Blindsided: Detective Jun

" I don’t understand why he would leave me, his family and friends, if he wasn’t running away from the law. "

I am sharing this excerpt from my new novel, released last week. I hope it will inspire you to purchase it at https://books.by/rick-elkin/blindsided.

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Just as he walks into his office, he is followed in by an older woman and a female officer who will serve as a translator. She introduces Jun to Mrs. Rosalynn Beltran, and notes she is not good at English.

“Please be seated. Thank you for coming here, Mrs. Beltran. I need to find Roberto as soon as possible. Can you help me?”

Mrs. Beltran explains, slowly, so the female officer has time to translate for Jun.

Female officer: “She said, I am sorry to hear about the woman who was kidnapped. It could have been Roberto, I don’t know. But he did tell me he was in very big trouble, just before he left in his truck.”

“Where did he go?”

Female officer: “She said he was going down to Baja. He has friends there. When he left he kissed me goodbye. He never does that.”

Jun: “Why is that important?”

Mrs. Beltran looks at the female officer, then starts to cry. “She said, she thinks it meant he wasn’t coming back.”

Jun looks at the interpreter. “Ask her if Roberto has ever been involved with violence, especially toward women.”

It takes a few moments for Rosalynn to gather herself. She nods, then puts her head down into her hands. Then she starts to speak quickly.

Interpreter: “My son escaped from a Mexican prison two years ago. He was serving a sentence for assault. He came here illegally. He has been living here with a cousin who was just deported last month. They shared an apartment. He was desperate, I guess. He was employed, so I don’t understand why he would leave me, his family and friends, if he wasn’t running away from the law.”

Detective Jun stands up and tells the female officer to see that Mrs. Beltran is seen out. He is sure now that Roberto is his suspect. But he is also certain that if he made his way to Mexico, he will never be back in America again

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