Angel Boy

By Sharon Harris

It is said that Angels walk among us. Guardian Angels who look after us and protect us from harm. There are also angels who do good deeds for strangers and ask for, nor expect, nothing in return. Jack Cullum is a former cop who fell on hard times. After a tragedy, he began drinking heavily, lost his job, lost his wife and son, lost his home and lost all hope. Until one day, out of the blue, he met his guardian angel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365598333

Book preview

Angel Boy

Angel Boy

By sharon mealler

It is said that Angels walk among us. Guardian Angels who look after us and protect us from harm. There are also angels who do good deeds for strangers and ask for, nor expect, nothing in return. Jack Cullum is a former cop who fell on hard times. After a tragedy, he began drinking heavily,  lost his job, lost his wife and son, lost his home and lost all hope. Until one day, out of the blue, he met his guardian angel.

Chapter 1: The Los Tacos Discovery

.911. What is your emergency?

This is Tabitha at Los Tacos. There's a homeless guy here who says there's a body behind the dumpster in the alley.

What's the address?

410 North Nicholas Avenue.

Have you seen the body?

No way! That's in the alley. I don't go back there!

Police are on their way.

Detectives Frank Calvert and Sam Hart got the call and Frank hit the lights and held on while Sam raced wildly through the busy after-work traffic. He bumped the horn, alerting clueless drivers to clear the way.

Frank and Sam had been partners for seven years and they couldn't be any more different. Frank was sixty-four and about to retire. He was clean-shaven with his white hair neatly combed. He had brown eyes and a bulbous nose and a bit of a middle-age spread. He was straight-forward, no nonsense and always dressed in black suit and tie with highly polished shoes.

Sam, on the other hand, was young, mid-thirties, and full of vim and vigor. His sandy blond hair framed his sparkling green eyes and he sported a mustache. He always dressed in faded jeans and button down shirt with the collar and cuffs open, and scuffed, well-worn cowboy boots. He was a flirty charmer.

They pulled into the Los Tacos parking lot to find business as usual. How bad was it that the presence of a dead body didn't affect the appetite?

They said the alley behind the business, Frank reminded Sam.

A dirty, bearded man in shabby clothes waved them over to the dumpster. She's back here! he said as the detectives got out of their car. I didn't touch nothing.

Frank flashed his badge and took out his notepad and pen to get his statement while Sam walked behind the dumpster with his camera. As many calls as he'd been on, he still wasn't prepared for what he was about to see.

Frank was cold and unemotional. 'Professional', he called it. Sam swallowed the lump in his throat and began photographing the scene. The young woman was naked, lying in the filthy runoff from the dumpster. Her left arm was chained to the back of the dumpster. Her face had been beaten to a pulp, there was massive bruising to her torso, and she had obviously been raped.

Sam swore under his breath and shook his head sadly. It's a damn shame, he mumbled. He couldn't even tell what her hair color was, between the blood and stinking water. He snapped a few more photos, then knelt to get a better look at the chain wrapped around the victim's wrist. It looked like the kind of thing you'd lock a bike down with.

He touched the girl's wrist and jumped to his feet. Oh my God! Frank, call an ambulance! She's still breathing! Sam yelled.

Frank called dispatch, then joined Sam behind the dumpster. He removed his jacket and covered the girl's body. Sam ran to the car and grabbed the bolt cutters from the tool box. He quickly cut the thin chain from the girl's arm and Frank slipped it into an evidence bag.

The ambulance