Part One and Two of the Gideon's Case of the Ace of Spades. This novel includes both books 7 and 8 in the Gideon Detective Series
In the stack of envelopes on top of Gideon's desk, one was curiously unlabeled, the same as any random piece of junk. He slid it open nonetheless. All the envelope contained was a simple leaf… dark green with serrated edges, finely divided and lacy. It was almost triangular, broad at the base with the tip tapering to an almost point. No sooner did he lay the envelope down on his desk, his phone rang. It was the Chief of Police requesting his service on another case.
Across town, another event was happening.
Watching her take a sip, it took the assassin every urge not to swat the glass away, but he knew it was the only way to save his life. He stared at the beautiful woman and wondered how long it would take to go into effect. He questioned how much time it would be before she became dizzy and forgot where she was.
Everything seemed to switch into slow motion. For a moment, the killer doubted himself and wondered if, in fact, he poisoned the wrong glass? Guilt began to creep into his gut. It took all his strength to withhold the tears that started to glisten in his eyes. Why?
She began to cough and cough. The wine glass fell to the side, and her body collapsed to the floor. The killer wasted no time. With an ivory-handled dagger, he stuck the Ace of Spades across the point of the blade and pierced her in the chest. He then placed her body inside the largest trunk among the many in the hallway packed earlier for a long journey.
Then, he called on a deaf-mute to carry the trunk to an unknown destination. But, the blundering detectives assigned to the case get all the facts twisted, and the wrong man was accused… or, was it the wrong man?
Vincent James Gideon, the famed detective who went into retirement eight years earlier tried to avoid the case when the Black Rock Cove Police Department requested his services. Events occurred that forced the famed detective out of retirement. Then, he was blamed for the murder of not just the woman, but a reputable pharmacist downtown on Pacific Avenue.
Sidney St. James is a published author, professional genealogist, historian, world traveler, photographer, and distinguished public speaker. Passionate about what he does, his stories will transport you to another time and place.
He began writing his first novel, Adversity - Seeking the Faith, in the spring of 1995. It appeared on bookshelves with very little fanfare. It was the beginning of six novels in his Faith Chronicles Series. He follows a family from Oldenburg, Germany as they travel to Texas in 1845 and face many adversities along the way to establish a new life in a new country. His second in the series was The Rose of Brays Bayou which is a true story written from the memoirs of Dilue Rose Harris of the Runaway Scrape in Texas. His third in the series was Faith - Seventy Times Seven, a true story about the first ordained woman minister in the State of Louisiana and how she found forgiveness every day for twenty years from an abusive and alcoholic husband. Thirty-six more novels follow his first series in Science Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Romance Suspense and Thrillers, and Religion genres.
Speaking of romance, James is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there's a lot of kissing, much to the embarrassment of his two grown daughters. His wife doesn't complain, however. When he's not reading or writing sexy stories, he's probably playing Black Desert Online or Riders of Icarus with his wife or on the Xbox playing Tiger Wood's golf game or downtown Georgetown, Texas playing Pokéeacute;mon.
He also loves to play matchmaker in his paranormal romances and young adult series, transporting readers to a place where the bold heroes have endearing flaws, the women are smarter than they lead on, the land is lush and untamed, and chivalry is alive and well.
He lives near Sun City in Georgetown, Texas with his wife Barbara and a cat named "Fluffy" and he can occasionally be found wearing a tie... and I do mean "occasionally."
As a Best Selling Author, James writes sweet, fun and action-packed detective mystery books with two super exciting detectives, Vincent Gideon, and Bridget Flynn. They both are smart and fearless, but in real life, James is afraid of going upstairs when it's dark behind him.
