Nano 2015 #3

When the alarm went off this morning, I could not make myself get out of bed. See the roofing crew started work yesterday, yeah! But they mistakenly covered the exhaust vent for our heating system and during the night it stopped working. No! It was so cold. So Cold. So I went back to sleep for an hour and a half. Oops.

Anyway the roofers were at my house all day. I totally expected it to be noisy but what I didn’t expect was a heard of elephants performing river dance on my roof all day.

Thank god for write in. At the library tonight. Me and one ML all by our lonesome.

Words Written: 1828

Time: There three hours but…S and I have a tendency to TALK a lot when we write together and not always about our books. So I’m going to say 90 minutes of real writing.

Total Words: 5471

Projected Completion Date: November 28 🙂

Excerpt: Warning this is…well…bloody unpleasant.

With the bowl in one arm and a whisk in the other I began working the eggs. From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of something out the window. A dark shape in what should have been the solid blue of the pool cover. I stepped closer to the window. The pool cover was an odd shape. I set down the bowl of egg whites and left the kitchen heading for the doors at the back of the building. The pool cover was partly off the pool. That was odd. The pool had been closed for the season a month ago. I flipped the catch on the French doors and stepped through to the patio. The acrid scent of burning meat immediately hit my nose. My head turned to the bbq of it’s own accord. I could see heat rising off the cover. Did someone come out here to bbq and go for a swim, at the end of October? The pool would be substantially colder than it was in the summer months. I shook my head to dispel the thoughts. I was wool gathering. I simply needed to walk over to the BBQ and turn it off, maybe open the lid to vent the smoke? Then I could see what I needed to do to re-secure the pool cover. My feet didn’t want to move though. I swallowed hard peering at the pool. Then I realized there was something in the pool. My feet began running as my brain finally clicked over that I was seeing a person. At the edge of the pool I knelt down leaning forward to reach for the man. Then I saw the blood and scooted back just as quickly. Fumbling in my pocket I pulled my cell phone out and dialed 911.

“Emergency Services.”
“I need help at the Mountain Spring Country Club outside Braidmeyer just off the 12.”
“What problem are you experiencing?”
“There’s a man in the pool, I think he’s dead.” My voice cracked despite my effort to remain calm.
“I am dispatching help immediately. Can you pull him out of the water without endangering yourself?”
“I think so.” Looking around I caught sight of the pool hook and rushed to grab it from the wall. I stuck my cell phone in my pocket and grabbed the hook with both hands. At the edge of the pool I tentatively reached the hook end forward and tried to slide it around an arm. It took a few tries before I managed it and slowly pulled the man to the edge. I was going to have to touch him now. There was no other way to get him out of the pool. His arm was cold and a little slippery from the water. I put one hand in the crook of his elbow and wrapped the other around his wrist. Trying not to think about what I was touching, I pulled. His shoulder came up out of the water easily but his head hit the lip of the pool with a crack. If I wasn’t sure he was dead before, there was no doubt about it now. I had to stand up and adjust my angle to get his chest up and onto the deck. His belly got stuck as his legs continued to dangle in the pool. I let go and paused for a moment. Maybe if I could turn him over I could get the rest of him up and out. I took a deep breathe and almost choked. I needed to turn off the BBQ first. Bleh. I turned the dials and opened the lid. A stream of putrid smelling smoke escaped. As it cleared I caught sight of one small sausage on the grill. One sausage? Who would bother to to BBQ one sausage?

Character Profile: Tess

Our leading lady. Tess has an interesting past. She currently supports herself working as a personal chef in the community surrounding the Mountain Spring County Club. She also resides in said community. Finding a dead body in the pool, definitely tops her list of reasons to move.