PROMINENT COUPLE SLAIN by William R. Potter

9 to 5 Poet and I just finished preparing our condo for the contractor that will be putting in our new hardwood floor. We decided that we would save a little cash by removing the carpet ourselves. It went quicker than what I had expected leaving me enough time to review the third story in William R. Potter’s story collection, Lighting the Dark Side: Six Modern Tales, that I finished on the bus Friday evening.

“Prominent Couple Slain” is a hard-boiled, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, styled mystery that doesn’t pull any punches. Perhaps, I over exaggerate. What the story does is provide a fast passed who-done-it with old-school line-of-evidence detective work that kept me from paying attention to my bus stop. I missed it by two, thanks a lot.

Jack Staal and Lesley Degarmo are on the scene of a double homicide, a married couple of substantial wealth haven been shot. The gun is at the scene and in one of the victim’s hands. However, with some slick CSI work (that happens off stage), it become obvious that the shooting was done by a third party.

I don’t want to go to much more into detail about the mystery. The trouble with mystery’s is that when you know the answer, reading the story or watching the show, movie, what-have-you, is all that less exciting.

What I will say is that the detectives and detective work are believable as are the criminals. Also, the story seemed too short. I was caught up in the charters and plot and was felt wanting more at the end. I wanted to know that I could tune in next week and watch Staal and Degarmo solve another. Here is hoping that these characters end up in a novel.

Potter, William R. “Prominent Couple Slain.” Lighting the Dark Side: Six Modern Tales. Xlibris, 2008. p. 89 - 113