Each week, I send out a story via my email newsletter. Each story is around 1000 words, sometimes less, sometimes more. The stories are in a variety of genres: supernatural, thriller, sci-fi, horror, and sometimes romance, and all of my stories typically feature a gay protagonist.
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This is story number 15 of the series. Enjoy!
Shadows in Sequins: An Eli Archer Mystery
The neon sign of The Velvet Curtain flickered, casting an eerie glow on the rain-slicked street. Eli “Ace” Archer adjusted his fedora, took a drag from his cigarette, and pushed through the club’s heavy door. The familiar scent of stale booze and cheap perfume hit him like a punch to the gut.
“Evenin’, boss,” growled Joey, the burly bouncer. “Quite a crowd tonight.”
Eli nodded, his eyes scanning the dimly lit room. The joint was jumping, alright. Cigarette smoke hung thick in the air, mingling with the sultry jazz pouring from the stage. He made his way to the bar, nodding at familiar faces.
“Scotch, neat,” he told Frankie, the bartender. “And make it a double.”
As Frankie poured, Eli felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Ruby Slippers, the club’s star performer, looking flustered.
“Ace, honey, we’ve got a situation,” Ruby said, her sequined gown catching the light. “There’s a new dame in the dressing room, says she’s filling in for Lola. But I’ve never seen her before, and she’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
Eli frowned. “Lola didn’t mention any replacement. I’ll check it out.”
He followed Ruby backstage, the muffled sounds of the club fading behind them. The dressing room door was ajar, and Eli could hear hushed voices inside.
“Look, doll, just do your job and keep your trap shut,” a gruff male voice was saying.
“But I can’t—” a woman’s voice replied, trembling.
Eli burst in, his hand instinctively reaching for the gun he no longer carried. Two pairs of startled eyes met his – a terrified young woman in a sparkling dress and a hulking man in an ill-fitting suit.
“What’s going on here?” Eli demanded.
The man’s face twisted into an ugly sneer. “None of your beeswax, Rossi. This is police business.”
Eli’s eyes narrowed. “Badge?”
The man hesitated, then lunged for the door. Eli intercepted him, years of cop instincts kicking in. They grappled, crashing into a vanity. Makeup clattered to the floor as Eli struggled to subdue the larger man.
Suddenly, a resounding crack split the air. The man went limp in Eli’s arms, revealing Ruby standing behind him, wielding a broken champagne bottle.
“Nice swing, Ruby,” Eli grunted, lowering the unconscious man to the floor.
“I always did have good timing, darling,” Ruby winked, then turned to the trembling woman. “You okay, hon?”
The woman nodded shakily. “I’m Daisy. That man… he said if I didn’t plant something in Lola’s dressing room, he’d hurt my brother.”
Eli’s jaw tightened. “Plant what?”
Daisy reached into her purse and pulled out a small packet. “He called it ‘fairy dust.’ Said it would put Lola away for a long time.”
Eli examined the packet, his stomach churning. It was top-grade cocaine, the kind only the big players could get their hands on. “Looks like someone’s trying to frame Lola. But why?”
Before Daisy could answer, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the stage. Eli bolted, Ruby and Daisy on his heels. They burst into the main room to find chaos. Patrons were fleeing, tables overturned. On stage, under the harsh spotlight, lay a body.
Eli pushed through the panicked crowd. His breath caught as he recognized the victim – Detective Frank Mallory, his ex-partner on the force. Frank’s unseeing eyes stared at the ceiling, a knife protruding from his chest.
“Everybody stay put!” Eli shouted, but it was too late. Most of the crowd had already fled, potential witnesses disappearing into the night.
Sirens wailed in the distance as Eli knelt beside Frank’s body. A folded piece of paper peeked out of the dead man’s jacket pocket. Eli palmed it discreetly just as the doors burst open and a flood of uniforms poured in.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Ace Archer,” drawled a familiar voice. Captain Brody sauntered over, his belly straining against his shirt buttons. “Fancy finding you at the scene of a crime.”
Eli stood slowly, his mind racing. “I own this club, Brody. You know that.”
Brody’s eyes narrowed. “And now one of our own is dead in your establishment. Care to explain?”
Before Eli could respond, Ruby stepped forward. “It was terrible, officer. This brute just charged in and attacked poor Frank! He ran out the back before anyone could stop him.”
Brody eyed Ruby suspiciously. “And you are?”
“Ruby Slippers, star of the show, darling. And I saw everything.”
As Ruby spun her tale, embellishing wildly, Eli caught Daisy’s eye and gave a slight nod. She slipped away, unnoticed in the commotion.
Hours later, after the body had been removed and statements taken, Eli finally escaped to his office above the club. He sank into his chair, exhaustion weighing on him like a lead blanket. The piece of paper from Frank’s pocket lay on the desk before him, mocking him with its secrets.
A soft knock interrupted his brooding. Ruby entered, still in full stage makeup but with a robe thrown over her costume. “You look like you could use this,” she said, placing a tumbler of amber liquid on the desk.
Eli managed a weak smile. “You’re a lifesaver, Ruby.”
“So, are you going to tell me what’s really going on?” Ruby perched on the edge of the desk, one eyebrow raised expectantly.
Eli sighed and unfolded the paper. “It’s from Frank. Says he was onto something big – corruption in the department, stretching all the way up to City Hall. He thought Lola might have evidence.”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “Is that why they tried to frame her?”
Eli nodded grimly. “Must be. But Frank got too close, and now…” He trailed off, the weight of his former partner’s death settling on his shoulders.
“So what do we do now, boss?”
Eli stood, a determined glint in his eye. “We find Lola before they do. And we finish what Frank started.”
As they made plans, neither noticed the shadow that flitted past the frosted glass of the office door, nor heard the soft click of a camera shutter.
The next few days were a whirlwind of covert meetings and close calls. Eli called in every favor he had, while Ruby worked her connections in the underground queer community. Daisy, it turned out, had a knack for picking locks and a surprisingly extensive knowledge of the city’s secret passages.
Their search led them through smoky backrooms and glittering drag shows, always one step behind Lola and one step ahead of whoever was pulling the strings. Along the way, they uncovered a web of blackmail and deceit that stretched from the lowest speakeasies to the mayor’s office itself.
It all came to a head on a foggy night at the docks. Eli, Ruby, and Daisy huddled behind a stack of crates, watching as a group of figures emerged from the mist. Eli’s heart leapt as he recognized Lola among them, flanked by two burly men.
“There she is,” he whispered. “But who are the others?”
As if in answer, another figure stepped into view. Eli’s blood ran cold as Captain Brody’s bulk materialized from the fog.
“Well, well, Lola,” Brody’s voice carried across the water. “Did you really think you could hide forever?”
Lola’s defiant voice rang out. “I’ve got enough dirt on you to bury this whole corrupt city, Brody. You really want to risk that getting out?”
Brody’s laugh was cruel. “Who’s going to believe a couple of queers over the police captain? No, I think it’s time we put an end to this little game.”
Eli tensed, ready to spring into action, but Ruby’s hand on his arm held him back. “Wait,” she hissed. “Look.”
From the shadows of a nearby warehouse, more figures emerged. Eli’s jaw dropped as he recognized faces from their investigation – the mayor’s aide, a prominent judge, even the owner of the city’s largest newspaper. All converging on Lola and Brody.
“Showtime,” Ruby grinned, producing a camera from her sequined clutch. The flash lit up the night like lightning, capturing the entire sordid scene.
What followed was chaos. Shouts of alarm, the splash of bodies hitting water, the crack of gunfire. Eli lost track of who was fighting whom in the melee. He found himself grappling with one of Brody’s goons, the taste of blood in his mouth as he took a solid right hook to the jaw.
Just when it seemed they were outnumbered, sirens split the air. But these weren’t Brody’s corrupt cops – a fleet of FBI agents swarmed the docks, led by none other than Daisy, her timid demeanor replaced by steely determination.
As dawn broke over the city, Eli sat on the hood of his car, nursing a split lip and watching as Brody and his cohorts were led away in handcuffs. Ruby lounged beside him, somehow managing to look glamorous despite the night’s chaos.
“Not bad for a couple of queers, huh?” she smirked, offering him a cigarette.
Eli chuckled, wincing at the pain in his ribs. “We make a pretty good team.”
Lola approached, looking worse for wear but very much alive. “Ace, I can’t thank you enough. You saved my life.”
“Don’t thank me,” Eli said, nodding towards Ruby and Daisy, who was chatting with an FBI agent nearby. “Thank them. They’re the real heroes.”
Lola smiled. “Well, I hope you’re ready for what comes next. When this story breaks, it’s going to turn this city on its head.”
Eli lit his cigarette, watching the sun rise over the skyline. For the first time in years, he felt a glimmer of hope for this corrupt town he called home. “Bring it on,” he said, exhaling a plume of smoke. “I think we’re just getting started.”
As they drove back to The Velvet Curtain, the morning light washing away the shadows of the night, Eli couldn’t help but smile. In a world that had tried to push him and his friends into the darkness, they had found strength in each other and brought that darkness to light.
He glanced at Ruby, dozing in the passenger seat, and Daisy, still buzzing with excitement in the back. Yeah, he thought, this was a pretty good team indeed. And in this city, who knew what adventures awaited them next?
THE END