Calvin Watters from Dead Man's Hand

From NFL rising-star prospect to wanted fugitive, Calvin Watters is a sadistic African-American Las Vegas debt-collector framed by a murderer who, like the Vegas Police, finds him to be the perfect fall-guy.
 
Good evening. This is Nighthawk, your avian of the hour. With me tonight is Calvin Watters.

<Sigh> This takes me back.

I take it you're no stranger to the studio.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but four years ago you media people were lined up for a piece of Calvin Watters, the next “Big Thing”. The rich had welcomed me into their group with open arms. But now I’m just an outsider looking in—just another thug to them. I might look like only a bill collector to you, but at one time I knew how to act with the arrogance of the very rich.

My keen senses perceive a certain amount of  bitterness on your part. What led to your fall from grace, or at least graceful living? 

I’ll tell you what happened: Calvin Watters, an unstoppable force both on and off the football field, was brought down by his own foolish pride.

You've been quoted in the media that your career suffered for other people's mistakes. 

It wasn't the quarterback's fault for missing the audible or the fullback's fault for missing the key block. It was mine, my selfish act, and it had taken me a long time to understand and accept responsibility for it.

You started to move forward then.

I was on my way back until Sanders appeared. Once he framed me for murder, and the body count mounted, Rachel and I were on the run for our lives.

The police are usually pretty savvy about set ups. What convinced them you were the best suspect?


Do I have to spell it out?

I’m the best at what I do. When my clients look at me, they see only one thing—professionally trained brutality. I’m tailor-made as a violent killer and African-American at that.

It had to be more than racial profiling.

My prints were all over that office. I had opened the doors, used the phone and searched the papers on Grant's desk. It was the prefect frame. I am an African-American former football star who can be shown to have gone bad. Even if I had rock solid proof of innocence, with all respect, things would not go well for me in a court. This isn't OJ all over again.

You have a hard road ahead.

My internal strength will never diminish.

Last night, for the first time in four years, I was able to go to sleep without pain. Everything I went through, from evading the cops, beating a hired killer, and proving my innocence, I know I will persevere and never quit again.

No offense, but I saw you limping into the studio.

After the way I pushed my body, my knee has a lot of new injuries, but I plan to start physical therapy in a week and resume my gruelling, daily exercise regimen in small doses.

You want to return to professional football?

<Laugh> I want to be "Superman" again.

You can learn more about Calvin in Luke Murphy's Dead Man's Hand, published by Imajin Books. Best of all, it's...

FREE OCTOBER 29 & 30

Jake from Incendiary

Chelsea James, captain of the Biggin Hill First Aid Squad, has had ten years to mend a broken heart and forget about the man who'd left her hurt and bewildered. Ten years to get her life on track. But fate has other plans.

Fire Inspector Jake Campbell, back in town after a decade, investigates a string of arsons, only to discover they are connected to the same arsons he'd been accused of long ago. Now his past has come back to haunt him, and Chelsea is part of that past.


My friends, we have Jake Campbell here in the studio. It's taken a bit of wheedling to get him beyond "No comment." Let's see if he's ready to talk.

You've been accused of arson, Jake. Why? 

Because there was evidence at the scene that would implicate me. Someone planted it.

Who?

I assume the arsonist.

D'uh. Any idea who that is?

As an investigator, I can see how the evidence points to me, but I'm innocent. I don't know who's guilty.

But you must have some ideas.

<Silence.>


Okay, tell us about Chelsea. I take it you guys have a history?

We were lovers when I used to live in Biggin Hill.

And?

I left when I was first accused of arson. I'm guessing she didn't take it too well. I can't blame her. I didn't really ever say goodbye.

That's not a good way to keep a girl's interest, that's for sure. It certainly would make me squawk. Is anyone helping your investigation or hindering you, for that matter?

Both. Chelsea is helping me. She always thought I was innocent. Guess I didn't realize earlier on how important that was. And yes, the arsonist is putting roadblocks up so that I can't figure out who that is.

Good luck with clearing your name Jake... and clearing up things with Chelsea.

Want to find out what Jake doesn't know yet? Pick up Chris Redding's Incendiary, published by Imajin Books.

Lowmar Dashiel from Inquisitor Royal

It's always a challenge when we have other-worldly visitors to the studio. Tonight we have Lowmar Dashiel, Personal Inquisitor. From what I understand, this is job is similar to being a private eye except in Andruan, our guest's hometown, lowlifes include demons.

Lowmar, I know this is all strange and new, but could you just stay seated and...

I have to say, if you’re trying to intimidate me with sorcery, you need to aim a little higher.  I mean, I’ve incurred the wrath of more than one first grade sorcerer and looked a blood demon in the eye.  So a few flickering lights and disembodied voices aren’t going to impress me much.  By the way, what’s this thing you’ve asked me to speak into?

It's called a microphone and it's technology, not sorcery. Also, believe it or not, I'm not trying to intimidate you - just interview you for the enlightenment of our audience. After all, you're not just any Personal Inquisitor, you're the Royal Inquisitor, right?

Damned Commander Boxen!  He was the one who persuaded the King to get me to look into Carnen’s murder.

And Carnen is?

He was the Sorcerer Supreme.

Look, I’m a personal inquisitor.  Divorce, blackmail, the odd missing person - that’s what I do.  Not murder investigations, and certainly not one where the Sorcerer Supreme has been killed by magic.  But the King wanted someone with no axe to grind, and Boxen thought I fitted the bill.

I got lucky that time, and the King was impressed enough to put me on a sort of retainer.  My associate, Grishen, thought it was hilarious, and dubbed me ‘Inquisitor Royal’.  He was laughing the other side of his dwarfish face a year or so later, when we stood with Boxen in a house in Andruan’s Dwarf Quarter, looking at the mutilated body of a maniac’s latest victim.  And then, when those assassination attempts on the royals started, the King looked to me to solve that one as well.

But now you have more prestige, more klout, that must make things better.

Things didn’t exactly get better when someone took a shot at me.  The trouble was, it might have been someone connected with one of the King’s cases, trying to keep me from the truth, but I’m not what you’d call devoid of enemies either.  By the way, the King didn’t seem to appreciate the difficulties of juggling two major inquisitions whilst keeping my less auspicious clients happy and trying to stay alive.


How difficult can your King make things for you if he's not pleased?

Grishen is convinced it will be our heads if we ever fail the King, but I’m more optimistic.  Maybe it would just be a spell in a rat-infested dungeon.

When I was talking to Grishen earlier, he suggested you have women problems on top of everything else. He mentioned a sorceress named Zarna, for instance.

Just because Zarna was the prime suspect in the Carnen case, some people seem to think my motives were more about saving her than about pleasing the King, or even the little matter of averting a new sorcerers’ war.  What man in his right mind would get involved with a sorceress of the first grade?  Especially one destined to be Sorceress Supreme?

Besides, I’m with Jode now.  Nice and uncomplicated.  Well, apart from her being a trained bounty hunter who was on the trail of her husband’s killer when we met.  She’s far too handy with a crossbow for me to dare look twice at Zarna, or any other woman.

What's next for you?

Well, I’ve still got my head attached, and I’ve avoided that rat-infested dungeon so far, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the King called upon my services again some day.  Meanwhile, I’ve now got Jode, as well as Grishen, to work cases with me, so long may the people of Andruan be unpleasant to each other and need my services.  When it comes to the personal inquisitor business, I’m still the first and the best

I suppose one of the lessons I’ve learned along the way is something my father used to be fond of saying.  He said you should never look back.  He and I didn’t agree on much, but he was right about that.  Although there’s a minstrel coming to town who I last saw a decade or so ago. Maybe I’ll take Jode and Grishen. It couldn’t do any harm, could it?

Why do I think those are famous last words?

Find out more about Lowmar Dashiel, Personal Inquisitor in Inquisitor Royal by Dave Sivers, available in Kindle at Amazon.com and Amazon.uk