With the release of “Your Turn to Die” the second book in
the Jefferson Chene series, we get the opportunity to meet some new
characters. One of those is Jamie
Richmond, who plays an important role in the story.
Tell us a little
about yourself. I’m a novelist now,
focusing on mysteries. Early thirties, with red hair that helps me stand out in
the crowd. I have a stubborn streak (big
surprise with a redhead, right?) but that’s just part of the real me.
How did your
background get you involved in this novel?
Well, I started out in journalism, working as an investigative reporter
for one of Detroit’s major newspapers. I did that for a long time, sharpening
my skills as a writer and honing my talents at getting to the bottom of a
story. Then I went freelance for a
couple of years, writing features for magazines before getting up the nerve to
focus on a novel. The first one was a hit and things took off from there.
Who came first, you
or the author? (laughs raucously). He likes to think I’m the product of his
imagination. All he does is document my adventures and mischief. (more
laughter). All right, he was here first. Of course, he’s old enough to remember
the band Paul McCarthy was with back in the 70s.
What’s your greatest
strength? And of course, we want to
know the opposite, your greatest weakness. My greatest strength is probably my determination. I’m also
very loyal and have an excellent memory.
As to weakness, I don’t have the greatest track record with romances,
but there’s this guy whose been in the picture for a while. I think he plans on
sticking around.
What is it about this
mystery that sets it apart from the others? Chene’s cases are always complicated. Many people thought
the victim of this homicide was a nice, successful businessman who was a real
philanthropist. While he was generous, Morrissey was also a bit of a slime
ball. Chene and his team have their
hands full trying, with more than a hundred suspects to consider as they try to
find the killer. But each time he turns around, Chene keeps coming up with more
questions than answers.
Tell us something about your background that may or may not be revealed in the book?
Chene and I met about a year ago. He’s an old friend of the
guy I’m involved with, who is also a cop. Chene and his partner actually
rescued me and my best friend. We were in a freezing river, trying to get away
from her kidnapper. Every time I cross
paths with Chene since then, I thank him with a real kiss. I think these
displays of affection rattle him. (laughs again). Which of course is part of
the reason why I like to do it!
Here's a photo of what Jamie may look like.
Are you the type of
person who always seeks out the company of others? I am. While I have a
few real close friends, it’s easy for me to connect with other people. A lot of
that went with the territory when I was working as a reporter. Part of that may also have something to do with
being a redhead!
Which do you prefer,
music or television? Music is part of life. I can’t work in silence, which is
something that author guy and I have in common. I’m a sucker for jazz, big band
music and rock and roll.
Who’s your best friend and what influence have they had on your life? Linda is my best friend. We’ve been like sisters since we were in the first grade. She’s my sounding board, my rock, the one person I’ve always been able to count on, no matter what’s happening in life.
Anything else you’d like to share? Well, not to take anything away from Chene, but this author guy actually wrote several novels based on my own adventures, and a really good short story about a vacation Linda and I took to South Haven. (laughs) So it’s like the old question about which came first, the chicken or the egg? Was it me, or was it Chene?
****
Here's a scene from "Your Turn to Die". Part of the investigation into Kyle Morrissey's homicide has Chene wondering where he originally got the money to start his business. Knowing that Jamie Richmond had interviewed Morrissey previously, he reaches out to her.
It was an
hour before Jamie called back.
“Sorry,
Chene, but I’m adjusted to Malone’s schedule. Neither one of us is functioning
before nine. And even then it requires massive doses of caffeine.”
“No
problem. I wanted to thank you again for your notes on Morrissey.”
“I hope
they were helpful.”
“Indeed.
But that leads me to a question. Do you know how he put together the money to
buy the Shores Madrid?”
Dead
silence followed for so long I thought the connection broke. I was about to
check and see if there was still a signal when Jamie cursed.
“I don’t
know. But that’s something I should have looked into when researching him. Damn
it! How did I miss it?”
“You’re not
the only one. Everything I can find seems to look like he just appeared on the
scene at a city council meeting, with a proposal to buy the property for the
amount of taxes due. Somewhere along the way, the theater had been foreclosed
and the city ended up with it. They must have carried the previous owner’s debt
in the hopes that they’d be able to bring it back.”
“But that doesn’t
explain where he got the money.” There was a flicker of excitement in her
voice. “I never saw anything about investors, silent or otherwise. There was
nothing on the corporate records at the time beyond his wife and a couple of
key people in management. I looked!”
“So you
have any ideas about the money?”
“None.” She
paused, as if weighing the options. “But I can look into it. I still have a lot
of contacts. I’ll pull court records, public information, talk to a few friends
and see what I can learn. This is important, isn’t it?”
“It could
be.” I hesitated, weighing my options. “I can’t ask you to do this, Jamie. I’ll
put one of the detectives on it.”
There was
another pause, followed by a loud, raucous laugh. “Bullshit, Chene. You called
me hoping I’d jump in.”
“No, I
called you to ask about the money, not to draw you into part of an active
police investigation.” I managed to sound sincere.
“You’re
full of shit, Chene. And I’ll let you know when I have some answers.” Jamie was
still laughing as she ended the call.
Some variety on the music scene this week, which was mostly jazz. But this rock and roll standard from Joan Jett popped up twice. Enjoy!
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