A Whiff of Murder, Page 1

I’m ecstatic to have finished the second book in my Issy Castillo LatinX aromatherapy series, titled A Whiff of Murder. And just to give you a whiff of the book, here’s Page 1.

Chapter 1

“Cuando existe unpeligro real, los perros no ladran.”

“Where there’s real danger, the dogs don’t bark.”

— Spanish Proverb

Thursday, 7:10 AM

He slid as silently as a cat across the dew-kissed grass that trembled in the early morning sun. The little droplets shone like so many tiny pearls before he crushed them underfoot. The birds swooping across the treetops greeted the new day with exuberant song. But he couldn’t have cared less about the birds or the beauty of nature.

It had been a frustrating night. The dorms and each and every off-campus apartment were locked up tight as a virgin’s chastity belt. Not even the invitation of an open window in this heat! Just the ACs buzzing like so many bumble bees. You’d think the stupid bitches were afraid of the campus rapist. He let out a mirthless chuckle and reached into his pocket to clasp the small white bottle to satisfy himself that it was still there. He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to use it last night, but he kept it within reach just in case. And the longing, that deep, dark, mind-bending longing that only one action could alleviate, still plagued him like a ferocious itch. He might have to expand his horizons and settle for some anemic white girl.

Hold on! There was something! His perambulations had taken him past a long, low campus building. And in one of the basement windows there was a light showing. Signs of life. Slowly he stepped around to the entrance, and slithered downstairs.

Which door was it? Might as well try them all.