The Shard Chronicles: Recent Episodes
James Ward
A small upstate New York town full of oddballs, shysters, and a mobster or two is the setting for a murder mystery trilogy featuring Lt. Thomas Shard and Sgts. Knut Johnsen, and Sharon Periwinkle of the Leyden Sheriff's Department detective squad. While Shard putters around in his 1954 Morgan roadster and Johnsen, the "Norseman," incessantly retells bits of Icelandic sagas learned at his grandfather's knee, tech-saavy Periwinkle labors to bring the whole operation into the digital age. Together, the detectives meld local culture and 1,000 year old Icelandic stories to bring killers to justice.
Shard's gut feeling pans out. Debra's visits to the police station have not gone unnoticed and Rita and Ade decide it's time to eliminate what they see as a clear and present danger to their plans. They grab Debra and the hapless Deputy Polk and head into the backcountry battling the worst snow storm of the year. Shard and his team follow navigating the treacherous roads. Amid the blowing snow and gun fire an unlikely pair of heroes comes to the rescue, delivering Shard his witness-- safe, warm and ready to talk.
Shard admits he is in a muddle. He is sure he's found Harkeness's killer and was tantalizingly close to getting a confession when Debra lawyered up. Now she's back in his office and telling a new story, involving a mystery assailant, an abduction and her skiing out in the night to the rescue. Fact or fiction? Shard doesn't know but can't shake the gut feeling, just by bringing Debra in for questioning, he's put her in danger. He tells his team to be ready.
In Episode 12 Shard sifts through the evidence "trying to put Debra in the picture for Harkness's murder." His gut instinct tells him she is guilty. Once he finds out Debra is an accomplished skier, he is sure he is one the right track. But he just can't figure out how she did it. He goes back for a closer look.
Shard, is trying to make sense of recent events. He is beginning to think the murder, shooting spree and tire slashings are all somehow connected. Maybe like in the saga Freydis and Thorvard Johnsen told at the dinner party, two women--some pairing of Rita, Gloria or Debra--are behind it all. Then again maybe Harold, like Gunnar Half and Half from another saga, is willing to commit murder for gain.
Shard was looking forward to breakfast with Ellen, when Neil called with the unwelcome news that multiple reports of slashed car tires had come in. Shard was more than ready to let the third shift handle the investigations until he learns who owns the cars. All belong to people who one way or another could influence the sale of the mill. Harkness's murder, the shooting spree--was this latest another move to scare Northern into selling? General Paper is in town along with armed security, ready to make an offer and people are nervous.
It's Shard's unfortunate duty to bring the Kaiser up to date on the case. He now suspects a woman is behind the recent shootings and they are tied to the murder of Harkness. While the Kaiser fumes about the optics of the recent Leyden crime wave in light of the upcoming election, Shard pulls Harold in for an interview. He learns more about Harold's tropical trysts than he cares to know, but comes away with two facts. Rita never met Harold's father and she knows a lot about the mill and the paper industry. Shard decides it's time to meet Rita, the former secret service agent turned private eye and seductress, and heads for Gerald's for a game of pool.
After a little on the job training, Shard's men manage to set up a roadblock to catch the fleeing shooter. Hapless Harold? Shard visits Debra again for some answers and soon realizes she hasn't been telling them the whole truth. And help with the case comes from a strange quarter. Charbeneau, eager to deflect some of the recent police interest in his "activities", suggests maybe an out of town shooter--possibly a woman--killed Harkness.
Bullets are flying again on the quiet the streets of Leyden and the Kaiser is not pleased. It's only ninety days to the election. This time the shooter is targeting empty cars. But all the owners are in some way tied to the mill. Shard and his team are sorting through their suspect list keying in on Robyn Herring, a former secret service agent trained to shoot to kill, now in the personal security business. She has been spotted at Gerald's shoot eight ball in the back and is "packing heat."
In episode 6, Shard with the help of his team starts to piece together the evidence from the previous night's shootings. They learn the shooter used a 22, wore size ten boots and shot from the woods which doesn't do much to narrow the field of suspects. It is one of those endless Nordic tales Johnsen tells at Shard's impromptu dinner party that night, the story of Freydis and Thorvard, that gets Shard thinking. Is it possible they are looking for a wronged woman, like Freydis in the saga, bent on getting her revenge and her way ? He still plans on questioning Charbeneau. Unpaid gambling debts and hired muscle are hard to discount.
New Year's Eve and Shard is on the case. Was it possible Harkness was killed because of unpaid gambling debts? He turns to his old friend Witry for help. It's well known Harkness liked to gamble and was notoriously bad at it. Shard is mildly worried that his plans for New Year's Eve night with Ellen and Alice might fall flat. He has a table at Schuyler's and it's Polka night. Shard's evening ends as someone goes on a shooting rampage in the early hours of the new year.
Shard has no shortage of persons of interest in this case. It seems to him everyone in town wants to see Harkness dead--his soon to be ex wife, Harold his deadbeat son, not to mention Charbeneau who runs the town's floating poker game. And to complicate things, they are all lying. Following the money, Shard goes to see Harkness' attorney. Who would benefit the most by his death? In between working his case, Shard tries to find a last minute reservation for New Year's Eve. Periwinkle teases Ellen would really enjoy a Patel hot dog on the sidewalk.
Shard, baffled by the one set of tire tracks leading to the murder scene, sends the Norseman out to investigate with the help of Skibinski, the reclusive woodsman--which ends in a blur of booze and hail of bullets. Johnsen, once he recovers from his back-country adventure, tests out his claim he is "good with mistresses," a claim Shard hopes pertains to his sleuthing skills. Shard's love life perks up. He snares a New Year's date.
The hunt for Harkness ' murderer begins in earnest. The investigative team soon discovers Harkness, the town's leading citizen, has financial and women problems. Shard is troubled by the single set of tire tracks leading to the garage where the body was found. He sends Johnsen to search the area with mountain man Skibinski.
We are starting a new book today, Death in the Garage. In this third volume of the Shard Chronicles, the town's most prominent citizen and the area's largest employer is found dead in a garage in a north country summer camp. The only tracks in the snow is one set of tire tracks leading to the garage. Shard must find the murderer.
In episode 14 Shard figures out who is behind the assassination attempts on him and why the two Rochester women were murdered. He and Johnsen arrive just in time to save Hope. He then calls Ellen
In episode 13 Shard turns to the Norse sagas for help in solving the Leyden murders. He plugs his suspects into Jarl Hacon’s troubled relationship with his son. He considers the problems with nest holders, and man’s relationship to reality to pin down his murderers.
In episode 12 Hope propositions Shard. O’Reilly saves him. Uncle Joe is angry and Bone comes to his rescue.
Hope is his Hope? Shard wonders if Brad is Bradley. Is every woman in the case an adulteress? Shard confesses and suggests that the three deputies talk to Hope.
In this episode an assassin attacks Shard. The Kaiser is determined to take Shard’s badge, since he still is a person of interest. Abraham Lincoln intervenes. Shard convinces to the Kaiser to assign him as a “consultant” to his sergeants.
In episode 9, the murder investigation appears to have stalled. Periwinkle and Johnson do finally meet the elusive Tim Winter, a man who is a devotee of Ayn Rand and has added new meaning to living off the grid. He does little to clear up the confusion surrounding the murders, but offers some less than helpful advice--read Ayn Rand. Behind the scenes, Uncle Joe is dealing with the hit gone wrong and floats some ideas for cleaning up the mess.
In episode 8 a murdered woman, Ellen, is discovered in a cop’s bed in Rochester. Pressman looks more and more like the elusive Winter to Periwinkle and Johnson. The mobsters know Shard is on their tail and plot retribution.
Mario Sardelli calls Tiny and Shard visits Uncle Joe. Winter is a chemist? Hacon creeps into the case and the Kaiser threatens to fire Shard
Ostensibly on vacation, Shard confronts Alphonse Spinello at Albany’s Little Italy. Booze, sex, and fear convulse others. The Sergeants find Winter…maybe.
"The Poppesh Murder" is a true whodunit. Not even the author of this unfinished manuscript knows who killed John Poppe. He is asking you to finish this mystery and find the killer. If you have ever had an urge to be a mystery writer here is your chance. Listen to the episode for contest details. Click to download the manuscript or type the following url into your browser: https://tinyurl.com/poppeshmurder and send your outline or summary to shardchronicles@gmail.com
The Kaiser, ever aware of public sentiment in an election year, removes Shard from the case . Shard demoted to DUI and jaywalking duty is humiliated, He watches in frustration as Periwinkle and Johnson take over the investigation of Denise's murder.
The noose tightens. The local newspaper questions Shard’s connections with Denise. Tim Winter appears and the Albany mobsters are perplexed.
Damning information about Denise emerges. Shard struggles to explain why his photo is in her house, his unfiltered Camel butts in her ashtray, and her cat, Tom, is named after him.
Shard has a history with the dead Denise. The Kaiser and others suspect Shard knows more than he is telling about her.
We are beginning a new book today. Welcome to Volume II of "The Shard Chronicles" ! In "Suspicion of Murder" the tables are turned as Lt. Shard is suspected of murder. His investigation to clear his name leads him into a a morass of mobsters, booze, sex, fear, and retribution. Hope you enjoy the ride.
Episode 1: Albany mobsters angry at Shard, Rochester mistress angry at her lover, Utica mistress angry at her lover, and Shard discovers a dead woman sitting in his beloved Morgan.
In episode 12, Shard confronts Leyden's most prominent Native American and threatens the Albany mob. On O'Reilly's tip, Shard finds Witry hiding on Tug Hill. He promises to protect him from the Albany mob. The "Kaiser" mystery, however. Remains unsolved.
In episode 11, the Indian/Arab mystery deepens. The Kaiser bests Tiny in a sumo match-up. Shard proposes his 4 point solution to his Boss and Witry mysteriously disappears.
In episode 10, -MIsty's corpse makes everything more complex when her injuries remind Shard of Landry's. Shard and Periwinkle call on Brodir of Man to help corner Witry and his client, Robert E. Lee. The Kaiser moves.
In episode 9, inspired by the Norse sagas, Shard starts to draw the two cases together. Luke and the nursing mother recognize Tiny in a photo. The pursuit is on.
In episode 8, Brodir of Man's death in 1014 opens Shard's eyes. Albany's Alphonse Spinello ties the ULC to Landry. Johnsen and Periwinkle have dinner together.
In Episode 7, Johnsen learns about Landry's debt and Hopalong Cassidy's heroism. The Kaiser passes along vital gossip just before someone murders Misty of the Perky Parlour. Periwinkle finds the ULC land company is tied to an oddball collection of mobsters.
In episode 6, Shard's date and the riot. The nursing mother and a Native American provide clues to Landry's death. Johnsen inadvertently provokes female fisticuffs in the Perky Parlour.
In episode 5 Johnson interviews the "piece of fluff" and proclaims she has changed his life forever. Periwinkle bribes Luke and Dizzy to obtain a key piece of evidence. Two women show up for Shard's dinner date with one of them.
In episode 4 Shard interviews his least favorite attorney about Robert E. Lee's land purchases. He also examines Landry's will, talks to the victim's spiteful ex-wife, and hears about a "piece of fluff", news that excites Johnsen.
The Kaiser hands Shard another case that quickly involves him with the Mohawks, land deals, and Robert E. Lee. Shard looks for Stonewall Jackson.
In Episode 2 Shard discovers the dead man is a stranger wearing intriguing shoes. Shard also hears of another body in his jurisdiction and hopes it is not a Native American.
In Epidsode 1, the witness to the murder is clueless and his dog is not talking. Later, Doc Fox, the coroner, promises Shard the victim is "damned dead."