Title: Retribution
Author: Kristoffer Gair
Series: Falling Awake #4
Genre: M/M Romance, Suspense
Release Date: June 19, 2021
Cover Design: Kris Norris
“Some people are so low, they gotta look up to see Hell.”
The death of Thomas Reis continues to ripple through the lives of those connected to his case fourteen years later. Andrew O’Donnell and Lawrence Boggs have already fallen, but three more pick up where the others left off, and each for his own reason.
One believes in justice, the second loyalty, and the third desperately seeks a reason to live. All three, however, share the same final end game; Retribution.
The hunt begins.
“I’m glad I caught you before you left then. I’m truly sorry.” He bowed his head. “I held your husband in the highest regards.”
“He respected you, too. Can I get you something to drink? I’m afraid I don’t have much. I’ll be leaving in the next day or two, but I think I have some orange juice, and I just made a fresh pot of coffee.”
“No, thank you.”
Norrma led him into the kitchen and sat down at the table, one of the few pieces of furniture left behind until the day she left. Various paperwork lay in little piles on the table, some it from the landlord, and others from the movers, bank, and relatives who’d sent cards.
“Lawrence’s funeral was this past weekend, then I insisted the kids head back to school. I know they wanted to stay with me and help out here, and maybe it was cruel to send them away, but I think staying busy and being around their friends will help them more than being here right now.” She sniffed. “Lawrence would have insisted they get on with their lives as soon as they could. ‘Death,’ he told us many times, ‘is a natural part of things. Living is for the now. Mourning can always be done later.’ He always made sure we knew exactly how he felt. None of us had to guess whether or not he loved us.”
Joe nodded. “His directness is something I appreciated immensely.”
Joe grinned. “I know the type. Law enforcement through and through. Takes one to know one, I guess.”
“That’s what I was thinking.” She peered down at her cup. “Do you know what might have happened to him?”
“Maybe.” Joe leaned in. “I sent somebody down here from Iowa, a young man named Andrew, who was looking for a case file I’d loaned Lawrence. Honestly, I figured things would go one way, and Lawrence would swat the boy on the ass and send him back home. Turns out the kid had a way about him, and I think they started working together. This tells me Lawrence was already working on a case and they somehow connected, or he found a use for Andrew.
“The problem is, I don’t have a lot to go on. Something isn’t feeling quite right. The parts aren’t adding up, only I’m not getting a big enough glimpse of the picture.” Joe leaned back in his chair. “I need a bit more.”
“Would these help?” She reached under the stack of folders and paperwork, pulled out two large envelopes, and handed them over.
Anybody who knew Lawrence would recognize his handwriting in a heartbeat. Same perfectly shaped letters. Same size. Unmistakable. And the words written on the front? JOE MURPHY.
Joe’s head cocked to the side. Curiosity? Disbelief? Both? And then she saw something else, a tensing in the man’s posture and narrowing of the eyes.
The predator senses prey?
The lump in her throat returned. “That’s why I was hoping you’d come. I think he knew what he was working on might not end well, and he once told me if anything ever happened to him, you’re the only one he trusted to look into it.”
She watched the man run his fingers across the surface of the envelopes, across his name.
“You didn’t give these to the locals?” he asked. “Or show them?”
She shook her head. “Lawrence trusted you. I’ll put my trust in you before them, too.”
“I don’t know what’s in these.” Joe patted the top envelope. “I can’t promise anything.”
“Don’t expect you to.” Norma sat up straight. Strength. Maybe a little pride. “Maybe one promise. Someone took away my husband, my children’s father. Someone took our love, my happiness, and future. Whoever it is ain’t no better than a roaming, rabid dog, and those kinds of dogs get put down.”
He stared at her. He stared long and hard. “Yes. Yes, they do.”
Who are some of your favorite authors and/or books to read when you need to relax?
My preference when I’m reading something to relax is to read biographies or autobiographies. I’ve loved the books about Johnny Carson, am enthralled with Edgar Froese’s book on Tangerine Dream, dove headfirst into Dee Snider’s book on Twisted Sister, and adored Myrna Loy’s autobiography. I’ll also read books on the making of films, like the Friday The 13th series or Phantasm, and I’m currently reading a book on the unused scripts for the Halloween sequels.
That being said, I’ll also pick up something by Kiernan Kelly, G.A. Hauser, Eden Winters, Brent D. Seth, Patricia Logan, Anne Rice, and/or Stephen King.
If you were approached to have your book made into a film, who would you cast?
I’ve actually thought about this quite a bit while I was writing the book because I like to have a visual idea of who I’m putting into a scene. For the lead character of Joe Murphy in Falling Awake IV: Retribution, I’d be looking at casting George Dzundza. If you don’t recognize the name right away, he played Michael Douglas’s partner in Basic Instinct. I could see George being able to pull off a grizzled, older, former police captain here.
As for Roy Girard, the current police captain, I would have cast Raymond J. Barry twenty years ago. I’ve always imagined him in the part, especially after his performance in the film The Ref. Unfortunately, he’s older than George Dzundza, and the character is younger. Still, Raymond would have been my first choice.
Now, the character of Frank? He’d be someone new, someone I haven’t seen on the screen before, though he’d have gotten plenty of practice by this book since his character appears in the second and third books, too.
It's often asked what is your favorite part of being a writer but what is the easiest or most natural part of the creative process for you?
The most natural part of the creative process for me is creating a couple of characters in broad strokes, then having them interact with each other or other characters in their environment, and see what develops. If their actions feel forced and/or insincere, then I know I’m steering too hard. If their personalities emerge and I see how I can incorporate them into what I think the story is going to be, then I know I’m on the right track. I’m a dialogue writer, and if conversations feel real to me, they should hopefully feel real to someone else reading the story, and that creates a rapport between me as the writer and the reader.
Is there any one character you've created that is most like you? If yes, who and why?
Andy Stevenson in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To My Sexual Orientation is probably the closest I ever came to a character who’s closest to my personality. I put a lot of my views about life into his head that came out through his mouth. I recently skimmed that book and am relieved to say I’ve come a long ways since my twenties. The book is a bit of a time capsule and I’m still proud of it, but I also see where I’d think the story out very differently if I wrote it today versus then.
If you could go anywhere (finances, time, & obligations not an issue) where would you go and why?
I’ve still never gotten to Australia, and I’d love to. An Australia and New Zealand combination trip. My father and I talked about it for a while, and we were supposed to go after I graduated from college. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money, put it off, and we never got the chance before he passed from Alzheimer’s.
Why Australia? I’ve heard for years how amazing the people are there. I think, too, that after this pandemic, experiencing a little amazing would be nice. It’s highly unlikely, though, that I’ll ever get my husband to go.
Kristoffer Gair grew up in Fraser, MI and is a graduate of Grand Valley State University. He is the author of 7 novels—some written under the pseudonym Kage Alan—been a part of 6 anthologies, and currently lives in a suburb of Detroit.
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