Welcome to Ira Berkowitz’s blog. This blog is meant to share short murder mystery stories about Jackson Steeg (the main character of my three books: Family Matters, Old Flame and his new upcoming book Sinners’ Ball) that take place in Hell’s Kitchen.
The Stalker Part I
Whoever said April is the cruelest month never spent January in Hell’s Kitchen.
The wind off the Hudson is stiletto sharp, slush ankle deep, and a lot of anger in the air. So, I tend to spend a lot of time indoors.
Most of it at Feeney’s.
The saloon was warm, congenial, and frequented by the people I care about – even the lowlifes.
One morning, as I was picking at a plate of corned beef hash, a woman sat down at my table. No Is this seat taken? No Can I have a minute of your time? Just parked herself. She was in her early thirties, with small features, hair pulled back in a pert little ponytail, a dancer’s body, and a tightness around her eyes.
“You’re Steeg, right?”
I assured her I was.
“And you are?”
“Sharon Dunne. That’s my stage name. Real name is Giovanna Bucanfuso. But that was taken.”
“I kinda like Giovanna Bucanfuso. Lots of character.”
“Whatever,” she shrugged. “Look, I got a problem.
I did too. The hash was just shy of edible and I welcomed the interruption.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’m being stalked.”
“By who?”
“If I knew would I be wasting my time sitting here with you?”
I was definitely warming up to Sharon/Giovanna.
“How long’s this been going on?”
“Couple of weeks.”
“What’s he look like?”
“A creep!”
“Could you maybe narrow that down a bit?”
“Late forties. Comb over. Pasty-looking. With a gut that spills over his belt like a sack of dirty laundry.”
“Every woman’s dream man.”
“You’re making jokes, and I’m scared out of my mind! Every time I turn around he’s lurking around.”
“He threaten you?”
She gave her thick black hair a vigorous shake. “Just creeps me out.”
“Maybe he’s an admirer?”
“Or maybe he’s a Ted Bundy clone.”
“And you want me to . . .
“Take him out of my life.”
Stay tuned for the next installment of The Stalker next month! And don’t forget to facebook.
Sinners’ Ball the third book in the Jackson Steeg Mystery Series will be published December 2009 and is available for pre-order.
Kirkus Reviews called it, “Exceptional . . . Another shot to the guts from a guy who should have started writing these barnburners a long time ago.”
You can purchase Sinners’ Ball now at Amazon, Barnes, Borders or at your favorite independent bookseller.
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