"Mr. Punch and the Blue Spruce Grove"
an excerpt

It was eight in the morning on the fifth of September. I had just finished the stack of paperwork on my desk when Chief Braydon bellowed my name from across the room. Granted, this could also have been interchanged with “rookie” or “kid,” but not that morning. He used my given name. If the Chief bellowed your given name instead of some smart-ass nickname you knew it wasn’t good.

“OWEN MERCY!” I know I flinched as he shouted. “Get your skinny ass in here.” With a sigh and the sound of much snickering from my fellow detectives, I got my skinny ass up out of my chair and into his office, shutting the door behind me.

“You called, Sir?” I tried not to sound like a frightened wildebeest staring down a lion.

“Crime scene, Mercy. Just got the call.” Braydon’s voice was perfectly serious and calm, just like it always was when he handed you a case.

“Already? Who’s my babysitter?” I half smiled. For my first six months as a detective I always had another detective with me. Everyone called it the “babysitting job” when you had a rookie detective. It’s just so they can get the hang of things before flying solo.

“I reckon you don’t need one anymore, Owen,” the Chief smiled at me. All at once I was high as a kite and as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers. My first solo case? Already?

“I... Thank you, Sir!”

“Kid, you’ve got potential, and this one’s tough. I’m not gonna hand it to that bunch of clowns out there to screw up. I want you to take it. The body was found on the west side of St. Catherine’s Academy, along the pine trail that leads to a residential area just off the campus. One of the high schoolers found it an hour ago. Crashed her bike over it, freaked, and then called once she calmed down a bit. Now, quit dawdling and get over there.”

“Yessir.” I was grinning from ear to ear as I sped out of his office and over to my desk. I grabbed my coat and hat and got out of the monkey pen before any of the others could ask me what happened. I was so high on adrenaline and endorphins that I had to remind myself of the speed limit as I drove to St. Catherine’s Academy.