That Wednesday in June was by far the worst day of my life.

And I’ve had a few rotten ones. Even as a kid. I never talk about those. I let something slip to Daisy one night, on a beach after too many rum punches. She was curious, I know, but she didn’t push for more. I appreciate that. There’s a lot to love about Daisy and I’m an idiot for not handling our relationship better. It’s complicated. She runs her detective agency in Miami and I have mine in Houston, we’re both busy and too much alike for smooth sailing.

On another especially bad day, I was thrown off a staircase, two stories high. That crash on the concrete slab below was one for the books. On cold days I can feel every pin and screw the doctors used to reassemble my leg. In my line of work, accidents happen. It’s why I never carry a gun. They tend to make mishaps terminal.

Before that fateful Wednesday, I’d only taken one slug.

The day started well. I dug out a promising lead in the April Easton murder case. I’d gotten involved in the investigation because I knew April, however briefly. Steve Robledo, who was fast becoming my best friend at Houston PD, had agreed to let me poke around. Steve has more cases than he can handle. There were benefits in bringing me in.

Things started turning south when Moira, my business partner, called to say we had a situation at the office. For several days, I’d been the target of a vicious smear campaign linking me to April’s death. Now, screaming protesters blocked my door. I knew what shady outfit was behind it and I’d had enough. I was going to find out who paid them for the hit job and put an end to it. A little breaking and entering was in order, nothing heavy. That night was as good as any.

Then Steve called and it got a lot worse. He ordered me to come to police headquarters right away. The trust we’d developed working April’s murder seemed to be slipping away. You see, the week before, I’d gone to see Daisy in Florida on another case, and Houston PD had just received an anonymous call accusing me of the rape and murder of a woman in Tampa. It was obvious I was being framed, likely by the same people slinging mud at me online and in person, at my place of business. Steve urged me to come in. A warrant would be issued soon, something he couldn’t sit on, and I’d have every cop in Houston looking for me. It could get hairy. Some of these guys held grudges. I told Steve I had a job to do and would go to HQ later. He didn’t take it well.

Getting into the offices of the pesky muckrakers wasn’t hard. I found what I was looking for, and a lot more. I was about to get in my truck to drive to police HQ when an eager young cop put me under arrest. I would have preferred to make an entrance without handcuffs, but okay, it wouldn’t kill me.

I was wrong. It almost did.

Love You Till Tuesday, A Declan Shaw Mystery Book 1
Genre: Private Investigator, Traditional, Crime, Detective, Hardboiled, Neo-Noir
Release: August 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

The murder of jazz singer April Easton makes no sense, and yet she appears to have been targeted. Who ordered the hit and why? Steve Robledo, the Houston cop in charge of the investigation, has nothing to work with. Local P.I. Declan Shaw who spent the night with April has little to contribute. He’d just met her and she was asleep when he left. The case seems doomed to remain unsolved, forever open, and quickly erased from the headlines. And it would be if Declan’s accidental connection with the murder didn’t have unexpected consequences. The men responsible for April’s death are worried. Declan is known to be stubborn and resourceful. There is no telling what he’ll find if he starts digging. He must be watched. He might have to be stopped. He’s a risk the killers cannot afford. The stakes are high: a major trial with the death penalty written all over it.

None of it goes as planned. Because people can’t leave well enough alone. Because when given an opportunity to do mischief, some just cannot resist.

Meet the author
M.E. Proctor was born in Brussels and lives in Texas. Her short story collection Family and Other Ailments (Wordwooze Publishing) is available in all the usual places. She’s currently working on a crime series. The first book, Love You Till Tuesday, introducing Houston P.I. Declan Shaw, comes out from Shotgun Honey in 2024. Her stories have appeared in anthologies and magazines like Vautrin, Bristol Noir, Mystery Tribune, Reckon Review, and Black Cat Weekly. She’s a Derringer nominee for short fiction. Website: shawmystery.com – On Substack: meproctor.substack.com.