Tuesday – Finger Point Prompt – “Was He Young or Old?”

~ John W. Howell

It works this way. I open a book at random and point to the page. The word or words closest to my finger becomes the prompt. Today I opened The Last Drive randomly to page 49. My finger was closest to the word ‘was.’ Since it was part of a quote, I decided to use the whole sentence.

Was He Young or Old? by John W. Howell © 2023

“How do I know?”

“Let’s not make this more difficult.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Look, you were the only one there when the store was held up. Surely you can give me that simple description.”

“Sorry, but I didn’t get your name.”

“Detective Simpson.”

“Okay, detective. Have you ever looked down the barrel of a 357 magnum?”

“So that was the kind of gun he was using?”

“The point is, sir, I’m not even sure it was a he let alone old or young.”

“Yeah can be pretty scary. Was the face covered?”

“All I saw was the sight on the front of that gun, and I emptied the register and got on the floor like he said.”

“So it was a male.”

“Now that I think about it, the voice sounded like a male.”

“Young voice or old voice?”

“Youngish, I guess.”

“About your age, do you think?”

“I suppose.”

“Was he a friend of yours?”

“What makes you ask that?”

“The security company just sent me the video feed and you two look pretty friendly.”

“Vido feed? I thought the system was down.”

“Your boss wanted you to think that. He’s suspected you of petty theft for a while. So now it looks like grand larceny. Who is your accomplice?”

“You have the video. You find him.”

“Won’t be hard.”

“Why’s that.”

“Looks like he dropped his driver’s license in all the excitement. According to his address you and he are roommates.”

“I want a lawyer.”

“I think you’re going to need one.”

 

 

61 thoughts on “Tuesday – Finger Point Prompt – “Was He Young or Old?””

  10. Oooh, what a great way to decide on an excerpt. (I always have trouble with that.) And what an amazing one you landed on. I did not see that twist coming when I started to read. Man, I need to bump this book up higher on the teetering TBR pile. (Can eBooks be said to “teeter?”)

    REALLY enjoyed this one, John! And learned a great new trick, too. Thanks! 😀 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I actually did something similar last week (and scheduled it for a post tomorrow) before I wrote that comment. So I worked a bit of that into the post. No writing today, but the kitchen sink is busted again. Third time…

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  20. LOL!!! Haha, and you know what? That isn’t fiction! Police chased a guy into our front yard. He got out of his car and ran to the backyard (over the gate) and then over the wall to escape. He left his wallet behind on the ground . . . . (we were not home)

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