Excerpt from The Hookup, coming August 18, 2015

So much has happened with my latest, soon to be, book release. I wrote the book earlier this year, with the intent to self-publish it, as I've done all of my other books. Then, I thought it would be a good business decision to sign with a publisher...maybe gain a little more exposure to myself as an author. I signed a two-book deal with Blackhouse Publishing...only things didn't work out. The book was supposed to had been released on July 28th, but it wasn't. Without going into details, I decided not to go with Blackhouse, and will be self-publishing my own book, after all, 

So, I've decided to give my readers a little tease from the book; hope you enjoy it...

The Hookup (excerpt)

Chapter One

Jada Lewis sat in the interrogation room down at the Memphis Police Department, wringing her hands nervously. She would have never guessed that she’d ever find herself in any type of situation that would have warranted her being questioned about a crime. She usually kept to herself, minded her own business, and didn’t bother anybody. She had never been a social butterfly, and other than her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Todd Thompson, she was a bit of a loner.

How did things get so bad, she thought to herself as she waited for someone to come in and question her. She looked around the cold room, towards the glass windows on the left wall. She knew how these things worked. Because she was a home-body, her life revolved around watching tv. One of her favorite shows was The First 48 on A & E. She knew that there were probably police officers standing on the other side of the glass, watching her every move. 

She propped her elbows up on the table, holding her head in her hands in anguish. If she could take back everything that had happened over the last few weeks, she would. But unfortunately, time doesn’t go backwards. 

Just then, the door opened, and in walked a very stylish black woman, holding what looked like a recorder, a legal notepad, and an ink pen. 

“How’re you holding up, Jada?” the kind-faced woman asked. Her voice was soothing, but Jada knew that behind her kind words, lay a pit-bull in a skirt. “I’m Sergeant Arnita Smith,” she said holding her hand out to Jada.

Jada shook her hand across the table, taking in the detectives appearance. The fuschia long sleeved, ruffled button down blouse, sleek black pencil skirt, and peep-toe stilettos she was wearing made her look more like a sexy school teacher, and less like a hard-nosed officer of the law. “I-I’m fine, thank you,” she mumbled.

“That’s good. So, I’m going to be taking your statement about the events that happened tonight. Can I get you anything before we start, a coke…cigarette?”

“I don’t smoke, thank you,” Jada said in her soft, timid voice. “A coke would be fine, though.”

“Okay, one coke coming right up. While I’m gone, I want you to go ahead and start writing your statement about what happened,” Sgt. Smith said, pushing the notepad and pen in Jada’s direction. “Just be as honest and accurate as you can, okay?” she said before leaving the room.

Jada nodded her head as she reached for the pen and pad. Her mind was a big jumble of mess. She didn’t want to remember anything about the events that had taken place tonight, but in order to move on, she had to. Tears burned her tired eyes, as she began to write. She was a few paragraphs in, when Sgt. Smith re-entered the room, a cup of ice and a can of Coke in her hands.

“Looks like you’ve gotten quite a bit written down there,” she said reaching for the pad to read over what Jada had written so far, as Jada opened the can of soda, poured it over the ice, and took a long drink. She had lied to herself and said that she was going to try to kick her soda habit, but she welcomed the subtle bitterness of the caffeine at that moment.

“Okay, I’ll give you a break from writing. Why don’t we start with the verbal statement. I’ll be recording our conversation for legal purposes, okay?” Sgt. Smith said.

Jada shook her head yes.

“Before we start, would you like a lawyer present?”

“Am I under arrest?” Jada asked in alarm. She was under the impression that she’d only been asked to come to the station to give her account about what all had happened tonight.

“No, you’re not. I was just giving you the option,” Sgt. Smith said with a warm smile on her face. 

“Then no ma’am, I don’t need a lawyer,” Jada said.

“Okay, then.” Sgt. Smith pressed a button on the top of the recorder. “Why don’t you just start from the beginning. How did you come to know Mr. Brice Sullivan?”

“Umm, I met him a few weeks ago at a car wash,” Jada said. She shivered as Brice’s face flashed in her mind. If she knew then, all that she knew now about Brice, she would never had given him a second glance, let alone go out with him. 

“And had you ever saw him before that day?”

“No, never,” Jada said nervously. The woman sitting across from her wasn’t being harsh, like most police usually are, but she was still intimidating. 

“I see. So were you two in a relationship or…”

“No,” Jada interrupted her. “We were never in a relationship…not like that.”

“Are you saying that your relationship was purely sexual?”

“Yes, I mean, no. I-I went out with him once, then we went back to my place afterwards; but it was only once. We kissed and fooled around a little, but we didn’t have sex. I’d told him from the beginning that I wasn’t looking for anything serious with him; that I’d just wanted to get back at my boyfriend for cheating on me. I thought Brice understood that.”

Jada poured the remainder of her coke into her glass and drank it, before she explained the rest of her complicated relationship with Brice to Sgt. Smith…