Arts
Visit jimheskett.com/seasonfive for podcast episode show notes. __________ Want the inside scoop on each Layne Parrish novel, including info on how it was created and the inspiration for each story? Check out the video below for the awesome insider info, direct from the author himself! Want to read the first chapter? You're in luck! Cameron Parrish hurtled through space, clinging to the metal chain links of the swing. Her three-year-old body blurred. As Layne waited for her to finish the climb and return in his direction, his ears filled with her frantic giggling. Pure joy streamed from her vocal cords. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d witnessed such flawless, unadulterated exultation. Maybe that was the point of having children; experiencing sensations through the eyes of someone not yet jaded or burned by the world. Layne stood behind her—the primary pusher—and Cameron’s mother, Inessa, was in the front. She would hold up her hands so Cameron could bump her feet against them. Each time it happened, Inessa beamed. Her smile, a mile wide, lit her face. Layne rarely pined for his ex-wife, but it wasn’t hard for him to remember why he’d been attracted to her in the first place. Also, too easy to remember why he’d divorced her. "Okay!" Cameron shouted. "I’m done." When she returned his way, Layne grabbed either side of the swing and slowed her until the thing came to rest in the middle. He lifted her out of the contraption and set her on the playground, a soft area consisting of a sea of recycled tire bits. He held her there a moment to make sure she wasn’t dizzy. "What next, little one?" he asked as he pushed up his shirt sleeves, revealing the tattoos blanketing both of his arms from shoulder to wrist. Her head swiveled around to evaluate the many wonders of this little park in Broomfield, Colorado. Close to where Cameron lived with her mother, some of the time. On this one compact block were the small city’s grade school and high school. As Cameron deliberated, Layne could even hear the classroom bell ringing at the high school at the edge of the park. "Slide," Cam said. "I wanna go slide. A whole buncha times." "Slide it is," Layne said. As he stood back up, he met Inessa’s eyes, and both of their smiles faded. These co-parenting play dates had been his idea, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant to see his ex. Sometimes, he was even still mad at her. Layne had lots of practice in the art of being civil, and he considered himself to be quite skilled at it. "We should talk about something," she said in her abrasive Russian accent. "It’s important." "Can it wait?" Layne said. "I have a thing to—" But before Layne could finish the sentence, a booming noise raced across the park. A crack, loud enough to interrupt his thoughts. The sound peaked and then dissipated with a rolling echo, like thunder. Except it hadn’t been thunder. When it happened the second time, Layne knew for sure. That had been a Kalashnikov AK-12 in a semi-automatic mode. A few more shots ripped across the courtyard. By instinct, Layne pulled Cameron close to him. He knelt, folding his arms around her. As Inessa gasped and covered her head with her hands, Layne’s eyes darted around, searching for the source of the blasts. Within a couple seconds, he’d found their origin. The shots were coming from inside the high school, just beyond the park. Layne studied the grounds adjacent to the school to be sure there were no shooters outside before he released his grip on his daughter. He then spun Cameron around and took a breath before speaking. He didn’t want her to notice the spike in his heart rate. "I need you to go with Mommy." Cameron nodded dumbly as he pushed his daughter back, toward her mother. Inessa stood there, frozen in a state of near panic. Layne took Cameron’s hand and inserted it into Inessa’s hand, pressing it there. He stood up and snapped his fingers in front of Inessa’s face. This broke his ex out of her trance.