I depart from my usual political posts to present a teaser for some fiction I have written. It is set deep in my wife’s Starstruck series universe. Don’t be intimidated by that. Get past the first couple of pages and most of that because irrelevant to this story. I think you will still be able to follow it. What follows is the first chapter, and alittle more of this fun novella known as The Great Trashcan Caper. If this teaser interests you at all, for 99 cents you can purchase the full short novella at the link provided.
Chapter 1: A Hot Time In Jewel
“Aggie needed to go out. The seven month-old white “schnoodle” puppy was still quietly curled up at the foot of Adina’s bed and gave no outward indication. However, Adina knew. She had always been able to tell what Aggie needed, since bringing her home as an eight-week-old puppy.
The puppy had been a concession from her parents, to make up for all the animal friends back on Mars that she’d had to leave behind. The duchas often kept dogs as pets, and while the notion struck her parents as odd, they had succumbed to Adina’s begging and her promises to take care of the dog.
“When on Earth, do as the Duchas do,” her mother had sighed. She viewed getting the puppy as another way to show Sovereign Emileia that they were working to fit in. Mom was all about impressing the Sovereign.
Adina looked over at her sister’s bed, where Kira was still sound asleep. She’d come home unusually late from her boyfriend Sean’s basketball game last night, then talked on her phone with him for nearly an hour. Adina hadn’t been able to overhear much, just enough to to make her suspect they’d had some kind “of adventure — an adventure Adina hadn’t been a part of.
Ever since Kira started dating Sean, Adina’s sister had been changing, in ways Adina didn’t fully understand. Those changes seemed more profound than just her new relationship could explain, but Adina couldn’t put her finger on exactly what was going on yet. Kira never confided to her about things like relationships or adventures … but at least Adina had Aggie.
Which reminded her that Aggie, despite her seeming peacefulness, was uncomfortable. Adina rolled out of bed, putting on a heavy housecoat and thick slippers — both acquired here on Earth. There was no need for such things on Mars, since it was never cold in the perfectly controlled underground climate of Nuath.
Aggie stood up and shook, the tags on her collar jangling. Nervously, Adina
looked over at Kira. She was fortunately a heavy sleeper and seemed
undisturbed. Sensing Adına’s concern, Aggie quickly stopped shaking. She stretched a bit, the way dogs do, and quietly followed Adina out of the room. Adina eased the door closed as silently as possible.
There was no noise in the apartment, her parents still asleep in their bedroom down the hall. It was at least an hour before anyone else in the family needed to be awake. Adina led Aggie through the main living area and into the kitchen, where the Duchas refrigerator hummed a bit. Couldn’t they design them not to do that? She poured some chocolate milk into a cup and heated it in the microwave, stopping it before it could
beep. Carrying the cup, she went back through the living room to the front door and went outside with Aggie.
Adina was glad of the housecoat and hot chocolate — it was cold, below
freezing. They went downstairs to the grassy courtyard, where Aggie started sniffing about in the fashion of dogs, looking for the perfect spot to do her business. Adina sensed that Aggie knew she was cold and would hurry the process up. She also sensed Aggie was not being completely altruistic — the dog was cold, too. Her coat was fluffy, but not particularly thick.
In the cold quiet of the dark early morning, Adina felt particularly in tune with Aggie. Only the sound of a car moving down a nearby street disturbed the chilly silence. But then, through Aggie, Adina sensed that something was wrong. As the dog finished her business, her head swiveled up, her nose twitching. She smelled something.
Though she couldn’t detect anything with her own nose, Adina could smell it, too. Something…burning! A second later, Aggie started barking furiously. Adina didn’t hush her. Still barking, Aggie ran down the cracked sidewalk toward the street. Concerned now, Adina followed, her slippers crunching on a thin layer of snow.
When Aggie started heading down the street to their right, Adina called for her to stop, but the dog obeyed before the words were even out. Rounding the corner of the building, Adina saw a strange flickering light a couple of apartments units down. That ground floor apartment belonged to a Duchas family, the Doyles, who had a son named Arthur. Though he was Adina’s age, she didn’t really know him, since he was in middleschool while Adina was a freshman at Jewel High.
Adina wouldn’t have known what the flickering light was without the smell she sensed through Aggie. It was fire!
Now she rushed down the sidewalk herself. On the walkway leading to the Doyle’s apartment, a metal trash can was burning fiercely. It was close enough to the overhang that Adina worried it could catch fire and spread to the entire apartment complex.
As Aggie continued her frenzied barking, Adina ran to the trash can, ducking to avoid the heat. She grabbed for a metal handle to pull it away from the building, but it was too hot, burning her hand painfully. Aggie’s bark changed to a yelp of pain. Casting around for another solution, Adina suddenly realized that her mug of chocolate milk had an open handle. Hot chocolate slopping out everywhere, Adina hooked the mug handle over the metal trashcan handle and was finally able to drag it farther away from the
building.
The immediate threat averted, Adina looked around. Aggie was sniffing at
something in the middle of the yard, a good twenty feet away. The lid to the trash can! Adina hurried over and picked it up. Running back to the trash can, she used the lid to shield herself while putting it over the top of the trash can. The fire appeared to go out quickly, though smoke still rolled from underneath the lid.
As Adina backed up to the sidewalk again, she saw a light come on in a nearby apartment. Not knowing what else to do, she ran back home, Aggie leading the way.
They rushed up the stairs to their apartment, where Adina was able to slip inside without letting the door slam. Flipping on the kitchen light, she examined her reddened hand. For a moment she wondered if she would need to see a Healer, but decided it didn’t look too bad, though it did hurt. She turned on the kitchen faucet and let cold water pour over it, reveling in the luxury of abundant, free-flowing water — a luxury that definitely did not exist on Mars.
The water felt blessedly cool on her hand and after a few moments, it stopped throbbing. Turning off the water, Adina looked ruefully at her now-empty mug — all the hot chocolate had spilled out when she moved the trash can.
Chapter 2 (partial): A Regular Sherlock Holmes.
Just as the microwave was about to beep with a fresh mug of hot chocolate, Adina sensed that Aggie was detecting trouble again. Someone was walking up the outside stairs — and Aggie could both hear and smell whoever it was.
The little dog let out a distinctly not-terrifying growl, which might have been comical in other circumstances. Adina shushed her, even as someone knocked lightly on the door.
Knowing if she showed any sign of alarm the dog would bark furiously, Adina worked to calm herself before looking through the peephole. It was a boy — Arthur Doyle, wearing a heavy coat, warm cap and mittens. As he raised his hand to knock again, maybe harder this time, Adina opened the door. The two stared at each other for a moment.
“Why’d you do it?” asked Arthur.
“Do what?” Adina responded in confusion.
“You pulled our trash can into the middle of the walkway, lit it on fire, put it out, and ran back here.” His tone was flat, as if stating scientifically indisputable facts.
“But…I didn’t — ”
“You did. Your tracks in the snow prove it.” Pointing at her mug, he added, “And someone spilled something at the scene — hot chocolate if I had to guess. If you’re going to pull a prank like that, you probably should have left your yappy dog at home — its barking is what woke me up.” She hadn’t thought of her tracks leading someone here. Snow was still a novelty to
her. Flustered, her words came out in a rush.
. . .
And with that I end this teaser. For a mere 99 cents you can purchase the story at the link. It’s pretty short, you’ve already read about 15% of it. The mystery deepens, with more trashcan burnings. We discover more about Arthur which sets up more stories. Buy this one so my wife will publish the others.
You can find my wife’s Starstruck series, where this is all set HERE.
