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- Herausgeber: Gemma Open Door for Literacy
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Serie: The Two-Wheeled Detective Mysteries
- Sprache: Englisch
Tami is a free spirit. She is a professional temporary employee. No full-time job is going to tie her down. She loves meeting new people, learning new skills, and studying human nature. Her mother said she was nosy, but curiosity is central to Tami's life. She loves peanut butter sandwiches and apples, any kind of music, and the wind through her hair as she zooms around on her trusty red bicycle, Ruby. Her beloved mother gave Tami her first two-wheeler. She has ridden a red bike ever since. Late one night, Tami rides home from work. She and Ruby suddenly hit a huge pothole on the darkened road. The bicycle flies into the hedges. The damage? A lump on the head, a bloody knee, and a broken wheel! Tami is skeptical when a young man appears out of the dark to help her. But she has no way of knowing this is just the beginning of a mystery in the big house rising behind her. Her mishap drops her in the middle of a wealthy, unhappy, ambitious family...and a murder! Tami is on the case. The first of a series, The Two-Wheeled Detective introduces us to a watchful, curious, and tenacious young accidental detective!
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Seitenzahl: 54
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Susan Thompson
The Two-Wheeled Detective
Susan Thompson spent twenty years in the adult literacy field as a teacher, program director, curriculum developer, trainer, and mentor to adult literacy professionals. Susan is a graduate of Hollins University, the New School Certificate Program in adult literacy, and a recipient of the 2011 Literacy Recognition Award from the New York City Literacy Assistance Center. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Susan is a lifelong reader of mystery stories and is delighted to introduce you to Tami Tripper.
First published by Gemma in 2023.
www.gemmamedia.org
©2023 by Susan Thompson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Printed in the United States of America
978-1-956476-21-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.
Cover by Laura Shaw Design
Named after the brightest star in the Northern Crown, Gemma is a nonprofit organization that helps new readers acquire English language literacy skills with relevant, engaging books, eBooks, and audiobooks. Always original, never adapted, these stories introduce adults and young adults to the life-changing power of reading.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Tami Tripper—A professional temporary employee and free spirit.
Julia Jackson—An old woman who owns the estate and controls her family.
Victor Jackson—Julia’s son and manager of the family money.
Olivia Jackson—Victor’s wife, a scientist at a local university.
Nicholas Jackson, called Nick—Julia’s grandson and estate manager.
Eva Jackson—Wife of Oscar Jackson.
Kayla and Edgar Jackson—Eva’s twin teens, Julia’s grandchildren.
Ronnie Brooks and Tory Brooks—Household cleaner and cook, sisters.
DECEASED CHARACTERS
Henry Jackson—Prohibition-era liquor smuggler and William’s father.
William Jackson—Henry’s son and Julia’s husband.
Oscar Jackson—Julia’s son and Eva’s husband.
Timothy Jackson—Julia’s son and Nick’s father.
CHAPTER 1
THE ACCIDENT
“Why does this kind of thing always happen to me?” Tami lay flat on her back and looked up at the night sky.
Tami was biking home from her job when she hit a deep pothole. She flew up into the air and crashed into some bushes.
Her face felt wet. Touching it, Tami’s finger was sticky. “I’m bleeding!” How bad was this spill anyway? She moved her arms. Nothing broken. She tried her legs. They seemed okay. But when Tami tried to stand, her knee was not okay.
Tami crawled out of the bushes. She sat up, feeling dizzy. There was a lump on the back of her head. She must have hit the ground really hard.
“I need some help,” she moaned. She looked for her backpack. It lay on the road, the contents scattered.
She spotted her phone. “Oh no!” It was smashed.
Tami was alone on a country road, and it was very dark. Almost midnight. She dragged herself to her feet. Her knee was swollen. Blood dripped down her leg. Maybe she could still ride her bike. But no. Her bike had a twisted front wheel and a shredded tire.
Standing on one foot in the dark night, Tami knew she was in big trouble.
She burst into tears.
“You appear to be in trouble.” A voice spoke out of the dark.
Tami whipped her head around. Behind her was a man with a flashlight. He shone it slowly over her and then over her bicycle. Tami was immediately on her guard.
“I didn’t hear you behind me,” she said. She was not happy about the situation.
“Sorry. I did not want to frighten you.”
“I’m not frightened,” Tami said, although she was. She was alone on a road late at night. It was dark. She was hurt and weeping. The smart move was to run away. But how could she do that? Her knee was injured. Her bike was busted. Tami was trapped with nowhere to run.
“Can I help you? I live up the road a little way. You could lean on my shoulder and hop. It’s not too far.” The man’s voice was pleasant.
Tami was worried, but what could she do?
“Thank you. Could we bring my bike? I need it to get to work.”
“Sure. Oh, by the way, my name is Nick.”
“Mine is Tami.”
Nick picked up the bike with one hand. Tami grabbed his other arm. They hopped along, stopping for Tami to moan a little from the pain. In this way they finally arrived at a long, dark driveway.
“Will you wait here? I’ll get our golf cart.”
That sounded like a good idea to Tami. Nick returned in a few minutes. He helped Tami get seated and put the bike in the back of the cart. They motored slowly up the driveway.
As they rounded a curve, a huge house loomed in the darkness. “Oh wow,” Tami gasped.
“Yes, it’s quite a big old heap,” laughed Nick. “Won’t you come in? I could clean up your knee and give you a hot drink.”
There was no way Tami was entering a strange man’s house in the middle of the night.
“Thank you, but I just want to get home. Maybe you could call me a taxi.”
Nick seemed disappointed, but he did not argue. The taxi arrived. Nick loaded the bike into the trunk. Tami collapsed into the back seat. “Take me to County Hospital,” she told the driver.
CHAPTER 2
CURIOSITY
Tami felt a lot better. Her knee was healed. She was back at her temp job, which she hated. Tami had thought of Nick during the past two weeks. He was respectful and not at all dangerous. She owed him some thanks for helping her. Tami decided to ride her bike back to the big old house to thank him.
The day was bright and clear. Billowing clouds floated across a blue sky. There is nothing like a beautiful spring day, thought Tami. She pedaled along, humming a tune.
Tami loved to bike. She forgot her worries on her bike. Just me, living a free life, thought Tami. She sailed along, her dark, curly hair blowing in the breeze.
Tami’s friends worried that she did not have a full-time job. But Tami liked variety. She liked stimulation. She liked meeting new people. She liked learning new things. She liked each day to be different. Not the same old thing. That’s boring, thought Tami. I am a free spirit.
