Guest Blog Post: Deatri King-Bey talks For Keeps
For
Keeps by Deatri King-Bey
In
my new romantic suspense, For Keeps, Gina Guy’s daughter has witnessed a murder and the
murderer is after the little girl. Child Protective Services is manipulated
into the picture, and Jarvis Martin, a manager within the agency, steps in to
protect the Guys’ rights. From the moment Gina meets Jarvis, she feels she can
depend on him, but life has proven to her that the only person she can count on
is Gina. Will they be able to stop the murderer? Can Jarvis earn her trust and
love?
Heavy topic for a romance, huh? I’m
known for taking nonconventional characters and topics and spinning them into a
romance. I like to create dialogue. The moment I released the For Keeps blurb,
people started asking me where the idea came from. I’ve often said that I have
voices in my head that tell me their stories, then I relay those stories to you
though my books. Basically, I put my psychosis to work.
Events usually wake those voices in
my head and cause them to start speaking to me. The voices from For Keeps came
about as the result of two incidents. A few years back, I noticed more reports
of children being murdered down here (Arizona) by abusive parents on the news.
This was a very noticeable increase. There was actually an event that
correlated to the increase in deaths and abuse. I can’t remember the number,
but there were like 2,500 reported cases of abuse that were never investigated
during that time period. Big time scandal. Lots of people fired over that.
In incident two, I know someone who
was reported to CPS by the hospital she delivered her baby in because there
were narcotics in the baby’s system. Actually, hospitals must report when
babies are born with drugs in their system. That sounds like a good thing,
right?
Well, the hospital neglected to
inform CPS that the mother had been a patient in the hospital and administered
the narcotic by the nurses. The mother didn’t even realize what they were
giving her was a narcotic until after CPS contacted her and told them they’d be
taking her child from her for him testing positive for narcotics. This mother went into a panic. She did
everything her CPS case manager asked for, but CPS didn’t do their part. Then
the case manager’s boss came into the picture and took steps to take this child
away from the mother. It got really ugly.
To make a long story short, the
original case manager came back into the picture and stopped the insanity. Had
it not been for that case manager, this woman’s child would have been taken
from her even though the hospital had supplied the paper work requested by CPS.
Sounds crazy, huh? Yeah, I couldn’t believe what was happening as it unfolded.
These incidents breathed life into
Gina and Jarvis. There are good parents caught up in the system every day.
There are bad parents that children need to be protected from. There are bad
case managers and there are good case managers.
I
don’t know, this seemed like the perfect backdrop for a romantic suspense. Next
thing you know, Gina and Jarvis telling me their story. I hope you enjoy For
Keeps.
Here’s a little sample:
CHAPTER ONE
He squinted at the seven-story condominium complex. She thinks by moving into a secured building
she can protect you from me. His gaze traveled along the building and
settled on the third floor, second unit from the right. Humph, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.
Brenda ran out of the building.
Quickly, he ducked behind a tree. Reveling in a surge of
satisfaction, he returned his focus to the third story window. Soon all of my worries will be over.
Whistling a happy tune, he walked away.
* * *
The
superintendent flipped through his keys, unwilling to select the correct one.
“I assure you, she didn’t leave her child. I would know. There must be a
mistake. Miss Guy is one of my best tenants. Someone made a prank call.”
Arms folded
over her ample chest, Mrs. Clark tapped her foot and waited beside the police
officer. “I hope you’re correct, but someone reported a baby being left alone
for hours, so we must investigate.”
“Benda!” he
heard the voice of a little girl on the opposite side of the door cry. It
sounded like Tiara, Miss Guy’s daughter. “Where you at? I ascared.”
“Hurry.”
Mrs. Clark pressed herself against the door. “Don’t worry, honey. Someone's
here.”
The
superintendent’s fat, fumbly fingers worked the keys double-time to unlock the
door. Something wasn’t right. Miss Guy wouldn’t leave Tiara alone. Maybe Miss
Guy had fainted or was injured. He opened the door.
Mrs. Clark
rushed into the apartment toward the screaming toddler and tumbled over the
edge of the coffee table. Tiara stopped screaming, spun around and ran into a
bedroom.
The officer
helped the social worker stand. “Are you hurt?”
Mrs. Clark
rubbed her shin. “It smarts, but I’ll be fine. Thank you.” She limped into the
bedroom with the others following close behind.
Tiara was
nowhere in sight.
“Come out,
honey,” said the social worker.
Silence.
She pointed
at the twin-sized princess canopy bed. The officer knelt and lifted the
comforter to check under the bed. No little girls.
The small
bedroom only contained one other potential hiding place. The case manager
searched through the closet, but still no child.
Confused,
the superintendent sat on the dresser. It creaked under his weight. “Well, she
couldn’t have disappeared.” A faint groan caught his ear. He nodded toward the
space between the dresser and the wall. “I think we have mice.”
* * *
Fear raced
through Gina’s veins as she dragged Brenda into the back office for privacy.
“What do you mean they took her? Who took her? Calm down and tell me where my
baby is.”
Shaking her
head, Brenda rocked back and forth. “I… I saw the police and panicked. I’m so
sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
She grabbed
Brenda by the shoulders and shook. “If you do not tell me where my baby is this
instant, I swear I’ll kill you.”
* * *
Hollering, Tiara darted for the pile of blocks that sat on the
middle of the toddler table in Observation Room three.
Helen
Clark shook her head as she lowered herself to the couch. “Play with the blocks
like a good girl.”
Jarvis watched the little hellion through the double mirror.
Knowing she hadn’t finished yet, he grinned. Her screams when they’d entered
the office were what had drawn his attention. This child had a serious set of
lungs on her.
Now quiet and calm, Tiara carefully sorted through the blocks.
Jarvis was rarely wrong where children were concerned, but it looked as if he’d
been wrong this time. Tiara had found something more interesting than screaming
her head off. Meticulously, she measured the blocks, then selected the largest
one and threw it at the case manager.
Shocked, he rushed for the door as the block soared through the
air and slammed square into Helen’s nose.
“Leave me ‘lone you mean o’ crow.”
Holding her nose, Helen cursed the child and stormed out as he
entered.
“I hate you, you mean o’ meanie!”
Standing in the doorway, Jarvis remained silent. He’d deal with
Helen for cursing in the presence of a child later. Tiara stopped yelling. Her
eyes traveled from his shoes, along his legs, torso, then she craned her neck
way back to see his face. Over six feet, he knew he was huge to the little
girl. Hands shaking, she held up a block.
Arms folded over his chest, he raised a brow. “If you throw that
at me, I’ll throw it back.”
She swallowed hard, then dropped the block, crossed her arms over
her chest and raised her brow, impersonating his stance. “My mommy gonna get
that mean o’ crow.”
“I’m sure she will.” He stifled a grin. “Let’s clean this mess.”
She stood still, blinking away the tears, fighting the oncoming
cry. “You find my mommy? She doesn’t know where I’m at. She’ll be ascared.”
“She’ll be afraid.” He lowered himself to her level and held his
hand out. “I’ll find your mommy.”
She ran to him, jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I
like you.”
“I like you, too.” Tired of the neglect, he shook his head. He
became a social worker to protect children. To give them the childhood he had
in a loving family. All children deserved to be loved. “What’s your name?” He
released her. Though he already knew her name, he wanted to continue breaking
the ice with her.
She stepped away and curtsied. “Tiawa Wose Guy.”
“Jarvis Neal Martin at your service.” Heart smiling, he placed his
hand on his chest and bowed his head slightly. “You may call me Jarvis.” He
settled on the floor beside her and helped pile the blocks on the Big Bird
toddler table. “Do you know where I can find your mommy?”
Tugging on his arm, she tried to pull him toward the door. “You go
get her? She’s at work. With the pancakes.”
Lifting Tiara, he stood and placed her on his hip. “How old are
you?”
“Twee. Go get Mommy. She’s at the pancake place.” She pointed at
the door. “She doesn’t know I’m here with you. You go get her. I’ll show you.
That mean o’ crow took me. My mommy’s gonna get her.”
He walked to the front desk. “Where’s Helen? I need the file on
Tiara.”
Mary, the office assistant, smiled at Tiara. “This can’t possibly
be the little terror who came in kicking and screaming earlier. Oh no. This
young lady is much too beautiful.” Tiara hid her face in the crook of Jarvis’s
neck and giggled. “She’s in the process of being told off by,” she nodded
toward Tiara, “a certain young lady’s mother. Helen may need to be saved. Room
six.” Mary took Tiara from Jarvis.
Just what he needed, another substandard parent who didn’t give a
darn about her child until the authorities were brought in. He stopped his
train of thought. Just because the overwhelming majority of cases he’d seen of
late had been proven cases of neglect and abuse, didn’t mean this one was also.
Thank
you, for giving me a chance to introduce For Keep. I appreciate it and you.
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