Murder is Messy: Space Janitor One released July 31

Here's a preview of the first chapter of Murder is Messy, my first Space Janitor Mystery. If you like it, jump on over to Amazon to get the rest! The ebook releases on Tuesday, July 31, 2018.

Chapter One

A telltale flashes on the alert board, bright red against the dim light of the room. I toss the last of my Slami’n’Chēz wrap in the trash and shove a station boot against the desk drawer, scooting my chair across the room. Arriving at the console, I wipe my fingers on my grey station coverall and tap out a command.

“Bot 43H, again,” I mutter. That bot has been a pinhole in my air supply for the last week. It keeps hanging up on Level 72. Diagnostics show nothing, every time, which means I’m going to have to climb into the access and see what’s going on. Probably gum. Those idiot upper-lev women insist on spitting the stuff on the deck; don’t they know it makes them look like dirt-side trash? And it’s impossible for the bots to handle. You’d think after hundreds of years, someone would figure out how to clean up gum, but it still takes a human with a scraper to get the mess off the deck.

This time, the bot is on Level 67, but it still could be gum. Diagnostics show nothing, again, so I fire up the on-bot cam. A fuzzy lump appears on screen. The fuzziness is due to the crap resolution — standard maintenance bot equipment. I stare at the screen and try to sharpen the image. The good news: it’s way too big to be gum.

My stomach cramps suddenly as the Slami’n’Chēz launches an attack on the Tasti-bun I ate for breakfast. I take a deep breath through my nose and force the nausea down. I knew that wrap looked a little dodgy, but it was only two days past its freshness date. Note to self: no more vend-o food.

I pan the camera to the right and barely make it to the trash can before the Tasti-bun surges back out the way it went in — pushing everything else I’ve eaten today ahead of it. After a few minutes of heaving, my stomach settles down to an uncomfortable rumble. I wipe my face on my sleeve, rinse my mouth with a swig from my water bottle, spit in the trash, and do some deep breathing. Another drink and some more deep breathing, then I slowly turn back to the screen where my mind finally comprehends what my stomach instinctively knew: that lump is a very dead body.

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After another trip to the trash can, I stumble into the bathroom. Running cold water over my wrists and splashing more on my face seems to help, so I do that for a while. The body isn't going anywhere, so there’s no rush, right?

By the time my hands are numb, I’m ready to make the report. Back in the Maintenance Control Center, I bring up the in-station comm and tag the Ops Supervisor.

“Ops, al-Rashid-Thompson,” says a familiar voice as my boss, known among the maintenance group as “Rash” although we’d never say that to his face, appears on the screen.

“Maintenance, Moore,” I respond. The required self-identification always seems silly to me: our names are pasted right up there on the screen under the vid, but today the rote exchange is comforting. “Request confidential,” I add.

Surprise crosses Rash’s face, but he leans a little closer to the camera as he taps in the secure call sequence.

“Confidential protocol established,” he says as the purple tell-tale begins flashing on my screen. “What the hell’s up, Triana?”

“I found something, uh….” I swallow hard and then launch into the whole story. I’d swear I can hear heads swivel towards him when he hollers, “Zark!” but with the confidential protocol turned on, I know it’s just my imagination.

“OK, you sit tight,” he says in a low voice. The rest of the Ops Center can’t hear me, but they can hear him. No one’s invented a Cone of Silence, yet. “I’ll notify Security and I’m sure they’ll contact you, soon. Did you record the vid you got from the bot?”

“Of course,” I snap. “It automatically records, and we’re not allowed to turn it off.”

Rash smiles tightly, “I know the rules,” he says. “But I also know you. Make sure you’ve got the vid.”

To get the full book, check out Amazon! If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read for free.

The paperback is also available at Amazon.

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