The protagonist of my first novel, Ghost of a Chance, was Oklahoma cowboy detective Buck McDivit.  A mysterious lake in east Texas was the backdrop for the novel that highlighted lost Confederate gold, Indian artifacts, the ghost of a girl, and murder.  I’m presently working on a sequel to Ghost of a Chance, this time with the action occurring in Oklahoma.

The working title of my new book is Panther Stalking and the story involves modern-day cattle rustling, a compound populated by female pagans, and of course, murder.  I’m about twenty thousand words into the novel.

Before starting on Panther Stalking I wrote a Buck McDivit short story to reintroduce myself to a character that I haven’t visited in almost three years.  Prairie Thunder plants McDivit back in his home turf of central Oklahoma.  Moonlighting as an assistant medical examiner, McDivit helps investigate the death of an American Indian artist.  The story leads him to Oklahoma City’s historic Paseo District.

Anyone who read Ghost of a Chance and is interested in reconnecting with Buck McDivit is invited to visit my website http://www.ericwilder.com.  Sign my list and I will email you the short story in PDF format.  Thanks – Eric.

Miss C and I were only an item for six months, or so, but it was a memorable six months.  Miss C had a girlfriend named Miss A and Miss A had a boyfriend straight from hell.  He was a Vietnam vet but unlike me, also a Vietnam vet, Stan (not his real name) was the kind of person that gave all returning Vietnam vets a bad name for many years after the conflict had ended.

Stan had a steel plate in his head and took therapy for his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder every week at the VA Hospital.  Normally, Stan was fine but let's just say that he possessed a hair trigger.  Fortunately, I was never on the receiving ends of one of his tirades but I had seen him in action.  That said, Miss A was no angel herself and also had the temper of a wounded badger.

Stan was a big handsome man with brown wavy hair and expressive eyes.  Miss A was tiny but drop-dead gorgeous.  She also had large natural breasts that any stripper would kill for.  And did I mention that Miss A was the jealous type?  Both Stan and Miss A liked to drink.  In those days liquor by the drink was illegal in Oklahoma but you could buy a drink at most any bar and even walk out the front door with a "roadie glass" filled with as much alcohol as you could afford.

One Saturday, the four of us decided to drive to Cimarron City, a vacation community on the slopes overlooking the Cimarron River, just south of Crescent, Oklahoma.  We went swimming in the communal pool, all the while smoking Oajaxan marijuana.  Before returning to Oklahoma City, Stan stopped the car and chatted with some of the residents of the little community.

"We're having a pig roast down by the river tonight.  Plenty of booze and fun.  Join us if you'd like."

We had no thought of doing any such thing.  At least I thought.

Much later that night, Miss C and I had a call from Miss A.  "Please come get me," she begged.

Miss C was asleep so I pulled my bathing suit back on, and my tee shirt and drove over to her apartment to get her.  What I  found was three Oklahoma City squad cars, all with red lights flashing.  I climbed the stairs to Miss A's apartment and what I found wasn't pretty.  After dropping Miss C and me off at Miss C's house, Stan had dropped Miss A at her apartment and told her he needed cigarettes.  Instead of cigarettes, it was fun on the Cimarron he was after.  When he returned after two in the morning, all hell broke loose.  The two of them proceeded to have an argument from hell, breaking all their furniture, dishes, walls, etc. in the process.

When I arrived at Miss A's, Stan was already handcuffed and on his way to the Oklahoma County Jail.  One of the cops grabbed my tee shirt, lifting it to make sure that I had something on underneath.  Thank goodness I did or I would have spent the night in jail along with Stan.

Miss A slept on Miss C's couch that night and the next morning the three of us had breakfast at Denny's.  Two days later, I was still shaking my head but Stan and Miss A were already cozy again.

That was years ago, another time in my life.  Still, I get a chuckle when I recall it and wonder how I managed to survive.

http://www.ericwilder.com