The intensity of the gunfire increased, as did the sound of the wreckage all around us. I set the bar pretty low when it comes to what constitutes tolerable behavior from my acquaintances. I suppose in comparison to whoever was sitting outside my cabin with a high-powered rifle, my visitor was a pretty decent guy since he didn’t seem to want me dead. Again, I told him I hadn’t, but promised to tell him immediately if I happened to die. For the second time in as many minutes, the other man in the room asked if I’d been shot. Bits of yellow stuffing flew into my face and I wiped at my eyes. And mean people suck.Īnother round flew through the room and punched a hole through the back of the couch, barely missing my skull. But, in all fairness, they were really, really mean people. You killed a man,” he’d proclaimed confidently.
“Let’s talk to the District Attorney and work something out – I can help you,” he’d pleaded. “How do you live with a thing like that?” he’d asked. In fact, he was rather adamant about the whole thing. At least this one simply wanted to arrest me for murder. I’d had a couple who had tried to kill me. As of late, my track record with friends wasn’t so good. How rude.įrom somewhere on the other side of the room, my new friend was asking me if I’d been hit. My head was missing, having been replaced by a bullet hole. The camera had captured the two of us and our dogs in a state of perpetual happiness. It had been taken in the hills of West Virginia, near Harper’s Ferry. The metal frame fell beside me, scattering glass around the area behind the couch where I was attempting to find cover. The bullet shattered the frame and tore through the family photo that had been sitting on the mantle. “Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure – they govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think every effort we can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm.” Hensley’s previous novels are Resolve (set during the Pittsburgh Marathon, recognized by the International Thriller Writers organization and Suspense Magazine as one of the best novels of 2013) and Measure Twice (“A finely crafted story of redemption, Measure Twice will keep your adrenaline pumping.” – Tim Green, bestselling author of The Fourth Perimeter and Exact Revenge).Ĭhalk’s Outline publishes this February, with a Mystery Lovers Bookshop launch party on Saturday, Feburary 20th. Secret Service, and a citizen of Littsburgh. Hensley, a former police officer, a former Special Agent with the U.S. We’re thrilled to be able to share the first chapter of Chalk’s Outline by J.J.
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