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    Cranes
    Cranes
    Cranes
    Ebook39 pages35 minutes

    Cranes

    By Kyt Dotson

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Something strange is happening in the neighborhood of Tempe and Phoenix and occult investigator Vex Harrow is on the case. Shortly after taking on a VIP transport gig from her dad, mostly the boring job of driving a construction consultant around in her taxi, she discovers that people have been dying at construction sites.
    ...and things are not so ordinary.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKyt Dotson
    Release dateMar 30, 2011
    ISBN9781458128232
    Cranes
    Author

    Kyt Dotson

    I've always disliked introductions—they make me uncomfortable. I'm used to listening, smiling… These always involve too much talking. I could copy and paste something I already have, I'm sure, but I suppose that would be cheating anyone reading. And that wouldn't be fun at all. Should it be posh or vulgar? Crystalline and perfect in reception or scrawled out with the grace of a child with crayons and chalk… I guess that both would fit equally well, but truthfully, I'd rather avoid the clever. So posh it is. So a metaphor came to me, let's try an introduction like mixing a drink. All the elements are there: first a spirit—whiskey, rum; second something for substance—soda, juice; and finally perhaps flavor—ice, mint, cinnamon-snap. So the substance… I live in Michigan during the summer and Arizona during the winter, rather particularly like a snowbird, except that I don't drive. And I don't quite adhere to that schedule either, I just have friends split between those states and I work in Phoenix. I am Irish by heritage but demure by demeanor. I dress in black because of tradition. I expect to die of heart failure, unless my friends somehow find me immortality. So some flavor… My favorite author is Mary Woolstonecraft Shelley, further that I'll oft' refer to her as my adopted mother. I love reading, always have book on my desk, in my pocket, at hand, or simply tucked/tied/wrapped to my notebook and pen. I like Goth Industrial music and Harsh EBM, folk, rock, Celtic. VNV Nation, Covenant, Blutengel, In Strict Confidence, Qntal, and myriad manifold others. And finally the spirit… I am an author—and a glowing one at that; I also write poetry—but nothing worth mentioning. I like street corners and thunderstorms, small furry creatures and libraries, the sound of a thousand feet walking and the smell of morning after a long night. I'll try not to wax poetic. I am a healer, ex-medic; now if only I could keep everyone from breaking themselves. Most importantly: I love people. Too clever, I suppose, but hopefully entertaining naetheless.

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      Book preview

      Cranes - Kyt Dotson

      Mill Avenue Vexations

      Construction Tribute:

      Cranes

      By Kyt Dotson

      Cranes

      Kyt Dotson

      Published by Kyt Dotson at Smashwords

      Copyright © 2008 Kyt Dotson

      Discover other titles by Kyt Dotson at Smashwords.com

      https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/kytdotson

      If it were any other day and any other fare, Vex Harrow would have dismissed the shadow that flickered across her windshield as probably a bird or a plane passing overhead.

      It was another one of those stark blue, cloudless days where the Arizona heat imprisoned her within the cool, air-conditioned confines of her cab while her fare went about his work. This one was a construction contractor who called himself a troubleshooter and cradled a blue hardhat in his lap like a wounded animal. She hadn’t caught his name, only that his construction company had left a sizeable amount with the cab company and she would be seeing quite a bonus for spending her entire day chauffeuring him to various sites around Phoenix.

      His presence in her back seat also brought dark chuckles and half-heard muttering to the voices that tended to plague her thoughts—as if he were the butt of an inside joke and Vex wasn’t in on it.

      The fare turned out to be pretty simple. Mr. Contractor didn’t speak much, if at all; he spent most of his time worrying over his hardhat and tapping away with frantic thumbs at a handheld computer. So far their trek had taken them to two other sites. Both of which were in opposite corners of the Valley of the Sun and every time he clambered back into the cab he let out a long, exasperated sigh. The kind of sigh that made her want to ask him, Wassamatta, honey? and listen to him pour his heart out the way that a great deal of people who cushioned their souls on her back seats did.

      Not this one. He gave Blue Collar stereotypes a run for their money with his no-nonsense outfit, crew cut, and amiable face—or at least, Vex imagined his face would be amiable. Grim determination to troubleshoot whatever he needed shrouded his features. With each leg of the trip the number of words exchanged between them dwindled. When she first picked him up, he offered her a Good day to you, along with the obligatory street address of the first construction site. The second trip he added please. This particular site he directed her with only the crossroads: Rio Salado and Mill.

      Up until now, each trip culminated in Mr. Troubleshooter tucking his hat onto his head, stepping out of the cab into the dust, and stomping off with an ineffable strut that spoke volumes of get-it-done attitude. An attitude, Vex noted, that diminished a little every time he set foot out of the taxi; each time he seemed to move more slowly, with more deliberation—as if with each trip

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