Riley Parra - Season 2!
The second season of Riley Parra has gone LIVE! Sort of. You can buy 2x01, "The Heavenly Host," but the Complete Season is temporarily delayed due to an error on my part (you ever do a lot of things in a rush, and then one of those things is different than the others, and you screw it up? Yeah, that's what I did. ;-D). It'll be fixed very soon, but for now! now available!! You can now buy the stories individually, or pay once and get them all in one convenient bundle. ;-D
Riley Parra Season 2
And as an added bonus, for being on my flist, you all get a bonus sneak preview! A teaser of the first story, "The Heavenly Host" to whet your appetites. Enjoy! And keep your eyes peeled... the link to buy a season pass should be up in no time! :D
The church was smaller than Riley expected; the stone tower was just barely as tall as a two story house. A waist high wooden fence blocked off the golf course green lawn, and the gray stone, steep roof and tall, thin windows gave the building an air of piety, but Riley couldn't shake the image of a friendly mountain cottage as she approached. The open gate was crossed by a thin stripe of crime scene tape and a small stone sign identified it as the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Church.
Riley parked at the curb behind the black medical examiner's van. When she unfastened her seatbelt, she saw Priest was looking at her. "What?"
"First case back from... vacation," she said. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Riley sighed and leaned back in her seat. The tower of the church had wide openings on all four sides to expose an empty space once occupied by a bell. Riley stared at the spot, wondering where the bell had gone while she formulated her answer. Finally, she said, "I'm back. The city is still a shit hole, but it's my shit hole. You guys put me through hell so I could protect it. That's what I'm doing. And I'll do it better without you acting as if I'm going to fall apart every five seconds. Can we go in now?"
Priest said, "I just feel responsible."
"Just because you set me up and abandoned me when I needed you most?" Priest looked stricken, but Riley shook her head. "I'm kidding, Priest. You were just following orders. Come on. Let's go see what horrible thing happened here."
A cop in a damp rain slicker lifted the tape so Riley and Priest could duck underneath. "Detectives," he said as he let the tape fall back into place. Riley saw him looking at the wounds on her neck. They had faded in the two months since her trial, but they were still visible. She resisted the urge to turn up her collar, and pretended to examine the exterior of the church as she waited for the inevitable comment. "Those druggies really did a number on you, huh?"
"Yeah," Riley said. The official story was that Riley had been held hostage and tortured by a meth cook. It was easier than trying to explain that a group of archangels held her hostage and left her at the mercy of a vengeful fallen angel just so they could feel comfortable with her as the city's protector. She fabricated the fake story with Priest's help: she stumbled over a meth lab while she was on her own and was taken hostage by the main cook. He and his buddies held her prisoner for a few hours until Riley managed to escape, accidentally setting off an explosion that destroyed the lab and killed her captors. It was messy, but it did the trick.
Riley cleared her throat and gestured at the building. "Body is in the main sanctuary?"
"Yes, ma'am," the cop said. "Can't miss it. The medical examiner is already inside."
Riley kept her face expressionless at this news; she merely nodded and continued walking toward the doors.
Despite the damp weather, the doors were standing open to the elements. Riley and Priest stepped into a dark foyer, which had three chairs flanking the two doors that led into the main worship hall. Riley looked at the floor and saw scorch marks on the carpet. Priest stepped up to the font of holy water, dipped two fingers in, and crossed herself. She turned to Riley, thought better of suggesting she do the same, and followed Riley into the crime scene.
Rows of pews ran down the walls on either side, split by a wide aisle down the middle to the altar. Stained glass Bible stories colored the wall behind the pulpit, the meager sunlight barely lifting the room's mood above gloomy. Almost directly in the center of the aisle was the body, currently swarmed over by a group in navy blue windbreakers and white rubber gloves. Riley was focused on the lithe redhead kneeling next to the body, neck craned to examine the victim's head.
"Well, how about that?" Riley said. "Crime scenes are fun again."
Gillian looked up, smirked, and said, "It's pretty easy to be the life of this party."
Riley stood well outside of the crime scene unit's work area and examined the scene. The body was laid on its back, arms outstretched and palm up. Blood stained the shoulders of the man's polo shirt and spread away from him in a pool that narrowed as it moved out. His eyes were closed, his lips parted slightly. Riley said, "Alright, Gillian. Remind me why we let you back in."
Gillian said, "We've got a seventy-three year old man, Bernard Wright. Been dead for about three or four hours. Single, lived in the building behind the church. He worked the grounds, made sure the place wasn't vandalized too often. The priest's assistant said they leave the church doors open all night, so he made the rounds to keep kids from acting up. First blush, I'd say he was walking through the sanctuary when someone surprised him, they struggled, and Mr. Wright got overpowered."
"Cause of death?"
"I'm guessing a candlestick in the conservatory," Gillian said, holding up a plastic bag. A candlestick had been lain length-wise inside, one end smeared with blood. "Or close enough. We think the killer got him down onto his knees, then whapped him on the back of the head."
Riley frowned and looked at the blood pool again. "All of this came from a head wound?"
"No, you asked for cause. The head wound didn't bleed. You know what they say; the first hit is always a freebie." She reached down and turned the body so Riley could see his back. The material of the shirt underneath the collar was torn and soaked with blood. "After he was down, the doer pulled out a knife and sliced open his back. Then he smeared the blood out onto the floor."
Riley grimaced and looked at the blood again. Knowing it hadn't been spilled naturally made her realize the pattern. She stepped over the pool, moving next to Gillian so she could see the body right side up. The blood spread out on either side, wider near the body and narrowing near the pews. The ends tapered off into thin rivulets. Riley pressed her lips together and said, "What do you see?"
Gillian glanced at Priest and eyed the rest of her team before answering. "Completely objective? The killer gave his victim bloody angel wings."
Riley Parra Season 2
And as an added bonus, for being on my flist, you all get a bonus sneak preview! A teaser of the first story, "The Heavenly Host" to whet your appetites. Enjoy! And keep your eyes peeled... the link to buy a season pass should be up in no time! :D
The church was smaller than Riley expected; the stone tower was just barely as tall as a two story house. A waist high wooden fence blocked off the golf course green lawn, and the gray stone, steep roof and tall, thin windows gave the building an air of piety, but Riley couldn't shake the image of a friendly mountain cottage as she approached. The open gate was crossed by a thin stripe of crime scene tape and a small stone sign identified it as the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Church.
Riley parked at the curb behind the black medical examiner's van. When she unfastened her seatbelt, she saw Priest was looking at her. "What?"
"First case back from... vacation," she said. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Riley sighed and leaned back in her seat. The tower of the church had wide openings on all four sides to expose an empty space once occupied by a bell. Riley stared at the spot, wondering where the bell had gone while she formulated her answer. Finally, she said, "I'm back. The city is still a shit hole, but it's my shit hole. You guys put me through hell so I could protect it. That's what I'm doing. And I'll do it better without you acting as if I'm going to fall apart every five seconds. Can we go in now?"
Priest said, "I just feel responsible."
"Just because you set me up and abandoned me when I needed you most?" Priest looked stricken, but Riley shook her head. "I'm kidding, Priest. You were just following orders. Come on. Let's go see what horrible thing happened here."
A cop in a damp rain slicker lifted the tape so Riley and Priest could duck underneath. "Detectives," he said as he let the tape fall back into place. Riley saw him looking at the wounds on her neck. They had faded in the two months since her trial, but they were still visible. She resisted the urge to turn up her collar, and pretended to examine the exterior of the church as she waited for the inevitable comment. "Those druggies really did a number on you, huh?"
"Yeah," Riley said. The official story was that Riley had been held hostage and tortured by a meth cook. It was easier than trying to explain that a group of archangels held her hostage and left her at the mercy of a vengeful fallen angel just so they could feel comfortable with her as the city's protector. She fabricated the fake story with Priest's help: she stumbled over a meth lab while she was on her own and was taken hostage by the main cook. He and his buddies held her prisoner for a few hours until Riley managed to escape, accidentally setting off an explosion that destroyed the lab and killed her captors. It was messy, but it did the trick.
Riley cleared her throat and gestured at the building. "Body is in the main sanctuary?"
"Yes, ma'am," the cop said. "Can't miss it. The medical examiner is already inside."
Riley kept her face expressionless at this news; she merely nodded and continued walking toward the doors.
Despite the damp weather, the doors were standing open to the elements. Riley and Priest stepped into a dark foyer, which had three chairs flanking the two doors that led into the main worship hall. Riley looked at the floor and saw scorch marks on the carpet. Priest stepped up to the font of holy water, dipped two fingers in, and crossed herself. She turned to Riley, thought better of suggesting she do the same, and followed Riley into the crime scene.
Rows of pews ran down the walls on either side, split by a wide aisle down the middle to the altar. Stained glass Bible stories colored the wall behind the pulpit, the meager sunlight barely lifting the room's mood above gloomy. Almost directly in the center of the aisle was the body, currently swarmed over by a group in navy blue windbreakers and white rubber gloves. Riley was focused on the lithe redhead kneeling next to the body, neck craned to examine the victim's head.
"Well, how about that?" Riley said. "Crime scenes are fun again."
Gillian looked up, smirked, and said, "It's pretty easy to be the life of this party."
Riley stood well outside of the crime scene unit's work area and examined the scene. The body was laid on its back, arms outstretched and palm up. Blood stained the shoulders of the man's polo shirt and spread away from him in a pool that narrowed as it moved out. His eyes were closed, his lips parted slightly. Riley said, "Alright, Gillian. Remind me why we let you back in."
Gillian said, "We've got a seventy-three year old man, Bernard Wright. Been dead for about three or four hours. Single, lived in the building behind the church. He worked the grounds, made sure the place wasn't vandalized too often. The priest's assistant said they leave the church doors open all night, so he made the rounds to keep kids from acting up. First blush, I'd say he was walking through the sanctuary when someone surprised him, they struggled, and Mr. Wright got overpowered."
"Cause of death?"
"I'm guessing a candlestick in the conservatory," Gillian said, holding up a plastic bag. A candlestick had been lain length-wise inside, one end smeared with blood. "Or close enough. We think the killer got him down onto his knees, then whapped him on the back of the head."
Riley frowned and looked at the blood pool again. "All of this came from a head wound?"
"No, you asked for cause. The head wound didn't bleed. You know what they say; the first hit is always a freebie." She reached down and turned the body so Riley could see his back. The material of the shirt underneath the collar was torn and soaked with blood. "After he was down, the doer pulled out a knife and sliced open his back. Then he smeared the blood out onto the floor."
Riley grimaced and looked at the blood again. Knowing it hadn't been spilled naturally made her realize the pattern. She stepped over the pool, moving next to Gillian so she could see the body right side up. The blood spread out on either side, wider near the body and narrowing near the pews. The ends tapered off into thin rivulets. Riley pressed her lips together and said, "What do you see?"
Gillian glanced at Priest and eyed the rest of her team before answering. "Completely objective? The killer gave his victim bloody angel wings."