Tiny Drop the Needle #1

TITLE: Job Hunted
GENRE: Suspense

When an embezzler under investigation is assassinated before Toni's eyes, she rushes to track the killer. Toni's mission is thwarted when the victim's house explodes, leaving Toni battered but alive.

She shrugged her shoulders out from under the padded straps and winced as the tinkle of glass accompanied the meatier crunch of grinding metal. The laptop, in its lightweight, foam-lined aluminum case booted up without issue. The camera, tripod, audio amplifier, and other items located in the outer compartment were destroyed. She pulled out the twisted body of the spotting scope, careful not to cut herself on the jagged edges, and let out a small groan.

Filling out the loss paperwork was going to be a real bitch.

She reached into her pocket to grab her phone. She didn't know which was worse, telling Mike she'd nearly been killed by an exploding house, or that she'd wrecked almost $10K worth of equipment. The argument became moot when her fingers found nothing but grit and pocket lint.

The cold rush of alarm set her tortured skin tingling. Toni's hands fluttered against her clothes like deranged moths battering a porch lamp as she searched her body for the AWOL device.

Damn it! She pulled herself up the wall for a better view of the area.

Debris littered the sidewalk. Bits of glass, wood, and--wrapped around the nearest car's antenna--singed green carpet blanketed the blast site. Larger items: the television, couch, and refrigerator, were boulders deposited by a retreating glacier in the centre of the street. Most of the detritus was piled against the base of the condominiums. Like snowflakes from hell, millions of glass shards sparkled in the afternoon sun.