First Light
Chapter One: J.W.
I had arranged to meet James Bannerman in the Fireside because it was close to the ferry landing, so he could catch the boat and go home to Connecticut after we talked. I was the only customer when he came in. He was a medium-sized guy in his mid-forties. He had flat, dark eyes and hair, and he looked in shape. He wore white-collar clothes. He glanced around, saw only me and the bartender and Bonzo wiping tables in the corner of the room. He came over to the bar.
"Are you Jackson?"
"My friends call me J.W."
The bartender drifted down while Bannerman and I were shaking hands. Bannerman pointed at my glass of Sam Adams. "Bring a couple more of those to us over in that booth, please." The "please" softened it, but it was clear that Bannerman was used to giving orders.
Bannerman and I went to the booth. He shoved a photograph at me. "That's her. That's my wife, my Katherine."
The photo was of an attractive blonde woman about my age, which made her only a few years younger than Bannerman. I drank from my glass. "Look," I said, "I'm only here because Jason Thornberry asked me to meet you. We've work ... read full excerpt from First Light: The First Ever Brady Coyne / J.W. Jackson Mystery ebook
