Gumshoe Goes to a Quinceanera

By Laura Hawks

GUMSHOE IS ON THE CASE
Mia Thomas’ close friend Tiffany Santos is celebrating her fifteenth birthday with a traditional Spanish/Mexican quinceanera, but murder also plans on attending. As Gumshoe tries to solve the first murder, the bodies keep piling up. Mia and Gumshoe are dragged into a dark world of treachery and corruption. Can the two sleuths find the culprit or will Tiffany’s special day be ruined

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laura Hawks
• Release date: Jan 13, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215823279

Laura Hawks

Ms. Hawks has always been interested in writing in some form or other. A few years back, she was involved with and then ran a Star Trek Interactive Writing Group which was successful for a number of years. Yes, she is a trekker and proud of it.A few years back, she received her Master's Degree in Ancient Civilizations, Native American History and United States History.It was at this time she got involved in role playing on FaceBook, which gave her ample opportunities to grow and hone her writing ability.Living with three males takes up a lot of her free time.. granted they are all cats, but when they are not trying to push her out of bed, they are trying to help her type.She does several personal appearances around the country at Author/Reader conventions. Please check the website to see where she will appear next.

Book preview

Gumshoe

Goes to a

Quinceañera

Laura Hawks

Copyright © 2023 Laura Hawks

All rights reserved.

ISBN:

DEDICATION

As always, my books are dedicated to my mom. Although she has passed away, I think of her every day and know she is with me. I would also like to dedicate this book to my husband, for whom he has been a great assistance to me over the past couple of years. Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to all my fans and friends, especially to Adrian Bass and Nancy Knoell, who constantly encourage me to continue to write. I love all my fans and friends and would be lost without you. Thank you.

Gumshoe

Goes to a Quinceañera

Prologue

The barrel of the gun leveled at his head was about all Alexander could see. The world seemed to stop despite hearing the sounds from the street down below. Alexander couldn’t see anything more than the barrel just moments before the bullet burst forth from the small cylinder head.

As if in slow motion, Alexander saw the bullet careen towards him and the small puff of smoke upon its release from the revolver that once held the deadly capsule. He didn’t realize he was struck, other than to feel the force pushing him back. No pain, no feeling that the bullet made contact, other than he fell to the floor, blood dripping down into his shocked eyes. He’d never thought he’d go out this way or by this means. He always thought it would be in a blaze of glory, with his companions around him, but those were the thoughts he had during the war. He was fighting for a cause then. A reason. Truth. Justice. The American way. For America against the dreaded Nazis or the despicable Japanese, dying among the soldiers he trained and fought with. Not like this. Not alone while doing a gumshoe job in a post-war world.

How these thoughts managed to go through his mind, he had no clue. Then a brief momentary pain registered. The worst headache he’d ever experienced. It felt like his head was going to explode. It was then he realized it had. He’d been shot. His breathing became shallow as a shadow draped over him. His murderer stared down at him, a silhouette wearing a big hat and trench coat. He couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, for the revolver was still in his line of fading sight. A second shot rang out. A loudness he’d experienced many times before, even ones that had been aimed at him, but never this close, never this personal. This time he felt the foreign metal object pierce his skin, the burning sensation as it lodged within his body. He gasped. It was his last intake of air, and as he released it, so did he let go of his very life.

Chapter One

MEOW! Gumshoe twitched in his sleep, his paws and body trembling and quaking as he dreamed the unthinkable. It wasn’t fish or catnip that invaded his dreams but memories so vivid and yet so obscure. He awoke with a start, as did his friend, Amelia Thomas.

Amelia, better known as Mia, rubbed her eyes and reached down to the foot of the bed, finding the furry lump now sitting up and staring at her. More dreams? she asked quietly.

Mew mew, he replied, but although the words were in cat, he knew she understood them, understood him, to say, "More like a nightmare."

Just a couple of weeks ago, Mia turned fifteen and got more than she ever dreamed possible for her birthday. She learned she was a witch, descended from many before her. Her mother, Eve, was part of a coven in their small town of Midland, a community in Illinois. As part of coming into her powers, a familiar would attach themselves to the new witch. In this case it was Gumshoe, the Siamese feline who, in actuality, was a reincarnated private eye from the 1940s.

Gumshoe assisted Mia on her first, and she hoped her last, case of a murder that had happened at her father’s newly opened restaurant, the Forbidden Fruit. In return, she promised to help Gumshoe discover what happened to his human self and his family.

He’d had bits and pieces before he met her, moments when the human part of him that still remained wondered what in creation had given him the chance to be alive again, even if it was as a cat. He assumed there had to be a reason he came back from being killed all those years ago, yet had no idea who he was, what he did, why or how he died. He needed answers, and Mia was willing to help him find them.

After her father had been cleared of all charges, Mia kept her promise. Unfortunately, many of the records were paper documents that were stored in a vault in Bloomington, the main town and sister city of Normal, about thirty-nine minutes away from Midland. Computers only allowed her some access to articles that had been input, such as old newspapers, but the search had produced only a handful of results, at least in the beginning.

It was Mia who learned Gumshoe had been murdered while he was human, that his funeral had been well attended, and his family had eventually gone on with their lives. Or at least, he figured as much, since there wasn’t much information on them after the news reported his death. The investigation had never been closed. The police never found his murderer and could only speculate as to why he was killed in the first place. A money deal gone wrong? A husband who didn’t like him snooping around his affairs? Or something else? Since he’d had several cases open at the time, the police just couldn’t narrow down who wanted him dead enough to murder him.

Since Gumshoe learned of his demise, his dreams played out his death. He had no indication if they were truthful memories or an elaborate illusion. Either way, his nightmares persisted, and so did his desire to learn of his family and why he was killed. Who ended his human life? If he knew the who, he hoped he would discover the why.

Mia? Are you talking to your cat again? Adam Thomas didn’t even knock as he opened the door to check on his eldest daughter. I swear, we need to get him neutered. He won’t be mewing after females in heat if he is taken care of. His blue eyes glanced between Gumshoe and Mia.

Meooow. Mew, mep meow. Instead of the feline sounds Adam heard, Mia heard instead, I will scratch his eyes out if he even tries to have me fixed. What does he think I am? A cat? I mean, a regular cat?

Mia pursed her lips. It may have been slightly funny overall, but from her friend’s point of view, it was not at all amusing. Dad. You promised we didn’t have to get him fixed.

Poppy, he can’t keep waking up the household every time a female in heat walks by. He called her his pet nickname for her, and she knew she wasn’t in too much trouble in keeping Gum safe from being