Ghost Informant

By Frank Arcilesi

This is a novelette (12,900 words)

Sergeant Bob Crenshaw sees an apparition of a woman that sends him on a mission to investigate a murder--hers--that he’s not even sure has occurred. A plea from an apparition to find her sends this by the book policeman into uncharted territory, at least for him. The spirit of a dead girl attaches itself to him and his dreams and he can't rest until she does.

His only clues come from someone who’s not alive anymore so he enlists the help of a psychic. But that may not be enough to solve this case. The spirit sends him cryptic clues but can he figure them out, find her, and solve a murder?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Arcilesi
• Release date: Jun 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9780463167663

Frank Arcilesi

Frank Arcilesi has a degree in Mass Communications; and Mathematics from Towson State University in Maryland. He has written numerous stories, and articles on collecting, travel and other topics, and has financial and business experience.By Toni Hull of Epic Book Promotions:Frank Arcilesi has recently authored Everyday a Bird Learns How to Fly.Montgomery Village, Maryland is an area of rolling green hills, beautiful parks and cherry blossoms. Dubbed ‘The Best Hometown in Maryland’, Montgomery Village is a short train ride from Washington DC, and less than an hour’s drive from Baltimore. Along with 40,000 other people, Frank Arcilesi calls Montgomery Village his home.The air was crisp and the sky was bright the October morning that I asked Mr. Arcilesi to fill me in on his novel Every Day a Bird Learns How to Fly, and his life in general.“I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland with my mom, dad and older brother. The city had a special charm with its small ethnic neighborhoods and friendly people. Of course there were the Orioles and Baltimore Colts, until they (Colts) were unceremoniously hijacked at midnight by the Mayflower vans. Johnny Unitas and Brooks and Frank Robinson were my heroes.When I was a kid my mom worked as a buttonhole maker in a custom suit factory and my dad pressed garments. These were tedious un-fun jobs but they kept food on the table for my brother and me. School was a little out of the ordinary. My high school was all male and we had to rent female cheerleaders from other schools for our football games. We never knew if they were really cheering for our team or the opposition.” Today the cheerleaders are more honest in their enthusiasm since the school is now coed. Later I attended college just eight miles north of Baltimore at Towson State University. That is where I studied mass communications and mathematics. I’ll let you decide which one I found boring.”“How about favorite places?”“Antiques shops are fascinating and I will stop at any new one I discover. I also love to drive through the countryside of Pennsylvania during the fall. In the summer though, my favorite spot is the resort town of Ocean City, Maryland, with its sandy beach and long, long boardwalk stretching past the many souvenir shops and food stands. I also like to search the small resort town for new restaurants specializing in fine seafood. There are some excellent ones which I discovered recently nestled along some of the marinas and bay inlet areas. Enjoying fine seafood with a view of boats and water in front of you, can’t be beat. I also enjoy eating pizza, chicken, New England clam chowder, crabs, peanut butter ice cream, and gummy bears.”“Every Day a Bird Learns How to Fly is the name of your book. What is it about ?”“Every Day a Bird Learns How to Fly is set in a small town during the late ‘50s. A boy by the name of Jimmy is finishing up his senior year in high school and is feeling his way along a well traveled route of learning to become a man. A young, married woman enters his life one day and everything that once seemed simple is suddenly complicated by friends, family and life’s simple rules in general.--------------------------------------------------Book Review:By Midwest Book Review:'The stepmother of one's best friend in high school - there doesn't seem too much potential for romance. "Every Day a Bird Learns How to Fly" is a classic love story about Jimmy and Carol, only Jimmy is fresh out of high school and Carol is older and the mother of his friend. For 1958 in a small community in the state of Maryland, it's not the most kosher thing socially. Jimmy and Carol are stuck in a conflict of love and respect, and have no idea which will win out. "Every Day a Bird Learns How to Fly" is a fine addition to any romance shelf and for anyone who wants a controversial love story.'

Book preview

Ghost Informant

Frank V. Arcilesi

Copyright

Published by Frank Arcilesi at Smashwords. I Frank Arcilesi am the original and only author of this novel. I retain all copyright ownership rights and I have the exclusive rights to publish it.

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The following novel is the Smashwords published edition

Chapter One

It was 9:45 pm when I pulled the cruiser onto the parking lot of the Marlow Pawnshop and pulled around the back. My shift had started almost 6 hours earlier. It had already been filled with a drunken brawl, two domestic violence cases, a hit and run, and the retrieval of a scared cat that had run up a tree. I radioed in my location as I parked and got out to patrol the area around the shop. The pawnshop had been broken into twice during late night hours in the past year. Nothing had been stolen because the alarms had gone off but we still kept it on active surveillance. The bad guys can always get craftier.

My flashlight penetrated the mist, which had abruptly rolled in minutes earlier as I walked to the back door of the shop to make sure everything was secure. The back door had been the point of entry of the earlier robberies. A new iron grate had been installed recently and everything was secure so I made my way around to the front of the building. The iron grating had been pulled across the front windows and locked also. Similarly the grate drawn across the front door was also secure. Everything was tight and nothing seemed out of order so I returned to my black and white unit.

As I closed the door and reached for the radio mike I noticed that the mist had gotten heavier. Before I reported in I turned my spotlight on and scanned the parking lot and surrounding area. The light’s beam burrowed through the mist as I swept it from side to side. There were no other cars or anything that seemed unusual so I reported in to the dispatcher that I had secured the location and was going back on street patrol. I turned the spotlight off and turned on the ignition. The engine started and I turned on my headlights.

As I reached for the gear selector, the engine suddenly stalled and the headlights and dash lights all went out. I didn’t understand what had happened. The car had been serviced two days earlier. I tried to start the car again but everything was dead. I looked around in frustration and was about to pop the hood latch when for some reason I checked the rear view mirror—that’s when it all started.

Up to that point everything else that had happened on my shift had seemed normal but things were about to change. I had been on the force for 12 years and never had anything like this happen before. As a cop you are trained in procedures, regulations, investigative techniques, and the pursuit of facts. It’s all grounded in logic you could say, so I was not prepared for what happened. It just wasn’t logical and it wasn’t in the manual—at least not the police manual.

The mirror had a reflection in it—the face of a young woman with brown hair and sad piercing eyes, in the back seat. Long heart shaped gold