Sample Sunday: Fragment from Peccadillo, work in progress, second novel in Amsterdam Assassin Series.

This is a fragment from Peccadillo – A Katla Novel, the second novel in the Amsterdam Assassin Series, to be published before the 2012 Holiday Season.

Bram entered and sat on the rim of the bath, a glass of vodka dangling from his fingers. “What if he had a second set of documents?”

“I would’ve smudged my signature.” Katla plucked the glass from his fingers. “My move surprised him. I guess he expected me to be unnerved.”

Bram’s face became a mask, a sign he was too busy thinking to show outward emotion. Katla stretched her legs and drank the vodka, liquid fire burning deep in her throat. She put the glass on the rim and sank deeper in the bath, the hot water draining the tension from her legs.

The blind man’s face became animated again. “You’re sure they’re Chinese?”

“Quite sure,” Katla replied. “They didn’t look Japanese, Vietnamese or Korean to me. And I’ve met enough Chinese on my trips to Hong Kong.”

“I have a Chinese friend,” Bram spoke slowly. “If Lau belongs to a triad or a gang, there’s a chance Tsui Pak Yun might know where to find them. Or at least who they are.”

“How well do you know this ‘friend’?”

Bram pointed at his ruined eyes. “He belongs to the brotherhood.”

“Blindness is not an indication of reliability. You trust him?”

“I don’t know where his allegiance lies. He’s inscrutable that way.”

“How do you know he might be able to help?”

Bram pursed his lips. “One of my shiatsu patients is an influential Yakuza. Yun knew this and approached me to mediate in a ‘troublesome situation’, since I was in a position to sound out my patient to his willingness to put an end to the situation. Things worked out, so Yun is indebted to me.”

“But his allegiance may lie with a triad that’s affiliated with Lau.”

“If Lau is triad-affiliated.”

Katla placed the glass on the rim of the bath. “Lau was in command, but seemed to follow a strategy that wasn’t his.”

“Because he didn’t foresee your move?”

“Anyone can fail to anticipate the improbable, but a strategist would be interested by an unexpected development, not angry. Lau’s anger rendered him incapable of improvisation, which allowed me to seize the initiative.”

“So he’s not the sharpest crayon in the box.”

Katla grinned. “No, he’s not. And they overplayed their hand, which puts me at an advantage.”

“They’ll try again.”

“They lost the element of surprise, Bram. I’ll be even more on guard, from now on.”

The blind man picked up the empty glass and rose to his feet. She thought he would say something, but his face became mask-like again and he left the bathroom.

Katla floated in the bath, her gaze on the ceiling.

Bram reappeared. “Your Sphinx phone, can it be traced? Is it registered?”

“It’s a pre-paid, but if you have the number it can be triangulated if you have the equipment. They might not have tried that before, but they will probably try now. I switched it off, though. And removed the battery, to make sure.”

She watched Bram undress slowly and walk to the basin to brush his teeth. He disliked the buzzing sound of her electric brush, so he used a regular brush, even if that took longer. Katla studied his angular frame, the tips of his black hair brushing his bony shoulder blades, his muscular legs covered with fine dark hair.

She sat up in the bath. “Can you come over here?”

He halted at the rim and she caressed his legs with her soapy hands until his penis quivered. His stance widened as she slipped her hand between his legs and cupped his scrotum. With a wash cloth she cleaned his penis, stroked his erection until his breathing became ragged. She released him and rose to her feet. Bram took the brush from his mouth and she kissed some toothpaste from the corner of his mouth.

“Hand me a towel?”

He put the brush back and handed her a towel. She dried herself, kissed Bram and led him by his erection to the bedroom.

If you like this fragment from my work in progress, check my ‘About’ page for a link to Reprobate – A Katla Novel, the first novel in the Amsterdam Assassin Series. You can download a sample with the first few chapters for free from Amazon, or the whole novel (113,000 words or 380 pages) for only $5.99. If you follow my blog, you will be notified about the exact publication date of Peccadillo – A Katla Novel. And, of course, be able to read more fragments and snippets from the work in progress. If you’d like to become a beta reader for the Amsterdam Assassin Series, email Martyn V. Halm at katlasieltjes@yahoo.com and put ‘beta reader’ in the subject line. Thanks for your support.