First Word

She looked down at her usual clipboard and when Derek stepped forward to shake her hand she ignored it. “Cocaine, huh, booze … what else?” Derek noticed the rebuff but forced a smile, hoping to charm her for future purposes. After seeing she would be unmoved, he responded with hesitation: “Sex addiction.” Ms. Fisher nodded, “And…” “Nothing.” “Says here you’re also a pathological liar.” “Huh?” “Your first evaluation,” she flatly responded. “Oh.” “Go on in. Your bags will be in your room. How are you as far as detox?” “Huh?” “Detox,” she repeated with irritation in her voice. “Oh, um, fine.” “Hmm,” she studied him. “We’ll wait and see about that. After you detox, expect orientation to begin.” “No, I’m clean,” refuted Derek. “Uh-huh,” she wrote something down. “What did you write?” She looked up and went to the door, opened it, and waited for Derek to enter. Derek still wanted to know what she wrote. He dropped it and looked up at th...

The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.  Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18. 23             Craig noted the addicts were far more restless than usual – not that he could blame them. Assemblyman Pendergrass lay dead on a morgue slab. If they weren’t upset he would have wondered about their humanity except most addicts were more concerned with their cravings than anything else. Addiction is a nasty business. Addicts – all they care about is their next fix. Their next high. Addiction trumps love, family, work – everything important to most people. Addiction starts to become a best friend. It talks to you. It tells you “use me,” “get high” “forget everybody else”. Addiction is a s...

6             Derek Pendergrass was a washed-up, small-time politician from the town of Shingle Springs, California. Derek had been the senior-class president and parlayed his mediocre success into an eventual seat on the City Council. Derek was 32, prematurely gray, and so arrogant that most people who really knew him hated him. Yet he put on an impressive bravado of charm and working-class sophistication that people related to. So when he lost his seat on the council he ran for assemblyman in the California State Assembly in the state capital, Sacramento.             Once Assemblyman Pendergrass took office his hubris and arrogance was widely embraced by other politicians whose own egos ruled everything they did. That same year Assemblyman Pendergrass married Leona Thorn, a chief information officer at the California Franchise Tax Board. Leona was blo...

3             Rosa Stephens was a Mexican girl who managed to pass as white. She used this to her advantage when she met Mason Stephens, a well-to-do businessman from San Diego. Rosa’s naturally fair complexion and strangely lit green eyes made her look exotic and unique, but not a poor Mexican girl whose family were migrate workers who picked strawberries and blackberries in Monterey every summer and pinot noir grapes in fall.   Mason met her at a wine tasting festival at Wine and Roses in the new Napa Valley, which was a swath of gold country land located near Lodi, California. Mason, a carefree but conservative man ran several branches of the Dollar Rental Car chain. He was an extremely handsome young man with close-cropped and gelled dark hair. He mostly wore a white shirt, tie and slacks to work each day. He did have a hearty laugh that anyone within a few yards could hear. He was athletic and sno...