March 30, 2016

I - IA Investigator Ryan Goldwyn - Deleted Scene


Donovan’s brother, Ryan Goldwyn, is a character we don’t get to meet. Before Hurricane Crimes begins he’s murdered by two corrupt cops he was investigating for drug trafficking. In Seismic Crimes, we don’t get to know him as Donovan knew him. He was Donovan’s older brother. He also acted as a father figure for him while he was growing up.

The scenes where he’s mentioned are devastating and heartbreaking because they involve death. Because of that, I’m sharing a deleted scene that takes place before Hurricane Crimes. In this scene, Ryan is alive. It begins the storyline for Hurricane Crimes and how Donovan got pulled into the mess.

DELETED SCENE:

            Donovan walked into his apartment after doing a monster truck show in Orlando. He could still hear the rowdy crowd in his ringing eardrums. Whenever a truck crushed a car or launched into the air, their screams magnified. Donovan had performed a new trick he had been testing out and was satisfied with the outcome when the roar of the crowd reached him over the growl of his truck’s engine. To finish his performance, he performed wheelies right in front of the stands, splattering the onlookers with mud. When he stopped his truck in the middle of the field, he could see people holding up their drinks and fists, blotches of mud on their faces.
            Now all Donovan wanted was to drink a beer, take a shower, and crash. He tugged open the refrigerator and selected a brown bottle. Using his shirt to twist off the cap, he took a deep pull. He was picking up the remote to turn on the TV when his phone rang. With a groan, he walked back into the kitchen and took the cordless.
            “This is Donovan.”
            “Meet me outside.”
            Donovan frowned. “Ryan?”
            “No questions over the phone,” his brother snapped. “Meet me outside.”
            The line went dead.
            Donovan sighed and took another swallow of beer before leaving his apartment. In the parking lot, he paused as he tried to locate Ryan. A flash of headlights caught his attention. His brother’s unmarked car sat several paces away, the lights off.
            “Talk about overkill,” he muttered as he went to it. He opened the passenger door, slid in, and looked at Ryan. Stubble covered his neck and face, and his hair was about an inch too long. Immediately, he sensed something was wrong. Ryan wouldn’t show up late at night, sounding anxious, looking like he hadn’t slept or bathed in days, for no reason. “What’s going on?”
            “Buckle up and don’t say a word,” Ryan said while backing the car out of the parking space.
            Donovan watched his brother from the corner of his eye. His hands were tight on the steering wheel, knuckles white. He flinched whenever a car came up behind them, and he kept inspecting the rearview mirror as if he expected someone to appear in the backseat.
         Donovan didn’t ask any questions. He stayed silent while Ryan drove to the Atlantic Ocean. He turned, heading south toward Cocoa Beach, but instead of going to the Pier, he slipped down a side road with beach access. He parked the car, cut the engine, and got out.
            Donovan followed him across the sand to the crashing waves. His thoughts pinged back and forth in his head. I haven’t seen or talked to Ryan in weeks. He was normal then. What’s happened since? Did he shoot someone while on duty? I haven’t heard anything on the news. Is he in trouble? Donovan’s heart thundered in his ears, and his palms were damp. He hated the anticipation.
            Ryan stopped a foot from the shore and turned his back to the water. “I don’t think we were followed.”
            Donovan couldn’t hold back anymore. “What the hell is going on?” The demand erupted from him before Ryan could make an attempt to say more.
             Ryan stared at him. “My house, your apartment, and my car aren’t safe. I had to bring you out here. Somewhere I could tell you everything.”
            Donovan remained silent, waiting to find out what the “everything” entailed.
            “Several months ago, I was given a case that involved missing drugs from a few departments throughout Orange County. I’ve been looking into many officers –especially two in my department; Viktor Chuman and David Buckland. Whenever they’re involved in drug busts, it seems the drugs, or most of them, go missing. They also spend a lot of time in the evidence locker where we lock up the narcotics used in sting operations. I’ve questioned them and tailed them. Their movements and their contacts are suspicious. I’ve seen Buck with a few big-time drug dealers, but I could never catch him exchanging money with them. After months of investigation, I wasn’t able to uncover any evidence to prove they were doing anything illegal. My boss told me to drop the case, but I wouldn’t.
            “I recently questioned one of the men in charge of evidence. He works the night shift. Something in his mannerisms told me he knew more than he was letting on. I applied pressure until he finally spilled. He said Chewy and Buck paid him off to keep his mouth shut about their dealings. He said they have been pilfering drugs for a year and selling it to drug dealers. I got him to sign a statement, which I promised I wouldn’t use until he was safe and I had more evidence.” Ryan turned his head, looked up and down the beach.
            Donovan looked too. He couldn’t see anyone.
            “Last week, he turned up dead,” Ryan added, his voice low.
            Donovan’s head snapped back to his brother. “They killed him?”
            Ryan nodded. “I don’t have evidence, but it’s obvious they found out he talked to me.” He met Donovan’s eyes. “I’ve been receiving death threats ever since.”
            Donovan’s jaw tightened. “What are you going to do?”
            Ryan reached behind his back. “That’s why I brought you here.” He held out a leather journal. “I need you to take this.”
            “What is it?” Donovan examined the journal.
            “It’s where I write everything I’ve ever heard or saw while on the job. Many detectives do it in case they end up needing the information again. Everything I found out about Chewy and Buck and what they’re doing is in there, including the signed statement, a log of all the threats I’ve received, and a list of other suspicious officers I believe are working with them.”
            Donovan gripped the journal. “What do you want me to do with it?”
            “I need you to hold onto it for me. If you have it, they won’t be able to find it and destroy it.”
            “Can’t you give it to your superior?”
            Ryan shook his head once. “I don’t know who I can trust.” He put his hand on Donovan’s shoulder. “I trust you with my life, Don, so you’re the only one I trust with that. Promise me you’ll hide it until I ask you for it again.”
            Donovan nodded. He would do anything for his brother. “I’ll take care of it.”


If you read all of that I'm giving you a virtual hug right now. :)



QUESTION: If you were Donovan, would you have taken Ryan's journal? Where would you have hidden it?


46 comments:

  1. Awesome scene. I would've taken the journal and hid it under the cat's litter box! Hehehe!

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    1. Smart! Very smart. I know no one wants to go near my cat's litter box. lol

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  2. I did read it to the end. I would have taken Donovan's journal and I think I would have put it in a bank's safety deposit box. People are going to think Donovan might have given it to his brother so I wouldn't keep it in my possession. I would also instruct a lawyer in the event of my demise to turn the journal over to the police and make sure the lawyer had access to the safety deposit box. Great writing!

    betty

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    1. Thank you, Betty! :D Hugs for you!

      Oh, yes. I never thought of that. A Bank's Safety Deposit Box is a good idea. Unless the cops are smart and can find their way to get to it. And good thinking with bringing a lawyer into it.

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  3. Wow, why was this scene cut? Was it cut to make the readers wonder his true intentions when he first meets Beth?
    Thanks for sharing the deleted scene. Was really cool to read.

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    1. It was cut because my editor didn't like that it was written out of the timeline...as in it was added into a scene in the present as a flashback. I did use this scene for Donovan's interrogation. He relays what happens here to the cops questioning him.

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  4. Wrap it in a waterproof bag and bury it in the cat's giant litterbox. Then let the cats use it and don't clean it all the time. That would keep it safe lol

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    1. You're the second person to say the cat's litter box. Haha! Too bad Donovan didn't have a cat!

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  5. I'll take my hug. LOL.

    Yeah, I'd take the journal. I do all sorts of crazy things for my siblings. Though, bad guys looking for it will assume the brother first- is that what got him killed?

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    1. Hug for you! :D

      Yes, unfortunately. They didn't know Ryan gave the journal away. But he was also killed because he knew too much. Even if they had the journal, they still would've eliminated him.

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  6. I also would have taken the journal, this was excellent to read and the picture of the beach looked very much like the beach I only live minutes away.
    Yvonne.

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  7. YES I would have taken it. Where would I hide it...now that is the big question. I would stash it in one of my speakers, right in plain sight. They may throw it around without looking inside.

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    1. Good thinking. Hiding something in plain sight is smart.

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  8. That's a big trust thing. Of course I would've taken the journal.

    Poor Ryan, deleted before he got his chance to shine.

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    1. I know! I feel bad, but you do what your publisher's editor tells you to do.

      Delete
  9. Great scene. love that everyone would have hidden it in the cat box, now it's the first place folks will check. LOL

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  10. Ooooh, this was good Chrys. I'm wondering why it was deleted but I know to keep a story snappy a scene or two might have to go...I learned that from you.

    It makes sense that Donovan would take the journal for his brother because he would probably do anything to help his big bro. Not sure where he should hide it though and of course he'll be putting himself in jeopardy. I can't wait to read Seismic crimes!

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    1. Yes, my editor wanted it cut because it disrupted the timeline. It was a flashback. Now the main parts are told by Donovan in an interrogation.

      Donovan would do anything for his big bro. I'm not sure if I say where he hid it at first since he is now talking to the cops about it, but another part cut shows him putting it in a frying pan at the bottom of the oven's drawer. He doesn't cook, so he thinks that's a good place. It's not there long though...

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  11. Thwarted by the maid's desire to bake his birthday cake, Donovan takes the journal to the only place on earth where he seeks solace, and hides it in the top cubby above a small bookshelf in the Hemingway home/museum.

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    1. LOL! Donovan doesn't have a maid. :P But hiding it someone out of his place would be clever.

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  12. Thanks for the hug, Chrys. And yes, I would've taken it. It sounds like his life was at stake (and I wouldn't know how to say no lol). Where to hide it? Maybe where my maternal grandmother's urn is kept.

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  13. If I told you, I'd need to come up with a new hiding place.

    ;)

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    1. LOL. I thought you'd say "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." :p

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  14. I'm not good at finding hiding places, but I would have taken the journal. It is hard to cut out scenes but sometimes it is necessary to keep the story moving at the right pace.

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    1. It was hard to cut this one but at least I'm able to share it here. :)

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  15. Nice to read this deleted scene! I would have taken the journal.

    I've started reading Seismic Crimes. I'm on chapter 6. It's really good!

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    1. Hearing that relieves me. You're the first to read it now that it's ready to be published.

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  16. If I was Donovan, of course I would have taken the journal. Donovan's a stand up guy. Sorry he's dead. Thanks for sharing this. I have to ask, why did you cut it?

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    1. My editor wanted me to cut it because it was a flashback. She had me retell what happens in this scene in an interrogation instead.

      Delete
  17. Fantastic scene. I would definitely have taken the journal, although I don't know where I'd hide it. There's not much I wouldn't do for my siblings.

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    1. If I had to hide something, I'd put it in a sealed box and bury it under a plant.

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  18. Oh, it's I already! I've missed so much in the past weeks.
    This is nice as always, Chrys.

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    1. Seismic Crimes isn't quite out yet. Soon. April 22nd. :D

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  19. Thanks for the deleted scene. I would have taken the journal but I am awful at finding good hiding places. Or maybe my husband is just really sneaky and finds things.

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    1. HusbandSocial can be sneaky. Though I don't have one. lol

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  20. That was a fascinating read. I couldn't have not read it. Yes, I would have taken the journal from my brother. Where would I have hidden it? Hmmmm. In the freezer compartment of my fridge.

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    1. Thanks, Kalpanaa! I'm glad you enjoyed my deleted scene. I see in movies where the freezer is checked, but maybe you can get creative and put it in anew empty box for something no one likes and therefore won't touch.

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  21. This was a great scene, Chrys. It must have been quite a difficult decision to delete it from your story.

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    1. Thanks, C Lee. I did want to fight my editor on it, but what she had me do instead works better with the flow of the story.

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  22. Ohhh, whats next? Where would Donovan hide it? What will happen to his brother? You got me hooked!

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    1. You can find some of this out in Hurricane Crimes. It's available. And Seismic Crimes will be out very soon. :D

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  23. Hello Chrys, I announced on my blog today that you won the book giveaway I'd blogged about last week. How can the author reach you? Congratulations!

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