The Devil's Mansion
Formerly: 'The Diary' it has evolved into a full length novel filled with action, murder, romance, surprise, and intrigue with lots of twists and turns.
Chapter 1: Alan
Alan Henderson hated his grandfather. But his grandfather, Sir Reginald van der Helsing, wasn’t the only one he had come t ...
Chapter Two: The Birthday Party
“Where is that boy?!” growled Sir Reginald van der Helsing, downing his third glass of port.“Daddy! Don’ ...
Chapter Three: The Visitor
The great cathedral resounded with organ, choir, and sermon. Its scale and splendour had an air of timelessness. Solemnity reine ...
Chapter Four: Aconitum Genus
Inspector Matthew Bigsley stood in the oversized glazed ceramic foyer gazing into the well illuminated living room. Dark hardwoo ...
Chapter Five: Earthquake Prone
The next morning was warm, and the rain overnight began to soak into the air to provide a tinge of uncomfortable humidity. Sunsh ...
Chapter Six: The Gardener
The pebbled stones crackled under their feet as Susan and Matt walked along the drive toward the gardener’s lodgings at th ...
Chapter Seven: Revelations
Susan brusquely exited the room with Alan securely under tow while Matt remained seated somewhat disquieted by what had just hap ...
Chapter Eight: Antonio's Restaurant
Antonio’s was a family-owned Italian restaurant with a well-deserved 4-star rating. The atmosphere, both early European in ...
Chapter Nine: A Hard Day's Night
Two hours had passed since Antonio and Maria continued their circulation of the other tables. Matt glanced around the room. The ...
Chapter Ten: The Funeral
Four days later, Matt attended the funeral of Philip and Claire Finlay. He positioned himself far enough away so as not to be to ...
Chapter Eleven: Not Gon' Cry
Low-level ozone swirled up and whipped thoroughly about before rushing in through the open driver side window of his speeding ve ...
Chapter Twelve: Days of Yore Unnoticed
Matt drove through the open gates and along the tree-lined drive toward the late Sir Reginald’s sprawling chateau. The cha ...
Chapter Thirteen: The Treehouse
The multi-purposed, board and batten cladded treehouse was one-of-a-kind, in the sky, structure. Matt estimated it to be at leas ...
Chapter Fourteen: Up In Smoke
Alan pushed by his mom and Matt and slithered down the rope ladder to join his Aunt Isobella. When his aunt turned and walked aw ...
Chapter Fifteen: A Family Misunderstanding?
The air was pregnant with sirens, scorching heat, and bellowing smoke. Hungry flames ravished the board and batten treehouse and ...
Chapter Sixteen: The Folder
“Do you think the body is that Dale fella?” asked Captain Gupta, holding his hand over his nose to smother the smell ...
Chapter Seventeen: The Cardboard Box
Matt scrambled along the hall to the front staircase and down to the foyer. It took him a few moments to find Sergeant Gupta, wh ...
Chapter Eighteen: Jaguar, Ghost and Revelation
Archibald Hendley’s dead fisheyes stared back at him. His throat had been slit. On the floor beside him was a blood-staine ...
Chapter Nineteen: Out of Nowhere
Matt felt emotionally drained when he drove through the open gates and along the drive to the front of Sir Reginald’s mans ...
Chapter Twenty: There Is No Try
Matt was ahead of Philip Forsythe and William Peterson when he arrived on the second floor. The first door, Alan’s bedroom ...
Chapter Twenty-One: The Birth Certificate
Susan’s demeanor was anything but welcoming as she turned and walked across the room to close the bedroom doors. Matt coul ...
Chapter Twenty-Two: Hunting Mousse
If Susan could have spit bullets at that very moment she would have, and they would have all been aimed at Matt. But the accusat ...
Chapter Twenty-Three: Bought Time
Philip stepped out of the room and into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Scrolling down the list of phone numbers on hi ...
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Architects
Matt had just stepped onto the tiled foyer when his cellphone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was a tex ...
Chapter Twenty-Five: Ordo Templis Orientalis
“Are you familiar with the name Baphomet?” Philip asked Matt, flinging the last of the hanging clothes from the clos ...
Chapter Twenty-Six: 'Bang About Day'
“Follow me with two other constables! I’ll explain later.” Matt’s beleaguered command galvanized Sergean ...
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Code Breaking
Turning off their flashlights so as not to be easy targets, Matt, Sergeant Gupta, and Constable Spencer Sutcliffe slipped throug ...
Chapter Twenty-Eight: 666
The three had formed a cramped circle around the constables. Sergeant Gupta, who had been a medical doctor in India before he an ...
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Into the Jaws
“It worked!” Unable to contain himself, Spencer pumped his fist high into the air and, without thinking, began to st ...
Chapter Thirty: Locus Classicus
Matt opened his eyes and tried to focus. Several minutes passed until his sight regained its clarity. Bound hand and foot, he st ...
Chapter Thirty-One: Mired in a Nightmare
Matt had no idea how long he had been unconscious or how he had got here. The room he was in was where he had started, namely Su ...
Chapter Thirty-Two: Caduceus Revelation
“Glad to see you’re back safe and sound,” Sergeant Gupta said.Matt pushed aside the Sergeant’s penlight. ...
Chapter Thirty-Three: Rumors, Scuttlebutt, and Innuendo
Matt could tell that Bertie wasn’t comfortable about opening-up with Mark Dale still within earshot of their conversation. ...
Chapter Thirty-Four: Spinning Wheel
The words spoken by Captain Gupta vibrated such sour and flat notes that they wrangled away any remnant of internal peace Matt m ...
Chapter Thirty-Five: Questions Unanswered
Deputy Commissioner, Philip Forsythe, sauntered across the room to the location where Matt and Bertie stood, nodded, then turned ...
Chapter Thirty-Six: A Disconcerting Thought
Matt was pleased that Linsdale, a pleasant little town with a population edging fifteen hundred and nestled between two emerald- ...
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Three Muskateers
The pub was what Matt expected. Wall to wall people. He had no idea where Bertie and Bill were located. The booth next to the en ...
Chapter Thirty-Eight: An Unpleasant Arrival
Matt made his way back along the side streets and alleyways to Agnes Street. He had the eery distinct feeling that he was being ...
Thirty-Nine: Spiacente
The cobwebs that filled Matt’s head tried to untangle what had happened but ran interference with the bowling ball alley t ...
Chapter Forty: The Dueling Begins
Matt heard the curtains being drawn across Antonio’s large front window, but most attention grabbing for him was the multi ...
Chapter Forty-One: Going Home
“You’re playing a very dangerous game, Inspector Bigsley,” said the man sitting behind him. “Maybe you d ...
Chapter Forty-Two: An Unexpected Announcement
Night fell into morning. Words wrapped in enigma that still had to be explained were put aside for another more suitable occasio ...
Chapter Forty-Three: The Peelings of an Onion
Matt entered the police station and headed toward the stairwell to the upper offices when he heard his name called out. Still in ...
Chapter Forty-Four: Turning Points
“I’m glad to see you could make it.” Philip’s piercing eyes seared through Matt like a red-hot poker.Ten ...
Chapter Forty-Five: Hard Decisions
Shortly after Judge Jenkins arrived, Bill, Matt, and Bertie were politely requested to wait outside the office. Once the door wa ...
Chapter Forty-Six: An Unexpected Rendezvous
Speechless, Matt continued to gaze at the emptiness on his desktop. If death had seized him and dragged him away at that very mo ...
Chapter Forty-Seven: Missing Pages
“What do you remember about the Bahn-Kart Corporation other than Stoffer and Hendley?” Judge Jenkins asked Matt.&ldq ...
Chapter Forty-Eight: The Expanding Crimson Circle
Matt looked up at the living room window atop the four-storey apartment building where he and Audrey lived. The lights were on, ...
Chapter Forty-Nine: The Valise
Galvanized into action, Matt immediately pulled Audrey to the floor and used his body to shield her. “Don’t move,&rd ...
Chapter Fifty: Matt's Commitment
“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle,” declared Matt, round shouldered, and sittin ...
Chapter Fifty-One: Breakfast at La Cuoco
Bertie and Bill agreed to join Matt for breakfast at the La Cuoco Hotel restaurant. The three had located themselves at a corner ...
Chapter Fifty-Two: When a Door Closes
“Barry R. U. Smart is the forensic specialist who is conducting the investigation into the Bahn-Kart Corporation.”Be ...
Chapter Fifty-Three: Maxim Abakumov
The Grand Emperor Hotel was composed of 105-rooms and constructed from five fully renovated interconnected Victorian era buildin ...
Chapter Fifty-Four: Doctor Irene Hollicott
A very unpleasant bongo beat reverberated off the walls inside his head like a series of explosions making his attempt to stand ...
Chapter Fifty-Five: A Deflection and A Concern
When Bill, Bertie, and Audrey entered his hospital room, Matt was already dressed and was in the process of lacing up his shoes. ...
Chapter Fifty-Six: Nadia Price
Big Jake was not her daddy. How she came to know and believe was through an act of providence. It was a cleansing knowledge that ...
Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Game Is On
Time pushed forward relentlessly! Some officers mingled in small groups while others attempted to work at their desks. But, neve ...
Chapter Fifty-Eight: A Lapse in Judgement
The night stretched endless as time marched sluggishly forward. No word had yet come in from the operations underway, and the po ...
Chapter Fifty-Nine: Hard Decisions, Hornet's Nest, Nadia Price
The night’s inherent complexities weaved together its interconnected events, each contributing to the gestalt that defined ...
Chapter Sixty: Timely Revelations
A half hour later, anxiety and frustration levels heightened, Matt stood outside Conference Room A. He hated not being in contro ...
Chapter Sixty-One: The Jig is Up!
Nadia placed the half-empty 500-ml plastic bottle on the table in front of her. “Thank you.”Matt nodded and sat back ...
Chapter Sixty-Two: Pass Interference
Judge Jenkins escorted her client out of the interview room and slammed the door shut behind her. For several moments, neither B ...
Chapter Sixty-Three: Introspection and Reluctant Commitment
Carefully, Matt, Bill and Sergeant Gupta lifted Constable Jimmy Gleick off the floor and carried him into Matt’s office wh ...
Chapter Sixty-Four: Reflections in the Calm before the Storm
The sunrise was a thin salmon-colored ribbon across the horizon as the morning darkness begrudgingly began to pull back its veil ...
Chapter Sixty-Five: The Assault on Devil's Mansion
The early day’s bright potential had been violated. Low hanging, thick cumulus black clouds pushed their way in to sully t ...
Chapter Sixty-Six: The Nasties and Twists of Life
The road ahead twisted like a series of slithering serpents, head to tail, S-shaped, but sharper in their turns. Sheets of rain ...
Chapter Sixty-Seven: Tribulation at the End of Unexpected Cold Steel
Matt followed Bertie from a short distance behind while he talked on his mobile with Bill. Bertie and he had agreed that the opt ...
Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Circle of Nefarious Characters Almost Complete
Matt’s eyes remained fixed on Audrey. He tried to convey confidence and hope, but they got swallowed up in the dire circum ...
Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Gang's All Here
Matt felt a sudden tightening of Audrey’s grip. The blazing fear in her eyes made him catch his breath. He wanted to reass ...
Chapter Seventy: Two Years Later
Fear had gone now. It had not been overcome or reasoned away. Something substantially more meaningful had taken its place, namel ...
