Noir II (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798284086094)

Noir II is the second in a series of four short stories originally written as scripts for potential television production: Cult, The Red Emperor, The Redhead Rip-Off, and The Incident Report.

CULT

Rita Daveed, an ex Israeli intelligence officer, becomes the business manager and partner of a Hindu mystic, Baba Bhang, who promotes his somewhat corrupted interpretation of the ancient philosophy of Charvaka: a pursuit of pleasure based on the notion that there are no Gods or afterlife.

When Rita and Baba open their American ashram in California wine country, they find themselves in a real estate conflict with the local winery owners and their industrial backers. The locals say they want to control the area's real estate market to maintain the county's wine country image when in fact their real agenda is something far more sinister.

THE RED EMPEROR

In the mould of the Maltese Falcon, The Red Emperor weaves a convoluted tale for the search of who killed Peter Pretty Boy Chen over a seemingly worthless Chinese gift shop souvenir, and why a group of misfit grifters are so interested.

Grist and Dime are at it again, but this time it involves the Chinese triads; a tailor that moonlights as a hit man; an ex French DGSE agent that happens to be Detective Dime's boyfriend; and a kooky group of characters right out of central casting. The question is, who killed Peter Pretty Boy Chen and why, when the prize is only a cheap statute that anyone could pick up at any Chinese souvenir shop?

THE REDHEAD RIP-OFF

Mix a gorgeous redhead with a historic name, an old man who happens to be one of the best forgers of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, and the second son of a triad Dragon Head, and you've got a recipe for big money mayhem.

What could possibly go wrong when an oddball group of grifters attempts to con a Chinese gangster who happens to employ a group of professional confidence artists?

THE INCIDENT REPORT

USAF Major Willard White has a fatal flaw that gets him killed: he tells the truth about an unexplained encounter with an apparent alien presence. Can a disgraced reporter and his beautiful rookie partner get the story out, or will it be buried in Special Report 13?

USAF war hero and test pilot Major Willard White knew better than to file an Incident Report about an unexplained encounter while on a test flight, but what he didn't realize was the report was going to get him killed. After being threatened by his superiors and a shadowy NSA character, White attempts to protect himself by sending the report to a disgraced reporter and his beautiful rookie partner, both looking for a career-making story. Getting the story out is an exercise in maneuvering through a maze of intimidation and dead bodies, resulting in an unconventional solution.