Month: March 2018

Categories
Writer's Notes

Stirring Things Up: Janet Finsilver

 

 

Murder Mushroom

By Janet Finsilver

My Kelly Jackson mystery series takes place in the fictional town of Redwood Cove, which is based on Mendocino, California. Whenever I feel myself getting stuck in my writing, I head for that quaint town. I don’t enjoy the drive from the freeway to the coast as it is a two-lane road with lots of twists and turns. I stop in Cloverdale at Starbucks and order a coffee Frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso to give me a boost to begin that part of the journey.

Festivals abound in the area as a way to attract tourists. I attempt to coordinate my visits with one of those events. Each of my books has a festival based on real ones that take place in or near Mendocino…and they give me lots of ideas! Chocolate, Wine, and Ale, a fundraiser for the Mendocino Music Festival, inspired the activity in Murder at Redwood Cove. The first one I attended took place in a gigantic white tent on the lawn of a museum. People danced, bid on raffle items, and enjoyed an enormous variety of chocolate delights.

The Mendocino Whale Festival kick-started book two, Murder at the Mansion. The day begins with chowder tasting at Crown Hall built in 1905. I’ve incorporated that building into two books now. I volunteered for the festival last year and got to see some of the “behind the scene” activities, such as chefs arriving with their huge, steaming cauldrons of soup. After that event you can purchase a ticket for food and wine tastings at various establishments throughout the town.

Winesong, a fundraiser for the Mendocino Coast District Hospital, helped me create Wine and Flowers in Murder at the Fortuneteller’s Table. Tables are set up throughout the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. The sensory experience is amazing. Not only do you have exceptional food and wine, you have the rich smells of a garden surrounding you as well as the salty ocean breeze filling your senses. I volunteered for this one as well and helped serve for one of the restaurants. People came from faraway to attend and lots of interesting discussions ensued.

While writing my fourth book, Murder at the Mushroom Festival, which comes out April 17, I attended a mushroom identification and cooking class. I gathered a lot of information, returned home, and began incorporating it into my story. A short while later I felt like I didn’t have enough details about mushrooms or the festival and headed back to Mendocino. Luckily the Mushroom Festival occurred over a couple of weeks. I was fortunate to get into another mushroom identification class held at the Mendocino County Botanical Gardens. That, combined with interviewing some locals, had me on the way home feeling confident to continue the book.

So when I need to “stir things up” in my writing, I head for the northern coast of California with its towering redwoods, the spectacular crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean, and the fascinating town of Mendocino.

~~~

 

Janet Finsilver photo
Janet Finsilver

Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY best-selling author of the Kelly Jackson mystery series. She and her husband reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. She worked in education for many years as a teacher, a program administrator, and a workshop presenter. Janet loves animals and has two dogs—Kylie and Ellie. Her debut mystery, Murder at Redwood Cove, released in October 2015. Her second book, Murder at the Mansion,  came out in June 2016. It was followed by Murder at the Fortune Teller’s Table in March 2017. Murder at the Mushroom Festival will be released in April 2018.

 

To purchase Murder at the Mushroom Festival:

amazon Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mushroom-Festival-Jackson-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07465HNVP

Website: http://janetfinsilver.com/

 

 

Categories
Roll Call

Roll Call: Rampart and the Baby Powder Caper

68 Plymouth Belvedere labeledBy Mikey, Retired LAPD

March 25, 2018

 

 

In the summer of 1973, as a rookie copper in Rampart Division, I was learning the ways of the LAPD. Every day was exciting for me. I was assigned morning watch, so I got to work at 2230 for a 2400 roll call.

 

One night, I was in the locker room talking with another copper when four sergeants swarmed into the room and began taking names and serial numbers. One of the senior officers asked what the deal was, and he was told that he would find out later.  At the conclusion of roll call our lieutenant told those of us who had had their names and serial numbers documented to report to the Area Commanding Officer’s (CO) office. 

 

In the hallway were five officers standing outside of the CO’s office. Just as I got in line, an officer exited the office, looked at us and said, “that was B**l S**t!” and stomped off. All the guys before me said pretty much the same as they exited.

 

Then it was my turn. A sergeant and lieutenant (LT) were in the room. The sergeant stood by the light switch and the LT was behind a desk. On the desk was a lunch box, the kind that is rectangle at the bottom and half oval on the top.  

The LT instructed me to approach the desk and put my hands out in front of me. He then told the sergeant to turn out the room lights. I heard the lunch box lid open and suddenly an ultraviolet light came up, illuminating my hands. Barely visible were some very little shiny “flakes.”  The LT called the sergeant over to the desk and told him to look at my hands.

 

 “What is that?” the L.T. asked.

 

 My response, “I don’t know, sir.” 

 

 “Well, it’s on your hands!”  

 

The sergeant turned the lights back on and I found them both eyeing me suspiciously. 

 

“What’s up” I asked.

 

Silence. Then, “you can go. What car are you working?” 

 

I replied, “2 Adam 3.”

 

Something told me I’d be talking to the LT again, very soon. My training officer asked me why I had been in the CO’s office, but I did not have an answer for him. 

 

Sure enough, 15 minutes later, “2 Adam 3, see the watch commander.” 

 

Back at the station, I reported to the watch commander and he told me to go back to the CO’s office and report to the LT. In the LT’s office, I was again asked me again what the flakes on my hands were. This time I had an answer for him.

 

In a somewhat weak voice I said. “Baby powder, sir.” 

 

“Baby powder?” 

 

 Johnsons_Baby_Powder_1,5_OZS_talc,_pic1I told him that in the summer I used it because I sweat quite a bit. 

 

The LT looked at the sergeant with that “ah, ha” look and said to me, “well then, it should be all over your person.” With that he told me to take off my uniform shirt. So, I removed my Sam Brown put it on the desk, pulled my shirt out and unbuttoned it. The LT told me to pull my T-shirt up and he instructed the sergeant to kill the lights. The UV light came back on and wouldn’t you know it, there were flakes all over the place.

 

Not satisfied with that, the LT had me take my belt off, and pull my pants down. Oh yeah; this is 1973 LAPD, no union rep, nothing. Just as he is working his way down to my knees, the door came open, I heard a hand being slapped and the light came on. From where my watch commander was standing behind me, how do you think it looked? The LT was practically kneeling down in front of me and my pants down to my knees? 

 

 “Young lieutenant, that’s disgusting!” My watch commander shouted. Then to me, “Diaz, get yourself put back together and get out on patrol!”  God, I felt so, I don’t know, used?

 

So, here is why this happened. There had been locker break-ins, so the CO’s adjutant had powdered several lockers with the secret stuff and had a couple of the lockers bugged to set off an alarm if they were disturbed.  The night I was there, the alarm tripped, the sergeants arrived, and the baby powder made the LT “hot” and all for nothing. 

 

The next night, my training officer brought in a super sized container of baby powder. All the guys powdered up their hands, banged on every locker, went to roll call to await the dreaded “swarm” of sergeants, but nothing happened.

 

I stopped using baby powder. Just saying.

 

Categories
Writer's Notes

Shake It Up, Baby! A Musical Mystery Tour

By CJ Verburg

March 23, 2018

I knew exactly what I wanted to write. My life plan revealed itself in college, where I devoured Agatha Christie and Mary Stewart novels between Tolstoy, Joyce, and Woolf. I would travel to exotic places and write a romantic mystery in each one.

The pesky need to earn a living steered me into publishing, but I soon jumped off the career ladder. Moving into a waterfront mansion in Marblehead, I fell in love with one of my 7 housemates, a woodworker who was rebuilding a derelict yacht. Every morning I sat overlooking the harbor and wrote; every afternoon I hopped on my bike and pedaled 3 miles to the Salem boatyard. My lover’s life plan was to sail around the world, winding up in the Caribbean with a charter business.

I’d learned from Melville what can happen to a sea captain who’s gripped by an obsession. As months became years, as my lover’s funds and charms dwindled while his ship stayed in drydock, I moved to Cambridge to stir things up again.

The agent who’d embraced my Marblehead manuscript brought back grim news. A “bodice-ripper” boom had bulldozed the romantic suspense market. Not even Mary Stewart’s publisher wanted the kind of book I’d planned to spend my life writing. The heroine couldn’t be a smart accidental sleuth who joins forces with an enigmatic stranger. She must be ravished by a handsome scoundrel, thereby launching his transformation into a hero. Or she can have occult powers. Or (preferably) both.

What to do? I’d bought a plane ticket to Paris. I’d outlined the novel I wanted to write there. Back to Square One?

Maybe not. This was the heyday of rock music. If I pushed my plot toward whodunit and threw in a band, would that light enough fireworks to satisfy a publisher? Worth a try. I spent a week in a French village, celebrating their annual strawberry festival. Real fireworks! Perfect!

Back home, I conjured up a narrator: Boston journalist Cory Goodwin, a NY private eye’s daughter, assigned to cover an American band in France. It was ages, though, since I’d hung out with rock musicians. Research break! I told friends I was looking for a band to let me sit in on a rehearsal, to catch up on how they spoke, dressed, and so forth.

One friend knew a keyboard player. I called him, slightly nervous. It was OK: he didn’t sound drugged or deranged. Sure, I could come observe, only they weren’t rehearsing. They were playing clubs all over New England. Did I want to join them?

No way. Travel with five male strangers? Hang out every night in a different bar? Unthinkable.

“Isn’t that what your book is about?” he asked. “A writer who follows a band on tour?”

Well, yes (gulp), but…

I tossed my skis in my car, so this trip wouldn’t be a total bust. No problem. I learned so much about music, musicians, the entertainment business, and life, and I had so much fun, that I didn’t end my odyssey after the first leg. I sailed on with my 5 new friends (6, counting the sound man) into much more than a musical mystery novel called Another Number for the Road. Coming home I hit a killer blizzard which became Scene One of my next Cory Goodwin mystery, Silent Night Violent Night.

Writing of course requires applying butt to chair and eyes to screen. But a central reason WHY I write — and why I chose to write mysteries — is the adventure. I can’t know which of my books will click with any given reader, or with the ever-changing publishing industry. I do know that anytime “write what you know” hits a dead end, I’d rather expand what I know than shrink what I write. Shake it up, baby!

~~~

 

Verberg headshot-EGH-croptAward-winning playwright and director CJ Verburg has published two Cory Goodwin mysteries and two Edgar Rowdey Cape Cod mysteries, Croaked and Zapped (so far), plus the multimedia memoir Edward Gorey On Stage and several international literature collections. A Sisters In Crime member, CJ is juggling Book 3 in each series with editing San Francisco’s quarterly Semaphore. website: cjverburg.net

Categories
The Call Box

The Call Box: Four Tales of Five Bandits Who Chose the Wrong Profession

By Ed Meckle, Retired LAPD

March 1

with thanks to Melisa Dervaes for editing!

polic-call-box-pedestal-lapd-gamewell-DCAL2786_dt1Working a radio car, we answered a 211 (armed robbery) that had just occurred.

The 20-something female clerk was composed and gave an exceptionally good description of the suspect. I took notes to put out a broadcast.

She concluded with, “What if I knew him?” 

“Ah, that’s good, how?”

“He was in my graduating class from high school four years ago,” she said. 

“Did he recognize you?” 

“Nope,” she said, “I was a blonde then.” 

“How about a name?” 

She said, “I can’t remember but he is bigger and stupider now than he was then.”  “Do you still have your school yearbook?” 

She did, then stated, “Let’s take a ride,” so we did. 

We gave her that ride and then a short time later, we took him for one, too.  Sometimes it’s just that simple.

~~

 Many years later, I was a Detective Sergeant assigned to the Robbery Detail at Wilshire Division. The following crime report came in for the Business Team.

 

old timer gas stationTwo male suspects entered the gas station in separate vehicles and asked to use the vise in the closed garage area. They proceeded to hacksaw off the barrel of a .12-gauge shotgun in the garage, then used the gun to hold up the attendant. 

At the conclusion of the robbery, one of the vehicles would not start. The suspects were last seen eastbound on Venice Boulevard in a black 1955 Chevrolet, being pushed by a dark blue 1961 Buick. Recovered at the scene and booked as evidence was the discarded shotgun barrel which had the prints from both suspects.

 

Yet another simple case.

~~

 This report is good for a laugh and “made the rounds” for its suspect description.

The suspect was described as a black male in his mid-20’s, 6’5” to 6’6” tall with a slender build. He wore a blue bandana for a mask and sported a Jordan High School letterman’s jacket with the basketball logo “Tyrone 1961” embroidered over the left breast. 

 

Another simple case. 

~~

This last story belongs to my partner and myself.

 

As the suspect was a “novice bandit,” he is referred to in this narrative as “NB.”

Iver_Johnson_Safety_Hammer_in_original_boxNB had obtained an antique .32 caliber revolver, either a Harrington and Richardson or an Iver Johnson. This revolver was a “break open” model and in order to load it, the barrel and the cylinder needed to be tilted forward. A small nut and bolt assembly served as the “hinge pin.”  This particular revolver, however, was missing this nut and bolt assembly and in its place was a bent nail. When NB had selected his victim, he produced this weapon, and somewhere between “stick ‘em up” and “oh s**t,” the nail fell out. Now, logic tells us that the fallen nail was followed by the barrel, followed by the cylinder, followed by all 5 rounds, leaving our hapless NB holding a gun butt with only a trigger and a hammer attached to what used to be a revolver. The victim then produced his own weapon and shot NB in the foot from about 8 feet away, a point-blank shot. After units went on scene, all they had to do was follow the blood drops to NB’s hiding spot that was located several blocks away in a bush. 

~~ 

To quote the Russian/American comedian Yakov Smirnoff, “is this a great country or what?”

 

 

Categories
Writer's Notes

Stir Things Up: Paty Jager

Artful Murder 5x8Stir Things Up by Paty Jager

Boy, do I stir things up! But I think in a good way. Others may not think so.
The theme that runs through every book, every novella, every short story I write is justice or redemption. Life is messy. I don’t care who you are, you have been through something that you felt a victim and couldn’t get justice, or you did something that may or may not have been your fault, but you have to show that isn’t who you are.
There are too many predators, mean people, and jerks in this world that you can’t go unscathed if you’ve lived very long.

And because of this, I bring subjects to my books that some people may not like; but they are real and they happen every day to someone. I hope that my books and stories, even though they are mysteries and westerns both contemporary and historical, that they show lives can be turned around and justice can be found.

I read few historical westerns where they talk about the woman having a period, going to the bathroom, or what was used for contraceptives in the late 1800’s in the west. Because those are topics some people wonder about—How did they take care of that back then? I have used these scenarios in books. I have a curious mind, I wondered and researched. Then I used it.

The contemporary books deal more with abuse and people who are different, and someone finally takes the time to discover they are just the same as you and me.
My current Shandra Higheagle Mystery release deals with sexual harassment in a high school. I believe, as it is mentioned in my book, that there is always someone else who knows what is going on and could put a stop to it, but doesn’t for whatever reason. Again, this topic while it is hot in the media, wasn’t why I picked it.

I knew my main character Shandra Higheagle was volunteering at a high school, and I needed to come up with someone to die and a reason for his death. I thought back to my time in high school and the science teacher who gave all the girls who wore dresses and sat in the front row an A. It was common knowledge all over the school. Yet, no one, not another teacher or the principal said anything to the teacher. I made the murder victim more lecherous. And gave the principal a reason why he didn’t do anything when female teachers complained about him harassing them.

In the end, justice prevails. I won’t tell you how, because that would give away the story.

My next series starts with a human body found with a wolf collar on his neck in an area that is full of turmoil over the wolves returning in so many numbers to the area. Yes, I love to stir things up!

What about you? Do you like to write or read books that bring in things you don’t normally see in a book, or that could be controversial?

~

Artful Murder 5x8Artful Murder
Book ten in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery Series
Secrets… Scandal… Murder…
An autistic boy and his brother need potter Shandra Higheagle’s help when a teacher’s body is found after a confrontation with the older brother. Shandra knows the boy is innocent. Digging into the teacher’s life, she and Ryan turn up scandal.
Detective Ryan Greer has believed in Shandra’s dreams in the past, but she can’t always be right. When his investigation uncovers a principal on the take, females being harassed, and parents kept in the dark, he discovers more suspects than the brothers. Shandra’s time at the school is coming to an end, and the killer has struck again.

Universal buy link https://www.books2read.com/u/bapvjq

2017 headshot new
Paty Jager

About Paty
Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”

blog / website / Facebook / Paty’s Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Bookbub

 

 

Categories
Roll Call

Roll Call: NORTHEAST VICE AND THE NIGHT DROP ROBBERY

By Mikey, Retired LAPD

It was 1978 and I was assigned to Northeast Division Vice. From time to time, we had loanees from patrol, so they can better understand how we do the job. It was also an effective way to size up future vice cops. Ron was on loan and assigned to me. After a few nights of learning how to work bars and identify things like serving an obviously intoxicated person(s), gambling, prostitution, Ron was good to go solo. We were working a bar on Glendale Boulevard and it was about 9:30pm when Ron entered the bar. If he observed a violation of any kind, he was to exit the bar and give me a sign that we had work to do. I’d meet up with him so he could brief me on what was occurring. Then, we would decide what we had to do to work the problem. I was across the street parked in a vacant gas station, so there was no else around. Across the street was a Bank of America located just north of the bar.

man sitting on bus benchAt about 9:45 I noticed two gangster-looking males sitting on a bus bench in front of the bank. A short time later, I observed a vehicle in a driveway south of the bank. The car was traveling west from the rear of the bank to the front. The vehicle stopped next to the building and I observed two men, in business suits exit the vehicle. One had what appeared to be a small object in his right hand. Both were approaching the night drop deposit door when the individuals got up from the bus bench and approached the two men.

I heard a male voice scream “no,” and then a gunshot. The suited man carrying the objectnight depository 800px-BankOfPilotMountainND fell to the ground. One of the gangsters from the bus bench reached down and took the object from the fallen man. Then both gangsters then ran north from the incident.  The other man began yelling for help. As I approached the scene, I put out, “officer needs help, shots fired, one victim down!”  I identified myself to the uninjured man and discovered the victim had been shot once in the stomach. I had observed a robbery. The men were the manager (the injured victim) and assistant manager of a shoe store that was located two blocks north of the bank and were making a night drop of the funds earned by the store that day.

As the cavalry arrived, I passed the information onto the uniform coppers. They set up a crime scene. The watch commander asked me to brief him and after telling him the story, he asked me why I hadn’t intervened. There I am, looking every bit “non-cop,” driving a rent-a-wreck piece of crap and he wants to know why I didn’t go “cop” and intervene?  My sergeant heard the question. He also saw that I went spring loaded to the pissed off position and was about tell the watch commander where to stick it. My boss pulled the man aside.

inside bar at nightDamn, forgot all about Ron. So, I went into the bar to get him and the look on his face said, “what, did I do something wrong?” When we exited, Ron saw the air unit, all the flashing lights, the coppers and he turned to me an asked, “is this all for me!?”

No one in the bar, including Ron had heard a thing. After explaining things to him, we headed to the station. The two men had been set up by one of their female employees—the girlfriend of one of the gang members. The manager survived his wounds and the gangsters as well as the employee were all held to answer for the crime. Ron decided that he did not want to be a vice copper. After all, it’s not for everyone.

Oh, and the watch commander commended me for “not over-reacting.”

Huh?

Simple, you don’t play the game until you know who the players are.

 

Categories
Writer's Notes

Stir Things Up: Accuracy – The Writer’s Dilemma

By Serita Stevens

Nurse-209x300As a forensic nurse, I often work with attorneys as an expert witness. I instruct the jury to listen to what the evidence tells you not what the people involved say. Everything must be accurate, and the smallest of details matter in solving a crime or proving a case. One of the problems we often have is that because of the fictional depiction of investigations where DNA is always present and can be processed in 45 minutes juries now expect DNA to be presented. Not only is that difficult at times but if not processed properly and kept from contamination it can be useless and confuse the issue. This issue called “the CSI effect” can destroy a case and cause the jury to vote innocent when they believe DNA should have proved the case.

An argument I had a few years ago with my friend who wrote the movie Déjà vu.  He had the detective put the evidence in plastic bags but as I pointed out plastic bags usually deteriorate evidence. In forensic investigations we use paper bags with each item carefully separated to keep it from contamination. His director had chosen to keep it in plastic, so the viewers could see the clues and didn’t care how inaccurate it was.

Now most viewers and readers, especially those who are untrained in investigations, wouldn’t notice this problem nor would they care. But there are a few for whom these inaccuracies not only destroy the moment but the enjoyment of the whole story (not to mention the influence they have on those few people who take everything they see or read as fact). In fact, my doctor husband used to forbid me to watch medical based shows because so many of them were wrong. For those of us who do care, inaccuracies destroy the total enjoyment of the story and many of us dedicated readers vow not to read that author again because their research is so shoddy.

poison coverAs a nurse, my friends in MWA (Mystery Writers of America) often asked me what this or that meant, how this procedure worked in medicine, and what symptoms they would find if someone did this. I realized that all the available literature – often difficult for the nonprofessional to access – was written in medicalese. There was nothing written for the ordinary, well-educated reader. It was for this reason that I wrote the Book of Poisons (formerly called Deadly Doses) for Writer’s Digest and with that they started their “How To” series.

The book has not only been used by numerous writers, producers and directors, but also been featured on shows as Law & Order and Discovery Channel episodes. In fact, I have consulted with them on several programs. I am always happy to explain the medical procedures, the symptoms or the forensic facts so that scenes can be correctly written.

It’s true that at times, for the sake of fiction, we have to fudge some facts. Often, however, we can explore alternatives to our scenes or if we ask around to the experts we can find the few exceptions where the answers we want can be used. But as I stated above people are influenced by what they read or see and believe the fiction. This causes problems for law enforcement in proving their cases.

coverworkbookCheck your facts and, if you can, use the correct ones – or at least in your epilogue explain what you did and what the real situation might have been. And if you are doing research, don’t take another fictional author’s scene as fact be it in medical, historical or even location information.

Verify things with at least two sources or more if you can. Almost always there is a way to get the scene you want and still make it accurate. It helps your credibility in the end and once you lose the credibility of your reader or viewer, once they close that book, they will hesitate to pick up anything else you have created. Trust once lost is not easily regained. Besides, most people enjoy learning something new when they are reading.

For more information, check out my site www.seritastevens.com, my IMDB is Serita D Stevens, and my email for questions is sswriter400@gmail.com.

~~

seritahalfAn award-winning writer of books, scripts, adaptations and teacher of writing, Serita also serves as a forensic/medical/poison consultant for numerous writers, producers, and several shows as well as being an expert witness for attorney’s cases.  Books can be bought from her site www.seritastevens.com and/or from Amazon or any bookstore.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Ramblings by Hal Roll Call

Ramblings and The Call Box: Patrol Areas

By Ed Meckle #7612 1956/1976, Retired LAPD

 

Fitzgerald_House_(Los_Angeles)
Fitzgerald House in Sugar Hill, Los Angeles

 

Our patrol area was known on the streets as “Sugar Hill.” Back in the 1890’s and turn of the century there were dozens of old mansions in our area—former homes of the rich and famous. All now fallen on hard times, some abandoned, or rooming houses, shooting galleries and just plain old flop houses. My partners knew every location and most of the street people.

 

We drove the main streets in the right lane with the flow of traffic, cruised the side streets and always the alleys, sometimes with lights out. All windows open regardless of weather. Sometimes late at night we would park, engine off and just listen.

We were there to see and be seen. Let both the good folks and the bad guys know we were there. 

Sometimes we ran from call to call with no patrol time. When we did cruise, we stopped and talked to suspicious people and sometimes were rewarded with narcotics, a gun or felony pinch.

We had no decent eating spots and always ate at a local greasy spoon. Food was free, with 25 cent tip. We ate what they put in front of you. 

Lots of coffee, drink and drive. More than one cup was tossed out the window to answer a hot call. 

It was a rare night without at least one cutting or shooting. When the relief checks came, and it coincided with a hot Saturday night, the area turned into Dodge City, a very violent place

The calls varied from reports, to assaults, to disputes and all I ca n say is I loved every minute of it.

Ed  

Hal Collier #16336 1970/2005

 

Hollywood_boulevard_from_kodak_theatre
Hollywood Boulevard from Kodak Theater

When on probation I was assigned a Basic A Car, first 6A17, the Beachwood Canyon car with little crime in the middle of the night. Two months later I was assigned 6A41 the basic car assigned to the Fairfax District, but again other than the occasional business burglary not much to patrol for. We spent most of our time on the busy streets like Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard. During the early morning hours, Hollywood was wide open. Even after the bars and clubs closed there was something going on. There were restaurants that stayed open all night to feed the rockers leaving the clubs. One restaurant on the west end of the division was known as “Rock and Roll Denny’s.” The drunk drivers were trying to negotiate the busy streets and the prostitute trade was just getting warmed up. I laugh whenever I hear someone say, “Prostitution is a victimless crime.” Ask all the johns who got robbed, wallets picked or just cut with a knife. The crime was when they tried to explain the loss to their spouse.

 

Like Ed, we also patrolled the side streets just off the main boulevards. I always had my window rolled down, not only to hear possible activity but if someone took a shot at you, it was possible to hear from what direction the shot came. I remember one cold winter night my training officer told me “Put some glass in that porthole.” I rolled it up half way. I once was driving down a dark side street with my lights out. We stopped a suspect and he told us “I knew you were the cops because I could see your rabbit ears on the roof of your car.” He was referring to our tin can red lights. I later decided to turn on my high beam lights which blinded my vehicle silhouette. You can always learn new tricks. 

free police picAs Ed mentioned, he would often park and shut the engine off. I seldom did that, but I found the hardest thing to teach a rookie cop was patience. Wait until the crime occurs before you jump in. An example: we got a call of a possible burglar at an apartment building. We did all the right things, approach with lights off, radio turned down and we quietly approached the building. We peeked around the corner of the building. We saw a suspect step into the bushes next to an apartment window, my probationer jumped out and yelled, “police freeze.” The DA refused to file charges, stating we stopped the suspect before he committed a crime. 

Hollywood was crazy with radio calls. Most nights, after briefing, you got five calls (the maximum). Some were hours old. I once got a call four hours old of a fight on a street corner. I told my partner of there still fighting after four hours I don’t want to tangle with them! We called it, “chasing the radio,” and seldom had spare time for investigative police work.

Like Ed, I loved every minute of it!

Next Ed and I will describe RTO’s from different decades.

–Hal

Categories
Writer's Notes

Stir Things Up: by Thonie Hevron

By Thonie Hevron

sheriff badge logo 3Routine can be a good thing, right? Honestly, sometimes it can be deadly. Doing the same things at the same times every day creates habits. It’s said it takes two weeks of repetition to make a behavior a habit. I’ll admit it—I’m a creature of habit. Maybe it’s a result of an exciting career in law enforcement, the bulk in dispatch. No two days were ever the same. Frankly, the excitement was one reasons I loved the job. Every day was different. Believe me, after thirty-five years, I was ready for some boredom. Give me a chance to etch out a routine, please!

 

But in reality, most people’s lives are exciting in some way or another. Their days are different, even if it’s merely taking the long way home. What I’m talking about is doing something the same way all the time.

 

When I wrote my first novel, I used an outline. As with subsequent books, I adjusted the outline as the story took detours. It’s a system that has worked for me through three novels. I’m now on my fourth book and feel that I need to shake things up a bit.

 

monitorSo, my mystery ending is a mystery to me. Granted my characters are established—this is the fourth in the Nick and Meredith Mysteries. My previous publisher named the series and I’m sorry to say they’re not mysteries at all. They are thrillers. In each of the three (By Force or Fear, Intent to Hold, and With Malice Aforethought) it’s apparent who the bad guy is early in the story. The reader’s enjoyment is the wild ride to the conclusion of the dilemma. But the fourth book, working title is Felon with a Firearm, is different. This is a mystery, which I’ve outlined to a level where I can write the story. The difference is the mystery—who did the bad deed and why. I’ve got three variations for three different characters. I’m a third of the way done and at this point, I don’t know for sure who is responsible for the robbery/homicide that is the instigating event. I should be afraid, but I guess I’m too naïve a writer for that. I believe I can make the ending exciting, authentic and satisfying. If it isn’t, I’ll go back and re-write it until it is.

 

This time, I’m switching things up. While I’m not bored with the previous three books’ formula, I just wanted to try something different.

 

How about you? Do you “stir things up?” in your writing? Do you always write in first person? A writer friend in my critique group decided to write her cozy mystery in the present tense. She said it felt more natural that way. Her previous two books were past tense. And she’s right—this book is better for the difference.

 

Serita Stevens
Paty Jager

Just the Facts, Ma’am Writer’s Notes has some exciting posts for your consideration this month. March is “Stir Things Up” month. I get a little cabin fever in March so it’s time stir things up. Time to see what other authors do to stay fresh, remain true to their mission, and keep real. On March 9th, Serita Stevens tells us about writing authentic mysteries, not the TV version (the CSI effect—ala instant DNA results). March 16th will feature Paty Jager stirring up historical Westerns. CJ Verburg’s post appears on March 23rd and Janet Finsilver winds up the month on the 30th.

 

Be sure to check in. You might learn something new, something different. And don’t forget to share your comments for “Stirring Things Up.”

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Novato Crafts fairAnd if you’re in the Marin/Sonoma area on Saturday, March 3rd, stop in to Novato’s Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road, for the Spring Crafts Fair. Thonie will be there from 10am-3pm selling and signing her books.