Barry Bowe's Blog, page 81
April 22, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 16
Twenty minutes later.
The Sicilian pizza’s all gone. Cry Baby Waldo’s on his third beer. That Joe-Guy and I are on our second. And My Friend’s drinking another Amaretto sour. His second.
Under ordinary circumstances, those three would be long gone. But they’re waiting to get a look at Jess. And they don’t have long to wait. Here she comes.
She sees me as soon as she steps inside the door, just as I’m standing up, ready to wave her over. And she’s looking hot. Navy windbreaker, form-fitting, w...
April 21, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 15
I’m watching My Friend wrestle Cry Baby Waldo. Like I said earlier, he calls himself Hit Man Bruno in the ring. And in this match, his fate’s already been decided. He’s going to win, even though it doesn’t look like it right now.
Waldo’s got My Friend draped across the top of his shoulders, doing an airplane-spin. Circling the middle of the ring, looking for the perfect spot to slam him onto the mat.
I can remember when My Friend first started wrestling. Couple years back. Didn’t know any mov...
April 20, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 14
Meanwhile in Bryn Mawr, Jess is waking up in her bedroom. Sunlight’s streaming in. She looks across the bed and sees it’s empty.
She bolts out of bed. Wearing nothing on top and sexy panties on the bottom. White. Victoria’s Secret.
Quickly, she puts on a tank-top, white, bare midriff. Also Victoria’s Secret.
Stretches … then walks out of the room in a hurry.
Out in the living room, it’s dark. No sunlight streaming in. But enough light to see that Pablo’s sound asleep on the sofa. Snoring. C...
April 19, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 13
“Police! Open up!”
It’s the next morning and detectives Dykstra and Chase are pounding on the door of Steve’s apartment.
Inside the apartment, in the bedroom, Steve awakens from a deep sleep. Question marks fill his eyes. Is he really hearing noises? Or imaging them?
More pounding. Louder this time. Not his imagination.
“What the Christ!” He rolls out of bed in his underwear. Gray boxers and a short-sleeved Phillies T-shirt. Red.
“Police! Open up!”
“Hold on!” he calls out. “Coming!”
Moments l...
April 18, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 12
Ten minutes later.
Margo and I are back on the elevator, but this time we’re riding down to the first floor.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Jess got bent out of shape because I kissed you.”
“Mentioned the kissing part to me as well.”
“Did she now?” she says.
“Yep. But much different context.”
“How so?”
“Seeing you kissing me drove her crazy. Wanted to do me right there on the kitchen floor.”
“I’ll say that’s different,” Margo says. “She wanted to ring my neck. But I predicted something like this wa...
April 17, 2018
Ruff Cut
Toying with the idea of starting an America’s Best Crime Writer podcast series.
What follows here is a ruff-cut of how Chapter 1 of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes would look. It’s ruff because I whipped it out quick, experimenting, & using crappy equipment.
Whatta ya think?
http://barrybowe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/GPB-ruffcut-CH01-teaser.mp4Uber Tales Chapter 11
Two minutes earlier.
Jess finishes squeezing a lime by hand over a large bowl of guacamole. Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” is playing in the other room at a volume set low enough to support normal conversation.
And now she’s mixing the guacamole with a large wooden spoon. Stops after twenty seconds and licks the spoon.
“Not bad.”
Picks up the lime and squeezes out the last drops. More mixing, thoroughly, and another taste.
“Just right.”
She sets the lime aside and turns on the faucet. Rinses the w...
April 16, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 10
Later that evening.
Steve’s SUV pulls off Lancaster Avenue and onto the crescent-shaped drive leading to the Radnor House complex. This is where he picked Jess up the night before. But he didn’t have to park then. Now he does.
He drives slowly past the main entrance. Fortunate to find an open spot just around the bend. Pulls in. Takes out his iPhone to make a call, but a tapping on the passenger window stops him.
It’s Margo. And she’s smiling.
He lowers the passenger window.
“Just going to ca...
April 15, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 9
The next morning.
The autopsy of Rita Forsythe begins at 10 o’clock sharp with Dr. Nakamura presiding and detectives Dykstra and Chase observing. Two other individuals are also in attendance. Both male. A morgue assistant and a DEA agent.
The agent is Frank Santangelo. Forty-one, a veteran of twenty-five years with the Drug Enforcement Agency. Short and stocky.
Rita Forsythe is Platinum’s legal name.
Dr. Nakamura is a father, not a ghoul. He dislikes examining the bodies of victims....
April 14, 2018
Uber Tales Chapter 8
Meanwhile, Jess and Margo are still at the Continental, but one drink deeper into conversation.
“I’ll invite Diane and Jim,” Jess says. “Anybody else come to mind?”
“Since your new man is going to be a screenwriter, we might as well invite Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny. Why? They a couple?”
“Where you been? Married. Going on three years.”
“No shit,” Jess says. “What do you think about her?”
“If cleavage was brains, she’d be a genius. But she’s a mouse. Besides,...
