This is an excerpt from my novel, The Gerta Keeler Gambit.
About 10 o'clock, a man about six feet tall with black hair and a bushy mustache approaches him.
"Excuse me," the man says to Joe. "Is that the Telegram newspaper?"
"Yes," Joe replies.
"Can I look at it, please?"
Joe hands the man the newspaper. The covert nature of the greeting almost makes Joe laugh.
As he looks through the paper, the man starts to explain. "My name is Randolph Reilly. I am the Chief of Staff for the Leader of the Opposition, Jean Profumo, in the federal Parliament. We want you to do a rather delicate job for us."
"Okay. What's the job?"
Mr. Reilly reaches into his pocket, pulls out a photograph, and holds it inside the newspaper so that Joe can see it but nobody else.
"Do you know this man?"
Joe looks at the picture. "Yes. That's George Haus. He is a former football player. He won a Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts. Now he's a Member of Parliament, for High Park, I think."
"That's right. Presently he is Minister of Veteran Affairs. He has a campaign office on Queen Street. He and his wife live in a large house on Indian Road."
"This guy is a big name. He's very well liked. You want me to conduct surveillance on him?"
"Yes. We have reason to believe that The Right Honorable Mr. Haus isn't so honorable. He is more interested in chasing the ladies than in enacting legislation. His wife seems to tolerate him, even protect him, unfortunately."
"He's tall, successful and handsome. I can see why women would like him. But other politicians have flings. Why him?"
"Because of this worman."
Mr. Reilly pulls a second picture out of his pocket. Again he holds it inside the newspaper so only Joe can see.
"You probably don't know her."
Joe looks at the black and white picture. "No. I don't recognize her. She is very pretty."
"This is an old picture. Apparently some people say she looks like Marilyn Munroe, but I don't see the similarity. Her name is Gerta Keeler. She is his latest fling. Ordinarily, we wouldn't care much. As you say many powerful people like to play the field. But she has an extraordinary background. Our information is that she is originally East German. She worked for a government official named Munsinger. Rumor is that she was his little side dish for a while. Then she turns up in West Germany where, we believe, she worked as a prostitute. Again, rumor has it, she serviced a number of high ranking American officials. Was she spying for the East Germans? We are not sure. My gut feeling is yes. We believe that is why she became involved with George Haus. She's milking him for information."
"I see. We are talking a potential security risk."
This is an excerpt from "Propaganda of the Deed."
Joe sit in his car and starts his engine. He glances in his side mirror and when he is sure that Gary O'Leary is ready he drives through the parking lot to the exit. He turns onto Dundas Street and verifies that the white van is behind him. He goes through a main intersection and approaches the Lost Sheep Mission He makes a right turn onto Wellborn Street, then another left turn into the alley. The van follows him closely.
There in front of him at the service door to the Mission are several skids of canned food. Timothy O'Leary is standing in the alley, looking over a delivery invoice. Joe stops a short distance away from the young man.
The van goes speeding by him and comes to a screeching halt. Tim, surprised, looks up, trying to figure out what is going on. Three men dressed in black jump out of the van and run at Tim. One man covers Tim's face with a cloth and Tim goes limp. The three men pick Tim up, carry him to the van and toss him inside. After the three men jump into the van and close the side door, the van quickly reverses onto the street and then is gone.
Joe is in shock. He has just witnessed a father kidnap his own son. What should he do? Call the police and explain he helped with the kidnapping? Mr. O'Leary owes him several days of pay. He probably won't collect the money. This was not supposed to happen. Joe can't believe what he has just witnessed. He doesn't want to get tangled up in a kidnapping case. But he has no choice. He must report it to the police.
Although he is totally confused and astounded, Joe gets out of his car and walks into the Lost Sheep Mission. A middle aged gentleman greets him. "Hello. My name is Nelson Alexander. Can I help you?"
This is an excerpt from The Don J Ellis Affair
Just the same as last Friday, Mr. Ellis drives south to the Gardner Expressway. He turns west and drives through Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, bypasses the turnoff to Hamilton harbour and continues on to Brantford. Eventually he turns into the parking lot of the Brantford Country Inn.
Joe drives past the Brantford Inn so as not to be too obvious. He makes a U-turn then drives back to the parking lot entrance. Joe sees Mr. Don J. Ellis walking from his blue Defender to the front door of the Inn. As he reaches out for the door knob, a person dressed all in black appears from the corner of the building.
The assailant says nothing, points a gun at Mr. Ellis and pulls the trigger. A red paintball splashes against his forehead. The person in black immediately turns and disappears around the corner.
Mr. Ellis drops his small suitcase and grasps his chest. He collapses onto his back and appears unconscious. Joe jumps out of his car and goes to check on Mr. Ellis. Joe cannot detect a pulse.
He flings open the front door of the Inn and yells at the receptionist, "Heart attack. Call an ambulance." Joe kneels down beside Mr. Ellis and starts CPR. For two minutes he tries to breathe life into Mr. Ellis and pump his heart. Another man taps Joe on the shoulder.
"I know first aid. I'll spell you."
Joe moves aside. The other man continues the attempt to resuscitate Mr. Ellis. Joe and the other man take turns relieving each other for what seems like a very long time. A small crowd of on-lookers has gathered on the porch of the Inn. Finally the ambulance arrives. The two paramedics take over life-saving efforts. They check for pulse regularly, but they are unsuccessful. Mr. Don J Ellis is declared dead on scene 30 minutes after the attack.
The local detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police arrives.
This is an excerpt from The Garden of Justice
It is early morning on June 17, 2000. The party is slowly breaking up. Suddenly one teenager, Matthew James Bond, and one woman, Vanessa LaSilver, fall to the ground. The loud and panicked scream of the woman attracts everyone's attention. The party-goers rush over to see what has happened. Vanessa's mother, Pamela Munch, and sister, Rosemary LaSilver, come running from their first floor apartment. After the two young people are pulled back to their feet, the young woman, Vanessa, touches her neck and realizes she is bleeding.
"Why would you do that?" she yells at Matthew Bond.
He holds up his empty hands as if to indicate, "I didn't do anything."
"Someone call the cops!" Pamela Munch screams.
She and her other daughter, Rosemary, pin Matthew Bond against a fence and attack the young man with fists. He holds up his hands and arms to defend himself but does not strike back. Another young woman, Virginia Caldwell, calls 911. Several patrol cars arrive within minutes. The police break up the fight and seek an explanation for the riot. Vanessa shows a policewoman the wound on her neck and then she, Pamela Munch and Rosemary LaSilver point at Matthew James Bond.
"He did it," Vanessa LaSivler proclaims. "He pushed me to the ground and then I discovered my neck was cut."
"Yes, he did it," Pamela Munch and Rosemary LaSilver affirm.
The female police officer, Paula Rubens, surveys the young man and sees blood on his clothing. She grabs Matthew by the arm and pins him against the wall of the apartment building. Matthew is handcuffed and sequestered in a police car. The young man is too drunk and stunned to protest his innocence. He lies down on the back seat of the car and tries to remember what happened.