Under Abnormal Conditions for FREE!

In anticipation of the release of my second book, Mask Of Shadows (coming soon from Astraea Press), you can download the first Michael Drake mystery for free. Available in multiple formats.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/130397

http://www.goodreads.com/ebooks/download/13457200-under-abnormal-conditions

Chapter 1

You can’t save everyone.
Those words rang in my mind as I stared out the window. The rain beat a gentle pattern against the large window in Dr. Franklin’s office. Even though I was very tired from a weekend of little to no sleep, my mind raced as I answered the doctor’s questions.
“How have you been feeling lately, Michael? He asked in his most soothing and therapeutic voice.
“I haven’t been getting much sleep.” I answered as I returned to my chair. “I’ve been getting crank calls all weekend and when I do doze off . . . I dream about her.”
“How do these dreams make you feel?” he asked.
“Like I never want to sleep again.” I answered. This was only my third session with Dr. Franklin and I was still terribly nervous. It was difficult not to be intimidated by the many degrees and awards that hung on the good doctor’s wall.
“Can we talk about what happened that night?” he asked as the scratching of his pencil against his legal pad sounded like the only sound in the world.
I closed my eyes to help focus and answered, “It was a Saturday night and Michelle and I were riding around the campus in my car. We had dinner to celebrate the end of my certification and then went back to my house. I tried to talk her into staying, but she had a test to study for so she left. That’s it. That was the last time I ever saw her.”
“No one knows what happened to her?”
“They found her car a couple of days later. It was late and it was raining. I didn’t want her to go, but she wasn’t worried about it. I don’t know what happened. She probably stopped to try and help somebody. That was the kind of person she was.”
“She sounded like a very special person.”
“She was. After my accident, she made me feel alive again. If it weren’t for her I never would have even tried to be a cop. She really was special. She believed in me.” I paused as I felt tears begin to build in my eyes. “That’s how the dreams are. I would try to keep her from leaving but I never could.”
“How does that make you feel?” he asked.
“Helpless. They needed me and I couldn’t help them.”
“They?” he asked. Before I could clarify my slip, he continued, “Interesting. Well, we only have a few minutes left for this session, so maybe we can tackle that issue next week. How is your return to school going?
“Well, it took a while to get back into the swing of things, but everything is going well. If fact, I’ll be graduating soon.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Finally. It’s been a long time since I’ve had something like this to look forward to. For my final project in my psychology class, my assignment was to do an in-depth character analysis of someone close to me but not related.”
He laughed quietly and said, “I can remember that. Who is your professor?”
“Dr. Alan Pierre.”
“Hmmm, I don’t believe I know him. Is the class going well for you?” he asked.
“It’s going okay. I decided to use Sherry Allen for my project.”
“Do you think that was a good decision? Isn’t she-”
“I know what you are thinking, but I had to do it. She just came back to work and I think that is why I started having the dreams again.”
“So what do you hope to accomplish by using her?”
“Maybe it’s to help me understand the situation more. I really don’t know. We both have to work through it so she was as good a person as any. You know, when my life finally calms down, I may even sit down and write a book.”
“Autobiographical?” he asked.
“No, the story I write will have a happy ending.”

Chapter 2

As I drove from the doctor’s office, I wondered whether or not I should have told him about the phone calls. I figured maybe it would make me look paranoid, even though it was a big part of why I wasn’t sleeping. In a way I was thankful. Nothing could have been worse than the dreams.
Nothing.
For the past two years my life had been a nightmare. Everything started with the accident. I was on my way to an All-American season at Southern State University when it happened. I was driving back home to visit my grandfather whose body was being destroyed by cancer.
We had just beaten North Arkansas State for homecoming. I had my best game of the year and the team had planned on going out to celebrate. I hadn’t even finished drying myself off when Coach Jackson told me I had an emergency phone call. I was dripping wet and standing in a puddle in the coach’s office waiting for the call to be transferred. A million different things ran through my mind as I waited.
Was Ester okay?
Was it the baby?
When I heard the distress in Ester’s voice, I knew exactly what it was. The doctors only gave my grandfather a few hours to live. I dressed quickly and headed straight home.
I didn’t get on the road until after ten o’clock. Normally the drive would only take about thirty minutes but I had to take Highway 190 because of work being done on Interstate 12. The air was cool and the night was bright. I remember praying he would make it through Christmas. That is all I remembered of my drive that night.
From what the police said, a drunk driver crossed the middle lane and hit my car. I was thrown from the wreck and slammed against a tree. My leg snapped like a weak sapling, but the driver of the other car ended up with barely a scratch.
While I was in the hospital recovering, my grandfather passed away. As close as we were I couldn’t be there for him when he needed me most. That was something I would have to live with for the rest of my life, and yet another reason I couldn’t sleep.
Another reason I didn’t want to sleep.