Shooting Picasso
by Vanna
Tessier
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
The
9/11 surprise attack on the World Trade Center creates unimaginable chaos and
grief in New York City. Ruthless opportunists try to take advantage of the
ensuing panic, but a promising young reporter known for her no-holds-barred
story-chasing hunts them down and soon finds herself at the heart of a criminal
underworld.
How
deep into that underworld, and her own past, is she willing to go? And more
importantly, will she have the strength to face a drastic life change?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
As Riviera waves him in, she points to the narrow door
leading to the back of the art shop. I notice the man’s birthmark when he
turns. It resembles a wine-colored skull with teeth. I have to stop him.
However, I can’t go past Riviera who allows him to open the door at the rear.
He enters and quickly shuts the door behind him. She walks around the counter
and halts in front of me.
“Have to see what you have for sale again,” I say.
The barrel body of the stout woman rolls on her short legs
as she returns to the counter and wipes the glassy top with a wrinkled towel.
She hisses. “Stubborn, huh!” Her bracelets clink as she
blinks at me. “You thought things over and decided to buy the choker. You love
it. Right?”
I don’t want to back away. I have to let her know I’d never
buy a choker. “I’m thinking about it.”
“You’d like that cameo. It’s lovely. Looks like you.”
“No. It doesn’t.” I can’t stop myself from adding, “I can’t
buy that choker.” I stare at the works of art on display. The drawing of the
little girl with her puppy is not hanging on the wall now. Only a pale blue
stain is left at the place where the drawing used to be.
“Where is the neat sketch showing the little girl and her
puppy on the pier over a lake?”
“How dare you ask me a question in that tone of voice?”
Riviera shakes her finger at me. “You’re nosy and I don’t have to answer. Why
should I? You’re too cheap to buy anything. You belong to the bunch of young
people who are jobless and do nothing except cause problems.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Vanna Tessier
writes about the world we live in today. She believes reason and modern
technology can enrich the quality of life allowing us to face changes affecting
modern society.
Her fiction
is at times broadcast on CBC Radio and her book reviews appear in The Edmonton
Journal and The Edmonton Sun.
Gypsy Drums,
her collection of short stories, was a finalist for the Howard O'Hagan Award.
Another collection of short fiction, Thistle Creek, appeared before her book
Sandweaver. She translated from Italian, The Last Waltz of Chopin, a novel by
Gilberto Finzi.
In 2002,
Peppermint Night won The Poets' Corner Award.
She examines
the challenge of survival within a forever mutating environment influenced by
the onerous demands of our civilization coping with the threat of terrorism.
The author
agrees we could find a refuge within the realm of our imagination leading us to
discover a balance between reality as is and as we would like it to be.
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