Smoke and Mirrors: Sam Hunt Novellas, #2

By Bob Moats

Sam Hunt was a decorated Viet Nam Army sniper. He now lived in a quiet suburb outside of Detroit and yet he enters a battle for justice after his neighbor was murder in what looked like a hit. Sam and his new Police Detective friend, Roland Royce, solved that case and are now tasked to find the killer of a local fortune teller. She was murdered by a bash to her head with her own crystal ball. Sam and Royce interrogate numerous suspect until they meet the madam's son and his ornery transgendered partner. Sam does his best to help Royce as a C.I., as he tries to battle his own inner demons caused by PTSD and alcohol. This book is a novella, longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bob Moats
• Release date: Sep 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201125592

Bob Moats

Detroit area resident, Bob Moats, has been writing short stories and plays for as long as he can remember. He has lost most of his original stories, typed or handwritten, in the numerous moves he has made from his hometown of Fraser, Michigan to Northern Michigan, to Las Vegas and back to Fraser, where he now lives. Moats became one of the causalities of unemployment a year ago, and had time on his hands to finally pursue a life long dream of writing a full blown crime novel. Thus was born the first book, "Classmate Murders".What followed was a series of seven books starting with "The Classmate Murders" which introduces the main character, Jim Richards, who has to admit he has become a senior citizen, reluctantly. Richards, one day, receives an email from a childhood sweetheart asking for his help, but by the time he reaches her, she has been murdered. His life turns around and he is pulled into numerous murders of women from his high school who he hasn't seen in forty years. Along with a friend of his, Buck, a big, mustached biker, they go off to track down the killer before he can get to one former classmate, Penny Wickens, a TV talk show host who Jim has just fallen for while protecting her. The killer is also murdering the women right out from under police protection, driving homicide detective Will Trapper crazy, and he slowly depends on Jim to help. There's humor, suspense, wild chases across suburban Detroit with cops, classic cars and motorcycle clubs; murder, mayhem, a good amount of romance and a twist ending.Jim and his crime fighters, continue in the other books, traveling to Las Vegas twice, back to Detroit and out to New York to solve murders involving dominatrix; mistresses; Bridezillas; magic and strip clubs.Book titles: Classmate Murders; Vegas Showgirl Murders; Dominatrix Murders; Mistress Murders; Bridezilla Murders; Magic Murders; Strip Club Murders and Made-for-TV Murders.

Book preview

Extra special thanks to:

To Amy Morningstar for doing edits. To the Beta readers, Cindy Valstad, Carolyn Linington, and Al Norris for reading the final copy and hopefully catching all those annoying little errors that slip through.

Thank you to all the people who purchased this story. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it for my faithful readers.

Chapter 1

Sam Hunt floated around the room, feeling light and airy. He looked down and saw his body on the operating table as the doctors worked frantically on him. He had no idea why he was out of his body, but he accepted it. He figured that he was now dead.

Sam opened his eyes and would have jumped if he could have moved, when he saw the face staring closely to his. Dammit, Royce, do you have to be so close? Sam gruffly muttered to the man.

I was just seeing if you had eye movement. Wanted to be sure you were still alive and dreaming. Royce replied.

You know I don’t like to dream, but this time it wasn’t so bad. No war dreams that I was shooting anyone, just a peaceful beach and a case of beer.

Ah, back to reality, Royce laughed. Was there a beautiful woman in a bikini included?

What would I do with a woman, they’re all a pain in the ass. Why am I in this bed in a hospital, I presume?

You remember the war in Nam, but don’t remember last night? After we sat in your back yard celebrating the arrest of Salerno and shutting down his mob, I was just leaving and when I got to my car, I heard gunfire. By the time I came back, I saw the man in the bushes and fired on him. I took him down, but you were still alive. He shot you three times, luckily in non-fatal areas.

We got Salerno, so why was there still the hit on me? I thought after he was captured the hit was canceled.

Evidently, according to the guy I shot, he didn’t get the word that the hit was canceled. So, this yahoo decided to collect on the bounty.

Bounty? There was a bounty on me? How much?

According to the yahoo, ten grand.

Is that all? I think I would have been worth more than that. Sam moaned.

Be happy you were worth that. I’ve seen hits for less. Usually for amateur hitmen, which this guy was.

So, what did the doctors say, will I live to sit at my computer and drink beer and tequila again?

I hope that’s not going to be your entire life now. I got plans for you.

Plans? What plans? Sam asked.

You’ll see when you get out. You’re my new partner. Royce smiled, saluted Sam, then he left the room.

Hey, Sam yelled. Don’t leave me hanging like that.

FOUR DAYS LATER, SAM was being discharged from the hospital. Royce came to get him, pushing the wheelchair to his car.

You don’t come around for four days and now you’re kidnapping me, Sam said.

I had other things to do, like real crime stuff. You were just fine laying around being waited on by the nurses, Royce replied.

Yeah, one of my nurse’s name was Spike, and I think he was part of a street gang. Tattoos all over his neck and piercings in his ears and nose. How do they hire people like that to work in a hospital?

Not easy to find qualified help. Spike was a member of the Fort Street gang and he was also a corpsman in the navy. He was qualified to be a nurse’s assistant, but his resume prevented him from being an RN, Royce explained.

You knew him?

Sure, I arrested him originally before he reformed and I asked that he be assigned to help you. Knowing your distaste for women I figured you’d get along with him.

"Hey, I don’t hate women, I just don’t trust them. I wouldn’t have minded