, fingers curled in the damp sand, breath shallow as her gaze swept over the lake’s silent expanse. The moonlight barely touched the surface, its reflection swallowed by the impending darkness. The waves crawled up the shore, lapping at the edges
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Chapter Six – Part One Ivy lingered at the edge of the crime scene, the buzz of police radios and clipped conversations swirling around her. Nathaniel Carr was missing. A man in his early forties. Last seen two nights ago. No signs of struggle, no obvious leads. The only indication was a slick of blood
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Chapter Five Her day started out innocent enough. She awoke to the distant melody of birdsong along with the rhythmic tapping of a woodpecker against a nearby tree. Slivers of amber light filtered through the curtains, shifting across the room as the dappled willow outside swayed with the passing breeze. Disoriented, Ivy pushed herself upright,
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Chapter 4 The mist had thickened into a living thing by the time Ivy left the festival, coiling through the streets and stretching long fingers between iron fences and rusted gates. Fog seeped between the bars, winding through the empty town like a silent tide, swallowing the world in shades of silver and gray. Her
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Chapter Three Her footsteps groaned under the aged, wooden boards as she descended the long staircase to the beach. The air around her was rich with fresh cider and burning firewood. The Ashford Hollow Fall Festival was now in full swing as the last streaks of gold and pink faded to midnight blue along the
Moonlit Novella 