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www.janetlynnauthor.com

Friday, November 6, 2015

Books I have read


FINAL CHECKPOINT
 by
Will Zeilinger

Summary

Photographer Ben DeCastro drives in sports car rallies on weekends.  He discovers an abandoned rally car in the California desert with a headless corpse in the trunk. As a volunteer firefighter, he joins in the search for the missing drivers.  His life veers off course when their fingerprints are found on his garage door.  The FBI looks at Ben as a suspect. This hurts his professional reputation, and cramps his dating efforts with the women in his building.  An assortment of friends and neighbors try to help him with his circumstances, but cause more problems in the process.  How does he get out of this mess?

Excerpt
“You are such a party pooper Ben DeCastro.” slurred out of her mouth as I sat her down in the passenger seat and buckled her belt. I was hoping the ride back with the top down would provide enough fresh cool air to clear her head. But as we headed down the hill toward the long stretch of road at Bolsa Chica State Beach she started singing the theme from “Green Acres” - an old TV show on the retro channel and waving her arms above her head in the slipstream.
Suddenly she leaned over and wrapped her arms around my neck, “I love you Ben.” followed by three more choruses of the theme song. Then she started to cry.
“Are you okay?” I asked as she wept on my shoulder.
“No.” she mumbled, “You didn’t say you love me too.” and started to cry on my shoulder again. I thought maybe I should drive a little further up PCH. Maybe she needed more air and because I couldn’t imagine myself getting her up to her apartment in this condition. I reached over to smooth her skirt back down because the wind had bunched it up on her thighs.
“Ben, Ben,” she shook her finger at me while at the same time parting her legs slightly. “Just what do you thing we are doing?” slid out of her now smiling mouth.
“I’m just trying to put your clothes back in place. What are you doing?”
“Who me?” she pointed at her chest, “I was just helping you.”
“Just sit still, Jessica.” I got her skirt back where it should have been so anyone in a vehicle taller than mine wouldn’t get a free show. “I think you have too many Mojitos in you.”
“You think so? I’ll fix that.” With that statement, she turned away from me and threw up over her side of the car. “Sorry Ben... but I don’t feel very well,” and did it again.
I know it sounds selfish but that put the lid on anything further with Jessica tonight and I could just imagine what the outside of my car looked like. I turned around when I got near the roundabout in Santa Serena and headed back to Seagull Beach. Jessica put her head back on the seat and closed her eyes for the rest of the ride back home.
She was fast asleep as I pulled up to the garage. Her side of my car looked and smelled like I’d imagined so I took her keys out of her purse. Luckily she was light for someone around five-foot six. I picked her up and carried her to the elevator. Her shoes were missing and probably still in my car. This woman sleeps like a log but while waiting for the elevator I looked at her face. It was very pretty - even with the little bit of drool on her cheek. The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. There was Molly. Her eyes grew wide as her mouth dropped open.
“Hi Molly.” I tried to act like everything was normal.
“Hello Ben?” She backed around us and stood by the open door staring while I turned sideways and slipped into the elevator with Jessica, who’d stopped singing, in my arms.
“She’s asleep - not feeling very well.”
Molly fanned her hand in front of her scrunched-up face, “Yeah, I can tell. Whew!”
As the doors closed, I said, “Well, I’ll see you around... G’night.” Jessica stirred in my arms a little and snuggled her face into my shoulder. I managed not to hit her head on the wall when I carried her down the hall to her door. Juggling her keys I opened her apartment door and took her inside.
I hadn’t been inside her apartment before since she talked to me at the door when we met. It was very neat and clean. Her bedroom door was open so I took her in and laid her on the bed. Her eyes were still closed when her arms came up around my neck and she moaned, “Oh Ben, don’t go.” I didn’t say a word as I carefully peeled her arms from my neck and quietly slipped out of her apartment, locking the door behind me. As I turned around Molly was standing right behind me in the hallway.
“Did you follow me up here?”



BIO
He has been writing for over twelve years. During that time, he took novel writing classes and joined writer’s groups, but what has helped the most are published authors who mentor, encourage, critique, and listen to him while he continue to learn the craft.  
Most recently Will and wife, Janet Elizabeth Lynn (also an accomplished author), co-wrote Slivers of Glass, a noir murder mystery set in 1955.  At the time of this writing, Will has published three other novels (Ebooks.) The Naked Groom, Something’s Cooking at Dove Acres, and The Final Checkpoint (also in print).
As a youth Will lived overseas with his family. As an adult he has traveled the world with Janet. He says that finding time to write while life happens is a challenge.

Contact info:
Twitter:  @Will_Zeilinger
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/wzeilinger
blog: http://www.booksbywilzeilinger.blogspot.com


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