Written by Erica Rose Jackson A few weeks ago, I took Magic City Murders out to some of the locations mentioned in the novella. I picked four of my favorites and now I'll share them with y'all. Enjoy some fun photos and a few excerpts from my story set in Birmingham, AL! Red Cat Coffee After an hour at the crime scene, Riker and Arika made their way to Red Cat, a local coffee shop nearby. After they ordered their drinks, they found a table and started reviewing their notes on the crimes committed so far with eachother. Arika started the conversation once their coffees arrived, “So far, I can’t find any commonalities among the crimes allegedly committed by the victims of our killer. It would seem like the only tie between the killings is that these people were found innocent of crimes that our killer believes they are guilty of,” she shared before taking her first, and much needed, sip of her coffee. “Your findings are the same as ours so far,” Riker responded, “We’ve theorized…well, I’ve theorized that this person is either an avid reader of the daily news or they work in the court system in some capacity, which would explain their access to this information. The problem with that theory is that all the victims have been tried in different courthouses making it difficult for one employee to potentially be responsible. The only similarity between the victims, themselves, is that they were all on trial for crimes related to reape,” he explained, letting out a deep sigh as he finished, the tension visible on his face. B&A Warehouse Arika finished her article to update on the vigilante before she got ready for the Christmas Party. She showered and threw on an emerald green gown. It was long in the back and knee-length in the front. The top was adorned with lace while the rest laid smoothly. She loved the v-neck feature along with the slightly open back, making her dress just a little bit suggestive. Riker arrived to pick her up promptly at seven. He drove them downtown to B&A Warehouse for the police force Christmas Party. “You look gorgeous,” Riker complimented as they walked into the event while offering his arm to her. Arika smiled, softly, before she spoke, “You don’t look bad yourself,” she complimented as she took in the sight of him in formal wear. She thought he was handsome before but this look was definitely working for him. “Why thank you,” he replied as he guided her to the bar where he ordered them each a glass of white wine, handing her hers once it was poured. Once they had their drinks, they made their way to a table and took a seat while music blasted through the building mixed with the sounds of people talking and laughing. Good People Brewing Company Once they reached the brewery, Riker and Arika found a table to go over the stacks of paper he’d brought with him. “Do you want something to drink?” he asked before they dove into research mode. Arika looked up at the menu before she replied, “Sure, I’ll take a Muchacho. Thanks,” she added as he walked away to order their drinks while she started on the first file of the many they had to go through. Riker returned with their drinks a few moments later, handing her hers before he took a seat and grabbed the next file down. “I suppose the best way to do this is to take notes of anything in these files that jumps out and then dive deeper into those things after we’ve looked at everything. What do you think?” Arika nodded in agreement, “Yeah, that’s probably the easiest way to tackle all of this. Here’s to finding our serial killer,” she lifted her glass, motioning for them to do cheers. Riker smiled as he lifted his glass and tapped it against hers. Botanical Gardens *Spoiler Alert* Exactly eighteen months after they met, Riker took Arika on a walk at the Botanical Gardens because he knew how much she loved the Japanese Gardens. “What a nice idea for a quiet afternoon together,” she complimented, “Thank you, babe,” she added while offering him a warm smile as they walked with his arm wrapped protectively around her waist, as he always did. He glanced down at her, his lips curling into his infamous smirk (the one she loved the most), “We’ve been working hard lately on multiple cases so I thought we could use a break. We deserved some time for just the two of us,” he explained. She nodded, “Whatever your reasons, I’m grateful for today.” The couple walked quietly until they found themselves in the middle of the red bridge stationed in the back half of the gardens, Arika’s favorite spot. Arika was taken by surprise as Riker got down on one knee before her. “What are you doing?” she asked, her tone filled with shock. He attempted to suppress a chuckle, “Don’t ruin the moment, my love,” he replied before he placed his finger to his lips in a shushing motion so he could continue.
0 Comments
|
Archives
January 2023
|