Targeted by the Tempest: Miss Fortune World (A Sinful Mystery)

By J L Johnson

*** 'Targeted by the Tempest' takes place in Sinful, Louisiana, a charming little town created for the 'Miss Fortune' series by Jana DeLeon.

This story is a flashback of events that happened long before Fortune arrived in Sinful. It explores one particular holiday weekend when our feisty friends from the Sinful Ladies Society were still relatively young women and Walter had high hopes for a romance with Ida Belle.

With Marge vacationing in Seattle, Ida Belle, Gertie, and Walter take a road trip to attend a concert and maybe do some fishing. Mother Nature's fury and an encounter with pure evil combine to make the first week of September 1974 a period of time none of them will ever forget.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&R Fan Fiction
• Release date: Aug 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386588412

J L Johnson

J L Johnson has an absolutely beautiful and charming, highly intelligent daughter.  She also has two brilliant, extremely handsome sons, both US Navy Officers.  Her daughters-in-law are two of the most delightfully sweet, stunningly gorgeous young women in the world.  And to top it all off, she has three of the brightest, cutest, most genuinely gifted grandchildren on the planet.  Some people have told her she might be a wee bit prejudiced on the subject, but she very sincerely doubts it.  She was born in Montana where she grew up with a love of books and reading. Feel free to contact her at [e-mail].

Book preview

Chapter 1 - Saturday afternoon, August 24, 1974

Since Marge is going to Seattle for Labor Day weekend, Gertie announced as she waltzed into Ida Belle’s kitchen, how about we take a road trip?

A road trip? Ida Belle asked before sticking the black, rat-tail comb back between her teeth. She pulled the last curler out of her hair with her now comb-free fingers and sprayed the strand with hair spray, shaking the can again and again.

The curls had to last the rest of the night, and then overnight, right up until church the following morning. Walter had been out of her favorite brand, White Rain, and she’d had to settle on a new brand which she didn’t trust, so she kept spraying until the curls were drenched.

You’re gonna start a fire with that stuff one of these days, Gertie coughed, blinking ferociously, and waving her hand to clear the air.

Oh please... Don’t be so dramatic, Ida Belle shook the can again and scowled when the spray died out. Damn Walter! He better’ve restocked, she muttered, angrily throwing the comb on the table. She shook her head, closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Yes, you’re right, I guess I shouldn’t be so dramatic..." Gertie snickered.

Fine, you made your point. Now, what’s all this about a road trip? Ida Belle asked after she exhaled and opened her eyes.

You should think about buying one of those new iron curling things. I hear they make curling your hair take minutes instead of hours.

New? Ida Belle scoffed. There’s nothing new about them. My grandma had an old curling iron she put right in the wood burner and she burned the back of my neck something fierce one time when she was trying to curl my hair. I still have the scar. See? Ida Belle moved the stiff mass of curls off her neck so Gertie could see the raised, oblong scar.

Ouch! I bet that hurt, Gertie winced. But these new ones plug right into the wall...

Same idea but add electricity? No thanks, I can electrocute myself just fine by sticking a fork in a wall socket. Did that when I was a kid too, she snorted, "and it did curl my hair, but I don’t want to repeat the experience on a regular basis."

Oh my...

I promise I won’t be rushing out to buy one anytime soon, Ida Belle said. I hear they can also burn your hair right off your head. There’s absolutely no way to control the temperature on them.

Okay, I guess I should’ve known the commercials were exaggerating. Maybe I won’t get one... Anyway, road trip, Gertie unfurled her copy of that morning’s Times-Picayune. I think it’s high time we went to another concert, she pointed her finger at a full page ad.

Oh no... No more concerts... You remember the last one? Ida Belle narrowed her eyes at Gertie and then snorted. No, that’s right, you don’t. You had a tad too much cough syrup and slept through the last couple of hours of the concert. Walter had to carry you out, if I remember correctly. We’re getting way too old for such foolishness.

I remember more about that concert than you think I do, Gertie nodded slightly and then cocked her head to the side. Yes, ma’am, I sure do...

Then you should understand what I’m saying, Ida Belle said, wondering what exactly Gertie thought she remembered. She and Walter had gotten a little too cozy while they’d thought Gertie