Stalemate & the Collaborative Works of Jj Ehrhardt & Linda Short

By JJ Ehrhardt

The first part of this novel revolves around Pittsburgh police homicide detective Lt. Richard Wilson in his early years as a narcotics detective. He is transferred to the homicide division and given a partner for his own safety after an attempt is made on his life. Anyway, while on homicide, he encounters a killer who uses chess pieces for his victims, and its a race against time to try to track the perpetrator down.

PS Wilson is also featured in four of JJs other novels: They Walk Among Us, McCain, Terror at Midnight, and A Stitch in Time. They are all excellent whodunits!

For the second part of the novel, JJ collaborated with writer Linda Short, and together, they wrote a total of about thirty-five two- and three-page stories. And it turned out beautifully. JJ was pleasantly surprised by the results, and hes certain you will be too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524588571

JJ Ehrhardt

65-year-old JJ is a quadriplegic and a resident of Mount Lebanon Pennsylvania. He has written 13 other books besides this one, and countless short stories. He uses Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice command software to help him with his writing, and says it's the next best thing since sliced bread! A resident of Harmony Pennsylvania, Linda Short has co-owned a retail business with her husband David for the last 38 years. In her spare time, she enjoys writing, reading and doing volunteer work. Shes also proud of her 15 years as a board member of the local Humane Society.

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Copyright © 2017 by .

ISBN:      Softcover          978-1-5245-8858-8

                eBook               978-1-5245-8857-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Rev. date: 03/06/2017

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Conclusion

THE COLLABORATIVE WORKS OF

JJ EHRHARDT & LINDA SHORT

Walk Right To It

Time’s Up

Let’s Go Bucs!

Danny’s Mini Mart.

Meet Brandi Wilson.

A Medical Breakthrough

The Red Sock

Who’s That Following Me?

Father Kilgore’s Problem.

The Thing

Ride Of A Lifetime.

The Government Secret.

Roller Coaster Ride

What’s An Octopus?

Jenny The Dreamer.

A Universal Plan.

Road Rage

Almost Heaven

George

I’m Back

Obsession

Meet The New Ralph Junior

Andy Chandler’s Problem

A Hot Cruise

The Diamond Earrings

Mr. Leopoldi

The Box

A Surprise For Katie

Mice To Meet You

Laurie’s Mistake

DEDICATED TO: MY EVER FAITHFUL READERS

DEDICATION

This book is mainly dedicated to a bunch of friends who are dedicated to me and my writings. I’d like to name them individually, but there are so many of them, the list would go on and on. They have bought my books from day one until now, and they have all 13 that I’ve written. So I’d like to personally thank all of you who have patronized me over the years. My hat’s off to you my noble readers, wherever you may be, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, is my drop dead gorgeous wife Maggie, (that ought to get me some brownie points), who has shared my most intimate thoughts, ideas, and dreams for the last 47 years. In July of this year, (2017), we will be married 45 years, and my love for her now is just as great as the day I first met her. Next we have my four wonderful children, their spouses, and their children, all in order of age. My daughter Carrie is the oldest with her husband Scott, and their two daughters Maranda and Trinity. Next in line is my oldest twin son by 16 minutes Chris, his wife Jess, and their three boys Elias, Asher, and Orion. Then we have my younger twin son Jeff, his wife Liv, and their two little ones Delia, and Emmett. Bringing up the rear is my baby son Craig, his wife Rachel, their son Adrian, and the newest addition to the Ehrhardt clan Sienna Margaret Virgilyn Ehrhardt, and as of this writing, Rachel has one on the way. That makes 9 ½ grandchildren. Special acknowledgment goes out to Jim Bridgeman, Dave and Linda Short, and Barron and Cora Bianco for favors granted.

FOREWORD

If you’ve read my four novels: They Walk Among Us, McCain, Terror at Midnight, and A Stitch in Time then you’ll know all about homicide detective Lieut. Richard Wilson. This thriller story is of his early years as a narcotics investigator before he was transferred to homicide. I hope you enjoy it, Happy Reading!

CHAPTER 1

As 26-year-old Kathy Caldwell methodically chopped vegetables for her dinner, the TV was playing in the background. She blanked out the chatter of the Channel 11 news anchors as they discussed the weather, but her ears perked up when she heard,

"This just in… a body was discovered early this morning in the lake near the boathouse in North Park… details at 11.

"North Park? She thought, That’s only a couple of miles from my home!"

That’s scary, she said aloud. She was thinking about how such terrible things can happen. Then the phone rang. She looked on the caller ID, and found that it was her mother, who breathed a sigh of relief when she answered the phone. Her mother said to her:

Kathy… Thank goodness you’re safe and sound, did you happen to see the news?

Yes mother dear, our girl replied, then she said: you didn’t think for one minute that that was my body that they retrieved from the lake… did you?

Well, said her mother timidly, I assumed there was a possibility, since you live alone. Why don’t you come back home and live with me, then I wouldn’t be calling you all the time to see if you’re safe?

Oh mother… you’re such a worrywart, nothing like that would happen to me. I have Roscoe and Bear to watch over me, so quit your worrying, and I’ll call you at 10:00 p.m. like I always do at night!

They hung up, and she continued preparing her dinner. She put on a huge pork chop for each of the dogs, and one for herself, then she went into the living room to catch the tail end of the news.

Roscoe and Bear were Kathy’s two Rottweilers, they were two hell fire dogs she received as puppies, and trained to protect her. She kept them out back of her house, because she had 2 acres of land, they were trained to run free, and to come when she whistled for them.

Only tonight was different. When the pork chops were done frying, and the veggies were done cooking, she put everything out on three plates and thought to herself: These guys are going to eat like kings tonight! So she put two of the plates on the floor for them, a plate on the dining room table for herself, and went to the back door to call them.

ROSCOE… BEAR! She shouted; COME AND GET IT! Then she whistled her special whistle to let them know that they were to come inside. She waited about 10 minutes, and then called them again.

C’MON GUYS YOUR DINNER IS GETTING COLD!!! They didn’t come charging happily in like they usually do; there was no barking and growling like usual. All there was, was dead silence. As expected, this frightened her to no end, it was then she decided to go out and look for them.

She put on her jacket, grabbed the flashlight, went out back and started calling them. It was a fatal move on her part because that is three bodies that will never be found. 10:00 p.m. came and went, and her mother started worrying again.

She hesitantly dialed Kathy’s number, and prepared herself for another ear beating, but it never came. As a matter of fact, she got her voice mail which ironically said: "You have reached the Caldwell residence, I’m either out with the dogs, or trying to retrieve the stupid newspaper from them. You know what to do at the sound of the tone, and thanks for calling!"

Her mother left her a message which will never be received.

In the meantime, 40-year-old narcotics detective Sgt. Richard Wilson came home from a hard day’s work at Pittsburgh PA cities North Side Station zone one, grabbed a clean glass from the dishwasher, went to the ice compartment of his fridge, put some ice in the glass, and then poured his favorite, a small glass of American Honey. Then he went to the living room, plopped himself down in his favorite recliner in front of the TV, and switched it on. After flipping through the channels for a couple minutes, (nothing but talk shows, and late-night wrestling events), he decided there was nothing on he wanted to see.

He had been working double shifts ever since his precious wife Jill had been suddenly taken from him. Hoping it would help to take his mind off of her, it just wasn’t working,. Next week on Tuesday, they would have been married 22 years. Now, all he has left to remember her by, is a wedding band, her diamond engagement ring, the pictures that were taken of the wedding, and Barney, the golden retriever she had gotten him for their 15th wedding anniversary.

It was a nasty auto accident; she was hit head-on by a drunk driver. To make matters worse, it was a stolen vehicle; the driver got out and ran. They never did catch him, but Wilson vowed not to rest until the perpetrator was doing time. Since then he has tried to abstain from dating for no particular reason except to carry a vigil. She was a lovely woman, long blonde wavy hair, beautiful baby blue eyes, and a very contagious smile. His best friend and coworker, Detective Sgt. Salvatore Califano, has tried to encourage him by setting up double dates for them, but they never worked out. They would all go out together, do their thing, dinner, dance, Broadway shows, the whole bit. He would take her home, and politely make a quick exit.

He is 5'10" tall, 200 pounds soaking wet, brown hair, dark brown eyes, sports a mustache and keeps it nice and trim.

He has a son and daughter with Jill, Bobby and Jennifer who are working their way through college. He also has a brother Mike who calls him from time to time to shoot the shit and find out how he’s doing. He is not the dating type; he is a one-woman man, nervous as could be in the company of women.

After all, he was with Jill for 26½ years (they dated for four years before they got engaged), without cheating once. Sal did his best to understand, but there were times when even he had a hard time with it.

As he was preparing for bed that evening, the phone rang.

Hello, this is Rich. He said when he picked up the handset.

Sal asked, Hey buddy, did I wake you?

Wilson, No, I was just about to go up, why, what’s up?

Sal, Do you remember, last month we picked up that idiot Peterson, on a 302? (Possession)

Wilson, Yeah, what about him?

Sal, Well, it seems he was involved in something pretty big that I just found out about.

Wilson, Oh yeah, what’s that?

Sal, Two words, Rich my boy, two words.

Wilson, "All right, all right, what’s the big mystery, what are the two words?

Sal, Crystal meth, that’s the two words, are you familiar with them?

Wilson, Vaguely, I know that long-term use is life threatening.

Sal, Yes, it’s so life-threatening, that it killed our boy Peterson.

Wilson, Now, how in the hell did it do that, wasn’t he being held for cocaine possession?

Sal, Yes.

Wilson, Then where did he get the crystal meth while being held?

Sal, You’ll never believe this.

Wilson, Try me.

Sal, Just like the old spy movies, his right shoe had a compartment in the heel that was never caught in the shakedown. It held a small hypodermic needle, and a bag of the pure liquid stuff. While no one was looking, he just simply opened up his heel, shot himself up, went into a convulsion, and died.

Wilson, Next question, where was he being held?

Sal, The feds had him hidden away somewhere, and boy, is this shit gonna hit the fan when Washington finds out about it.

Wilson, Yeah, I’d like to be a fly on the wall when that news hits the Attorney General, what happens next?

Sal, They’re gonna want to find somebody to find out where he got the stuff.

Wilson, I guess that’s where I fit in, since I was the arresting officer, and since I’m the senior officer, it leaves me, right?

Sal, Bingo, you get the dirty work.

Wilson, When did you find all this out?

Sal, Just now, I thought you’d like to be the second to know.

Wilson, Okay, thanks for the info!

Sal, No problem man, I’ll catch you later.

Wilson, See ya tomorrow.

They both hung up, Wilson went to bed, and Sal finished his skeleton shift. The next morning was tough for Wilson; he woke up a little late, did his normal routine of exercises, threw some shorts on, and went outside to take Barney for his first daily walk. While he was walking, he tried to think of some old drug connections. There was José the Shark Martinez, Ralph Carmelo, and Willie Shearer, to name a few. He had dealt with Martinez twice before, he helped put Carmelo away for distribution of narcotics, but Shearer stayed clear of him. He also knew that there was a bigger wheel yet, one who they all answered to, but he never got the opportunity to find out who it was.

When he came back in the house, the phone was ringing. He picked it up and said,

Hello, this is Rich. The man on the other end of the line said sarcastically,

Hello Wilson, you don’t know me, but I’m going to make your life miserable.

Then he hung up! Wilson thought to himself, "What the hell was that all about". He shrugged it off, went to the kitchen, opened the cabinet below the sink, grabbed the dry dog food, put some in the dog bowl, and put it down for Barney. Then he put some cold water down for him, and went upstairs to change clothes. He thought he’d grab a quick bite to eat at the diner this morning, since he was running late.

He drove across town to Billy’s Place, parked his Chevy outside, and went in to have breakfast. While in there, his eye caught a new waitress, he figured her out to be in her mid-30s. A little tall, short blonde hair, blue eyes, she sort of reminded him of his precious Jill. He asked his regular waitress about her, he found out she was 39 years old, her name was Samantha, and she was a divorcee. She had three grown children, and had just started there today, hmm.

He finished his breakfast, went to the counter and bought some lottery tickets. He played his address 218, his birthday 930, and his weight, 200. Then headed for the precinct in his drab gray Lumina. When he arrived at the precinct, officer Bill Strange stopped him in the hallway.

Hey Sgt., said Bill, you had a phone call about an hour ago.

Oh yeah, said Wilson, who was it?

Just some guy, Bill told him, called himself Boogeyman, left a number, asked me to have you call him at 10:00 a.m. sharp. Then Strange added,

Say…, what kind of friends do you keep anyway?

Probably the same nut case that called me this morning said Wilson, I have no idea who he is, but you can bet your ass I’m gonna find out.

Good luck, said Strange, as he walked away, this city is full of them.

Good morning Sgt. Wilson, said Delia, Wilson’s secretary, as he walked into his office, how are you this fine morning?

Fair to middling my dear, said Wilson, Fair to middling…, and you?

I’m on cloud nine, she said, and you will ask why, so I will tell you. My oldest daughter Sienna, just got engaged.

Oh, said Wilson quizzically, and who’s the lucky fellow?

He is a very nice guy, she told him, his name is Shamus Boswell, he’s a musician, he plays keyboards for a Southern Gospel group, very nice music.

Yes I know, said Wilson, I enjoy it myself every now and then… anything new to report?

Yes, she replied, "a gentleman by the name of Boogeyman called just a minute ago; wants to make sure you got the message to call him