by Diana Orgain | Jun 14, 2021 | Love or Money, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss part one of Chapter Two? From Third Times a Crime Chapter Two Continued… “Some fresh air will do you good, darling,” he said, as they walked out together. Scott looked at me. “Well, I guess we got an hour to kill. What you want to do? Walk around the castle?” “Heck, no,” I pushed the doors open to get us to the outside. “Let’s stay outside for a while, let the crew get rid of the birds on the inside.” He laced his fingers through mine. “That sounds like a great idea.” We walked toward the dead birds that littered the garden area. “Predators will come tonight,” I said. He laughed. “Predators of all kinds.” “Yes,” I agreed. “This show is going to take a toll on me.” “We have a good chance of winning, though,” he said. “Think of that. Your dad can use the money to rebuild the farm and . . .” He hesitated. “What is it?” I asked. We’d been wanting to get the money so we could finally take our vacation together, hopefully get married, but since the accident, Scott hadn’t talked much about our relationship. He shrugged. “Nothing. I . . . Never mind.” Something about his demeanor bothered me. I knew it was tough on him after the mugging in Spain. He’d suffered a head injury and had even been in a coma for a week. Now at times, he couldn’t seem to recall mundane things, but worse there seemed to be a strange vibe between us, something I couldn’t quite put a finger...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 14, 2021 | Love or Money, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From Third Times a Crime Chapter One The raven swept down upon us in a terrifying plunge, talons outstretched, screeching at an ear-shattering pitch. Instinc‐ tively, I jumped out of the way and reached for my gun, only remem‐ bering too late that I hadn’t carried one in eighteen months, since I’d been let go from the San Francisco Police Department. The bird’s massive wings flapped so close to me that the breeze lifted my hair and I fought the urge to strike out at it. Suddenly, the bird arched up and flew to the top point of the castle, perching itself overhead. The woman next to me gasped. “A raven? That’s a bad omen.” Cheryl Dennison, our executive producer, yelled, “Did you all catch that?” “I got it,” one of the cameramen shouted excitedly. “I got a great shot.” “Good,” Cheryl said, a self-satisfied smile playing on her face. “We’ll want to use that in the promos.” “Cheryl probably shipped that bird in from Hollywood,” I said under my breath to the woman next to me. “Just to capture that shot.” The woman, a former FBI profiler, made a face. As if she disap‐ proved of Hollywood histrionics. We were on location at the Golden Castle, said to be haunted and the scene of an unsolved murder. During its heyday, it’d doubled as a reform school. It stood nestled on the hill overlooking the charming old mining town of Golden, California. But the castle was far from charming. It was so large it blotted out the sun and the windows were dark and murky. The exterior bricks...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 13, 2021 | Love or Money, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From A Second Chance at Murder Chapter One The cold snap in the Spanish Pyrenees was a surprise. My sleeping bag had only been rated for forty degrees and it was already thirty, if not lower. I shifted in the bag, hoping to share a little body heat with my boyfriend. The space beside me was empty, so I stretched my arms and reached across the length of his sleeping bag, thinking maybe he’d shimmied over to the side of the tent in his sleep. “Scott?” I murmured. When no answer came, I pried an eye open and scanned the dark tent. “Scott?” I said, bolting upright. My head rubbed against the microfiber of the tent, making my hair stand on end. Where was he? Perhaps nature called. I sighed, shivering as the low temperature caught up with my brain. My back ached, too, and I realized I must have been sleeping directly on a rock. What in the world was I doing tent-camping? How had I gotten myself into this mess? Oh yeah. Becca. After our stint on the breakout show Love or Money, where Scott and I had met, we’d agreed to appear on the reality TV show Expedi‐ tion Improbable. The show was a series of races and competitions. Whichever team came in last in each leg would either be penalized or eliminated. There were five teams of two people. Scott and I were up against an NFL player and his manager, two girls trying to break into the Nashville scene, a mother-son team, and a brother-sister team. How or why I had agreed to be...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 13, 2021 | Love or Money, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? Did you miss part one of Chapter Three? From A Second Chance at Murder Chapter Three Continued… “We’re not celebrities,” I said “Not like that. I mean, he wasn’t kidnapped by the paparazzi or anything,” I said. Sergio made me walk through the events of the previous night one more time. I knew the drill. He was listening for inconsistencies in my story. The walkie-talkie on his shoulder holster beeped, a burst of Spanish firing across the wire. I sprang off the bench. Sergio listened, a grim look on his face. “What is it? Did they find him?” I asked. Sergio frowned as he listened, giving me an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Anxiety clawed at my chest. “What then?” I asked. Sergio stood and walked away from the table, speaking rapidly into the walkie-talkie. My heart raced and I felt like I was about to come out of my skin. Even though I couldn’t understand Sergio’s words, I could tell by the tone of his voice something was desperately wrong. I rushed to the tent and called Becca’s name. She popped her head out. “What’s going on?” she asked. “How good is your Spanish?” She glanced toward Sergio and frowned. She shook her head after a moment. “He’s talking too fast.” I buried my head in my hands, the uncertainty taking a toll. “Damn, he’s hot though, huh?” Becca asked. “I hadn’t noticed” I lied. She snorted. “Please. I know this is a tough time for you Georgia, but anyone with a pulse can see the guy’s...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 13, 2021 | Love or Money, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? From A Second Chance at Murder Chapter Three After searching the woods into the afternoon and coming up empty-handed, Juan Jose, Miguel, and I headed back to base camp to check in with Becca and the others. I prayed that Scott had made it back to camp during our absence. After all, if he’d gotten lost last night, the sensible thing to do would have been to wait for daylight to find his way. Becca was pacing by the picnic table, the other cast and crew members gathered nearby; everyone looked downtrodden. I imme‐ diately knew by the look on Becca’s face that Scott hadn’t returned. When Becca saw me she looked at me hopefully, but surmised quickly that we hadn’t had any luck, either. Becca’s walkie-talkie chirped and she said into it, “What?” She held it away from her ear, glanced at it, then said, “Reception up here is choppy.” I sagged onto the picnic table bench. Victoria and Parker, who were standing close by, distanced themselves. Suddenly the others, who’d been roaming by the campfire, disappeared into their tents, as if my bad luck was catching. Becca patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry honey, we’ll find him. I know we’ll find him.” Then into the walkie-talkie she said, “Our GPS coordinates are forty-two north, uh . . . Oh . . . Yeah . . . The 24camp that’s over . . . okay, okay sure,” she said, hanging up. “They’re here.” I sprang to my feet and we both looked down the trail. A tall woman with...
