The Troubleshooter: Hard Luck Grift Read online

  It was the loss of Faye. Sue Li. The quiet evenings when no words were spoken, listening to the sound of the rain outside. Nothing more was needed. Her company was enough.

  I’d like to think she felt the same, but who knows? I knew enough to know I didn’t know Sue Li at all, didn’t understand how her mind worked or what ghosts haunted from her past. All I know is that she provided something I needed, something more potent than the rush of gambling, something more valuable than a stack of dough in my hand.

  Peace. Just for a moment, she gave me peace. Enough to sort things out. Get my mind back on track. When I thought about it, I figured maybe it was me that owed her.

  Or maybe it was just the drink and the jazz talking.

  Didn’t matter. She had vanished from my life as quickly as she appeared, and for my trouble I had a price on my head for debts I had no way to settle. I figured I’d pay my tab, buy a bottle of Jack to go, and head over to my neglected office. Haven’t been there for a while, and by now it was common knowledge that I hated to work. Might buy some time to sit back, kick my heels on the desk, and reminisce on the poetry of winners, losers, and mystery dames that take it all in the end.

  One last moment of peace before I caught a case of the New Haven Blues.

  Bang

  Enjoy the Troubleshooter?

  THANKS FOR CHECKING out this installment of the Troubleshooter series. I truly hope you enjoyed your time in New Haven. I’d love to keep writing these novels, but I need just a little help from you. Reviews help a great deal in spreading the word, which in turn helps sell more books. Which in turn allows me to keep writing. It doesn’t have to a long process: a simple 3-4 sentence review works wonders. Thanks again for reading, hope you stick around for the next installment.

  All the best,

  ~BC

  More by the Bard

  BLADE RUNNER MEETS Bogart in this blend of science fiction and film noir grit that introduces Mick Trubble: the hard-drinking, chain-smoking, wry-witted private eye of the future.

  When you’re short on memory and cash, taking a questionable case is a no-brainer. And with the Russian Mafia breathing down his neck, Mick Trubble needs to settle his debts. So he goes against his gut and accepts a proposition from a mystery dame to recover some stolen goods. After all, Mick’s business is trouble. And in a city like New Haven, when business is trouble, then business is good.

  But when Mick uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the entire populace, he'll have to tackle the case with more than just sarcasm and his seven-shot revolver. It will take unlikely allies and quick thinking to stay one step ahead of catching a case of the New Haven Blues.

  More info at Amazon.

  IN THE PREQUEL TO NEW Haven Blues, Mick Trubble is a partial amnesiac who barters favors in order to survive. His deals place him at The Luzzatti, an apartment complex where he works for the owner and eventually befriends the family. In short time his search for answers is distracted by taking cases and by his conflicted feelings for Natasha, Mr. Luzzatti's daughter.

  But Mick's peace is short-lived, because Mr. Luzzatti is caught in a business deal gone sour, resulting in murderous loan sharks looking to rub him out along with his family. Mick has to quickly gather his wits and resources in able to protect the Luzzattis before they become the next victims of New Haven's most notorious hitman: the Red-Eyed Killer.

  More info at Amazon.

  WHEN A FREAK STORM engulfs a flourmill, the workers learn quickly there is much more to fear than just heavy rain.

  Something else arrives with the storm—macabre creatures who alter their shapes and features with every attack. In order to survive the night, the employees will have to rely on a man whose sanity is questionable. For he claims to have faced the same attacks before, over ages of time. He calls it an Aberration. A doorway that opens to a realm of nameless evils. What lies beyond wants to smother our world in darkness and perverse terror. It grows stronger with every passing moment, and all that stands between it and our world are the workers trapped in the building.

  Each individual will be pushed to the very precipice of madness as reality distorts and the bizarre beings mount their attack. In the end, survival may not be enough to survive the Aberration...

  More info at Amazon.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Bard Constantine firmly believes he’s living in the wrong age, so he creates timelines he feels more comfortable in. With this novel he introduces Havenworld, a retro-futuristic dystopian age where humanity survived a terrifying Cataclysm using city-sized constructs called Havens. More info on this world and upcoming novels can are on on the official Troubleshooter website as well as his Facebook page. You can also follow him on Twitter.

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  Go to Mick Trubble.