Probable Cause - Tools Of The Trade

Summary of this Book...


Have you ever wished you could decide the best way to right a serious wrong done to you? Chief Inspector Corbett (Core) Mandeville was the best of the best in solving the worst crimes in his state…until now. He and a killer have an uncanny affinity, with more than one attitude in common. This crime is too close to Core’s own heart and experience for comfort. This killer has a reason for his crime, and Core understands it completely. Get into the mind of the killer and the cop. Find a link that makes for exciting, lethal and profound act of vengeful justice. You will be tantalized and amazed by how similar they both can be when all their actions are
based on a new set of core values.



I especially liked...



This book is a ride that takes you deep into a plot that has no limits! I found the mind of the killer very well revealed and as much as I tried not to understand his cruel plot, it somehow seemed rational. That was concerning to me. But then there was the detective, Core. He was smart and clever and not far removed from the killer himself. The ending is amazing and I loved this book! I hope this author will write more books just as good as this one!



The author of this Book...



Steven worked a number of years in various countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has been to 34 countries and has worked extensively with Kurdish refugees from Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Steven also established a school by correspondence for African students in the African countries of The Gambia and Senegal West Africa. He is the founder of a Cultural Center for refugees in France, where he lived for six years. Speaking fluently in French and in Turkish, Steven has been in 34 countries.



I recommend this Book because...



I recently read Probable Cause. This novel is one of intense desire to take back one's life that was ripped away by infidelity and betrayal. All of us have been hurt in many of the same ways that Steven Clark Bradley describes in his new novel, Probable Cause. This story about two mens' reactions to betrayal, one the killer and the other one the investigator, gets into the mind and puts the reader right at the same level of emotion that the characters have. It forces the reader to really look into their own hearts as they read. This is not just a murder novel. In reality it is a love story, about a love so real and profound that nothing can stand in the way of putting the shattered pieces back together again. Core, the detective, wants to catch the killer, but he too has been wounded and bruised and battered internally by the very same things that Grag Bradford has endured. His affinity with Greg Bradford realy puts the story into some amazing thrilling twists. It is enthralling to watch the acts of vengence and the reaction of a cop as he remembers his own remorse during his time of pain and depression at the loss of his trust in his fellow man and in his woman. If you want to read a story that will bring make vengence seem like justice and a book that is a real page turner, then Probable Cause is the book for you. I give it an A in my report card!



Further Comments...



It will make you think before you commit an act that can totally devastate a person's life. Fidelity is not just a virtue, it is a requirement.




Tools of the Trade

It was all under control. There had been a certain amount of improvising, but Greg found that he adapted well. He had come to realize that the thing that caused many a “Perfect Murder” to fail were feelings of guilt and fears. Even Greg was amazed that he now possessed neither. He knew he should be troubled by that, but he felt actually invigorated. He was totally compartmentalized and his eyes remained on the prize. He had already tucked the letter to his beloved Lisa in his pocket and had cleaned up the spots of blood that had fallen on the floor. He had looked at the bed and it was quite soaked with it now, but the jerk had been a thorn in his side ever since he moved in. Greg chuckled when he recalled the look of shock written across his Barney’s face. In Greg’s mind, it was a sight to behold.



“Just ask me if I am powerless now?” Greg asked himself and the snoozing public as he fastened the utility belt across his waist.


It was now 4:30 AM. No one would check on him anymore for the night. As far as the peaceful masses knew, he was sound asleep. He had about 2 hours to get to the security vehicle and get off the grounds. He knew he would have to ditch it as soon as possible and he no longer needed to check out. He had signed his release in blood. Now he just needed to get into the dental services office and grab a few needed tools of the trade. He would have need of them later in the day. Greg found the master key and inserted it into the lock. He turned the knob and walked into the dentist’s office. He knew where it all was. He had built quite a good relationship with Dr. Fisher.



He opened the utility cabinet and took out two tooth pullers. They were rarely used anymore and not at all sterile, but that did not matter tonight. He took what he needed and took up his walk and made his way out the back door and walked over to the security vehicle. He found the key and got in and drove up to the main gate. When he got there the security guard saw Greg in his uniform and simply waved him through. The employee turnover was so great, for all the gate knew, he was simply a new guard and he had all the trappings of security. It was about the time that the last check would have been done and it was nothing less than totally normal. Now all Greg had to do was ditch this vehicle for one far less conspicuous and he knew just where to get one.



By the time that Greg had gotten out of the compound and had gotten a safe distance away from Longcliff, it was already 5:42 AM. Greg had about one hour before Barney’s body would be discovered. Greg drove into Logansport and into an area, which was renowned for covens. He found the house where he had met with Queen Lizza. He drove past it and parked the security van about four blocks away. Before he got out he checked that he had the letter to Lisa and the little bag of tricks he had stolen from the utility room and the Dental Services office, including his old set of teeth and looked for a security pistol that he knew was in the vehicle somewhere. To his surprise, it was in the glove compartment. He checked the clip and it was full of tranquilizer darts. There was now just a twinge of daybreak in the air and the fog was lingering thickly over the bluffs that surrounded the hospital. He had to be very precise in his use of time. Once he got into the house of the female devil he could take his time. Greg began to laugh.



“Stupid old witch, shouldn’t she know that I was coming and that I intended to too…?”



But the house was dark and no one was awake. He knew that she was totally unaware of just how soon she would meet her master! Or, was she?



Greg pulled a small crow bar from his little bag of tricks. He walked around to the side of the house and bent down at one of the basement windows. Greg was thin and was sure he would fit in one of those midget windows. He forced the end of the crowbar and the window popped open. That scared Greg a bit. It was just too easy.



“Maybe her Master is sick of her too?” Greg wondered.



He shined the laser light into the basement and had to clasp his mouth to stop a scream resulting from what he saw in front of his face. Then he saw what it was. It was just a mask, horrifying, nevertheless. He knew that this evil woman had somehow gotten to his head. She needed getting rid of. He pushed it away quietly and slid inside and closed the window. The basement was clean and had lots of satanic paraphernalia. He looked around for a moment and then found the stairs. He was sure that the door at the top of the stairs would be locked but was surprised that it was not. As he opened it he saw that it led directly into the kitchen. He stepped into destiny and pulled out the service revolver. As he walked into the kitchen he saw a light come on in the living room to the right. Greg checked his pulse and it was racing. He knew he had not prepped himself enough for this chapter.



“Mr. Bradford”



Greg turned his head toward the living room and knew that she had been waiting for him. He walked in the room and saw Queen Lizza sitting in her rocking chair and fully dressed.



“So why you want to kill me sir? Have I led you astray up to now?”



Greg now knew now that this woman was the real McCoy.



“You were very calm tonight you know. I was impressed with the determination in your soul, Mr. Bradford”



Greg walked into the living room with the gun pointed out straight in front of him. He saw her and aimed it directly at her.



“How did you know about tonight?”



“Oh, you mean about your Barney, sir?”



Greg stared very intently at her when she used that name. No one could know that he called the old fool by that name.

“HAHA! Can’t get much by me, Mr. Bradford. Now, please put that gun down. It is not needed in this house. We are both about the same business ya know. Did you know I am from Jamaica?”



“You all are, aren’t you?”



“Oh, no, sir that place has far more enemies of the Master than friends. That is why we all come over here. Anyway, we have perfected many things. You put your hand down and I will put mine up.”



Greg dropped his hand to his side with the pistol pointing to the floor. Queen Lizza held her left hand up and she let a set of keys dangle downward in the air.



“Isn’t this what you came for? I even filled the tank for you. Here you go.”



She tossed the keys to Greg’s feet.



“Why are you doing this? I was going to kill you and you knew it.”



“Mr. Bradford, you are a desperate man. Your soul has been ripped out of you and I have been there also, I do not want to die, and why should I when we are so similar in so many ways. I know you do not openly serve the master, but I too am a person and you need to take back what your heart desires. So, do it well Mr. Bradford. I hope you die a very violent death tonight. Tell me about it later, ok?”



Greg bent down and took the keys.



“What if the police question you? You could destroy everything.”



“And why would they? And why would I? Is there anything linking us together? I have given you the car. There is no sign of violence in this house. Before you leave, you better close that window in the basement.”



“I already did.”



“I missed that, hmmm, that is concerning.”



“I hate to tell you this, Miss Devil, but I do not serve your master.”



“What! You do not serve the master? HAHA! Who were you serving very early this morning, Mr. Bradford? Jesus? Oh you serve the master! When you wake up and keep his system afloat, you are serving him. Even the Bible says he is the Prince of the power of the air, Sir, ya know, so never fear, Mr. Bradford, you serve him and he likes what he sees in you, so far. But just keep telling yourself that you are doing it all for yourself. Greed and selfishness are by far the greatest motivating emotions. The master was the first to use them, ya know. So, go forth, Mr. Bradford and do not look back.”



Queen Lizza put her left hand up to her forehead and closed her eyes. Greg thought she was about to put some curse on him and pointed the gun at her. With her eyes still closed she said,

“You better be going, Mr. Bradford and please put the gun down. I have no intension of cursing you. In fact, I have placed a blessing of success over you. Remember? That makes me a cohort, does it not? By the way, the light is coming outside and a certain housekeeper is just about ready to open a certain door, Mr. Bradford, back at the house of my master.”



“What are you talking about?”



Then Greg realized that she was talking about Longcliff. Greg looked at her and thought he should say thank you or something.



“Mr. Bradford, A thank you is not in order here, Sir. It could be interpreted as a sign of weakness. Just go! I hate that car anyway!”



“What you gonna replace it with, a hearse?”



Greg turned and walked to the kitchen and walked out the back door. Destiny was all around him and he headed straight for it. Queen Lizza began to tremble. She knew how close she had come to death and it was not as pretty as she had imagined it would be. Then she heard it.



Back at Longcliff, a housekeeper had just entered into Greg’s room. She saw a sleeping patient there. She decided to quietly gather up the dirty laundry and then she saw it, the blood, the open eyes staring straight up to the ceiling!



“Help! Help! Oh my God! Help!”



You can read lots more from Steven Clark Bradley at these sites. You might even find some Stories That Read You! at:

• Author Steven Clark Bradley
• From The Mind Of Author Steven Clark Bradley
• Inspired Author.Com
• Inspired Author.com (Nikki Leigh's Virtual Book Tour)
• Posts On Fire
• Steven Clark Bradley - ezinearticles.com
• Steven Clark Bradley - Nimrod Rising
• http://communati.com/blog/steven-clark-bradley
• Steven Clark Bradley on Blog Talk Radio
• http://www.xanga.com/StevenClarkBradley
• http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3SMJINWMCARRY
• Steven Clark Bradley's Underground Controversy
• StevenClarkBradley - Book Marketing Network
• StevenClarkBradley - Published Authors

amazon.com
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bordersstores.com
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powells.com
copperfields.com

America - A Tapestry of Loose Ends...

In the midst of all the rhetoric against the Bush Administration, there are still plenty of Americans who see a good man and good leader in George W. Bush. He worked hard to keep his promises to the conservative voters who had placed their trust in him during his now seven years in office. He responded to the terrorist threat and proved he is a man of resolve. He took our plight as tax payers into consideration and lowered our tax burden. He stood up for the family and refused to let America devolve into some perverted society that would have merited fire to fall from the heavens. In short, he did a first rate job in a very dangerous time.


Today, with the talking heads vying for the oath, it is easy to see that much is left to be achieved and many things linger from Bush's failures, and there are more than a few. He failed to adequately push for a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. He was and is an abysmal failure in stemming the tide in the deluge of illegal immigration from our southern border. He did not succeed in ridding the nation of our addiction to Middle East oil, though the democrats and Bush's fellow republicans in congress bear the same burden as he regarding all these failures. Nevertheless, President Bush did sow together many cords that, if kept in tact, will keep America on the path of right choices and policy for a long time to come. Yet, there are many strings still hanging out in this tapestry of the fabric of American history that still need tied up.


Of course, the war in Iraq, which is in far better shape since President Bush ordered the surge, is unfortunately, far from over. The surge seems to have marked a great turning point for that nation, much to the chagrin of the liberal elite who would love to derail the war for the sake of an election in November, 2008. If this surge continues to show success, there will be a good chance of seeing another republican in the White House. This can be very feasible if it remains possible to start pulling our troops out of Iraq during the spring and summer of 2008. Images of returning American GI's will give Americans a sense of pride and a feeling that President Bush had been correct in taking a tyrant out of that nation and that his stubborn resolve is what they want to see in the next president as well. So, this election can be pulled off with good voter turnout and by America viewing its children returning home to a hero's welcome.


Yet, let not the return of our troops be considered as the end-all of a struggle that will not need to be revisited. I suspect that there are about two more wars that may need to be waged before this nation can take a breather. That fact adds tremendous weight to the importance of electing a president who possesses a steel-like determination to protect this nation from current and future threats that hover out on the political, social and religious horizons. With this in mind, it is clear that the greatest threat facing America and any new president will be how to deal with a nuclear-armed Iran. Currently, the only Muslim nation that possesses nuclear arms is the nation of Pakistan. If the world can be set on edge by the current developments inside Pakistan, an American ally, then any president will have to view Iran, bent on building itself a nuclear arsenal, as a potentially very serious threat to The United States and our allies. Iran may not pose a threat to the USA in actually launching one of their missiles at us, but that Islamic Republic could attack an ally, such as Israel, that could lead to World War III. There are also great dangers in the possibility of Iran using its surrogates or sleeper cells to smuggle such arms into our nation. Though there is a strong popular movement inside Iran for change toward democracy, it is clear that no such hope truly exists without outside assistance. At the moment, America is looking to the UN for some help in this regard, which is tantamount to killing cancer with an aspirin. I predict that this event will fester to a boiling point and the need for forces to be deployed will again be called for. Nevertheless, we will have to have a lot more help from the Iranian people than we received from the people of Iraq. Therefore, the next president will not be able to beat Bush's weapons into plowshares, as many predict, though it is unclear if any of the candidates truly realize that.


The other international hot spot in the world is North Korea. Though President Bush has signed an ill-conceived agreement with the president of this poorest of nations, Kim Jung Il has already broken the first major provision of the accord by failing to report how many bombs have been built and to what extent he has proliferated his nuclear technology around the world. North Korea has one of the largest standing armies in the world. Though that nation may not have rice enough with which to feed its people, it does have weapons with which to launch, at the very least, a region-wide war. Kim Jung Il has demonstrated his capacity to fear, though. Right after America took Iraq, The North Korean leader sent word to the Bush Administration that he intended to talk. Yet, talk is cheap and though there has been some progress in North Korea's dismantling of its nuclear program, letting this tyrant slide in his failures to meet his commitments will be costly. Bush has taken too much time to play the talk game. If North Korea fails to live up to its word, which has been proven time and time again to be the ultimate, final conclusion, such talk time will have become exhausted.


If the next president fails to act appropriately to the threats of Iran and North Korea, the world could well be shoved into WW III. This is a sobering reality that should take precedence over any other reason that motivates us in our choice of candidate to lead the nation for at least the next four years. These two nations will have to be dealt with and without delay. Part 2 and part 3 of the Axis of Evil will have to be, not only pacified, but rendered incapable of waging war against its neighbors and drawing in major forces like our own. Failure to do so will mean renewed war that will render the war in Iraq as a mere scuffle in comparison. Therefore, the next president will have no lack of problems in the future with this apparently mentally ill communist dictator who will have no loss of an appetite to flex some muscle that he indeed does have.


On the domestic front, one lose end that needs to tied up into an eternal knot is the danger of allowing gay marriage. It seems apparent that President Bush simply used this issue as a reelection point, since he has done virtually nothing about his own proposal for a constitutional amendment since he began his second term. This is the one point that I am sure will not receive the appropriate attention, by virtue of the political capital that will have to be spent to achieve it. Neither of the two of the two party nominees, from either party, will push hard to preserve the sanctity of the institution of marriage. That does not mean it is not important. In fact, if the American society allows this obtuse action to become the national norm, it will transform the waging of battles abroad for the safety of the nation into something of no value to many of us who hold to social morals that say you can do whatever you wish in private so long as it is not sanctioned and protected by those who lead us publically.


Therefore, we must fight hard for the constitutional amendment that President Bush called for during the 2004 election. It is very clear in the antics displayed by those protesting since Bush's first inauguration that this issue will be bigger than ever for the next president, especially a liberal one. The greatest failure for President Bush is that he placed a greater priority on Social Security savings accounts than following through on the moral issues he so bravely championed in his second presidential campaign. He has failed to look sufficiently at his 2004 election polling data to see that the reason that he is again in office today is because Christians placed their faith in him as a believer and moral leader. We need to insist upon not just giving these issues lip service.


The future does not look too bright for conservatives today. That can become a good thing, also. Often long-term power creates lethargy and apathy. Too much power and far too much pride has lulled conservatives to sleep and made them think that they were unshakable and full of strength. Of course that was a pipe dream. If you do not think so, ask Speaker of the House Pelosi what she thinks. The next president will have about two years to make these things happen, if at all. At the moment, no real conservative seems poised to take President Bush's place in the 2008 election. The closest thing to a conservative presidential hopeful in the Republican Party for 2008 is John McCain. He is right of center, at best, and has an eerie tendency to rely on any side from which he may find support. The great danger is that all of the candidates that the republicans and the democrats have fielded could spell the end of the America as we have know her.


Therefore, those of us who care about the social nature of the nation and the future strength of the sane world need to insist that the next president not crowd out the issues that are of supreme importance to us. Failure to correct the moral wrongs in our country shall cause the nation to incur more attacks and shall nullify any attempt to spare the nation from greater disaster. Men and women do right or wrong by virtue of their characters. It does not matter if the next president is black or white. There are good men and women from every walk of life in this country, regardless of their gender, race, religion or creed. Let us decide to only pay tribute with our vote to the man who has kept faith with America. Yet, never let us sit back and pretend that all is calm in Gotham. These next four years will determine whether America will maintain the stamina and courage to fight the good fight and to tie all loose strings together into one large tapestry that cannot be unraveled. Demand it! Expect it! Scream like crazy until you get it! Nothing less is acceptable!


Steven Clark Bradley lived abroad for over 17 years and has been to 34 countries, including Pakistan, Iraq and Turkey. He has a master's degree in liberal studies from Indiana University. He speaks French and Turkish. He has been an assistant to a Prosecutor, a University Instructor and a freelance Journalist in Ramallah, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Pakistan. Steven is the author of three novels, Nimrod Rising, Probable Cause and Stillborn, available through Borders.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com and almost anywhere on the net.

You can read lots more from Steven Clark Bradley at these sites. You might even find some Stories That Read You! at:

• Author Steven Clark Bradley
• From The Mind Of Author Steven Clark Bradley
• Inspired Author.Com
• Inspired Author.com (Nikki Leigh's Virtual Book Tour)
• Posts On Fire
• Steven Clark Bradley - ezinearticles.com
• Steven Clark Bradley - Nimrod Rising
• Steven Clark Bradley @ Communati.com
• Steven Clark Bradley on Blog Talk Radio
• Steven Clark Bradley' Blog @ xanga.com
• Steven Clark Bradley's Blog @ Amazon .com
• Steven Clark Bradley's Underground Controversy
• StevenClarkBradley - Book Marketing Network
• StevenClarkBradley - Published Authors

All of Steven Clark Bradley's novels are widely available all over the net. Here are a few links to help you read these exciting stories now.


Amazon.com
booksamillion.com
powells.com
bordersstores.com
barnesandnoble.com
copperfields.com