So I used to be the person who came up with the themes for #1lineWed over on twitter. It’s not always easy but today’s prompt? Seriously? It’s *THE*. That’s it. It is almost impossible to write a sentence that does not contain the word “the.” See? Since I don’t really want to count how many times “the” appears in the current WIP, I decided to post what turned out to be a rather long snippet but one that’s been freshly written in the past few days. Things are moving along and Ronan is certainly bedeviling Maura. *bwahaha* Side note, why is there not a *bwahaha* emoticon? Asking for a friend… Anyway, this should be fairly self-explanatory.
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Movement caught Maura’s attention. A tall man, impeccably dressed and the bane of her existence, leaned against the rear wall. Ronan O’Connor, Irish mob boss. And the man starring in all her wet dreams. What was he doing here? He might be standing across the room but she could seen the corners of his eyes crinkle as his lips curled upward into a faint semblance of a smile. He knew she’d seen him. And it was almost like he knew what she was thinking. The man was dangerous. And trouble.

The crime-beat reporter for a local TV station stood up. This woman was cool, confident, and put up with bullshit from no one—especially not Alex. She was impeccably dressed and looked like she’d be right at home in the Kennedy family compound out on Hyannis Port. “Do you have any suspencts?” Her voice rang out, dampening the mild buzz of conversation in the room.

Alex blinked, started to speak, then jerked his head around to stare at Maura. “I’ll let my associate answer that.”

Maintaining a perfect poker face, she traded places with him. Before she could answer the reporter’s question, others shouted at her. Who was she? Spell her name for them. Etc. Etc. Etc. Her voice frosty, she focused on each person who’d been yelling at her until they grew quiet.

“First Assistant District Attorney Maura Brannigan. M-a-u-r-a B-r-a-n-n-i-g-a-n. And to answer your question, Ms. Phillips, no. We do not have a specific suspect at the moment but we do have a person of interest we wish to question.”

A hush fell over the room and the crowd actually leaned forward in their seats. The crime reporter smiled and again, her voice cut the distance between them like a knife. “Are you in a position to share that information with us?”

Maura glanced over at the police officers. The Commissioner nodded. She didn’t smile but she let her eyes relax just a bit. “I don’t have much to share, Ms. Phillips. The body parts belong to known associates of the the victim that was found. He has a brother who was, according some some reports, a…” She paused and let a very small smile touch the corners of her lips before finishing, “the victim’s partner in crime.”

Phillips flashed a dazzling smile and dipped her chin in a small kudos. “So, you’re saying that the brothers had a falling out and in classic Cain and Abel fashion, one killed the other.”

Arching a brow, Maura returned the kudos. “All I’m saying, Helen, is that we have a body and his brother is missing. My job is not to investigate but to prosecute once all the facts are in and an arrest has been made.”

That statement set off another round of questions all directed toward the police. The PIO took over the microphone with a glower in Maura’s direction that he made sure no reporter could see. She smiled to herself. My work here is done, she thought to herself.

As the PIO attempted to regain control, a uniformed officer hustled into the room and jogged up to the line of notables. He whispered something into the Superintendent in Chief’s ear. The man paled but nodded. The chief caught the commissioner’s eye. They exchanged a look. The commissioner grabbed the department’s PIO and whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened before she could hide her surprise. She recovered, nodded to both the commission and the chief and with brisk steps, approached Alex. She deftly moved in from the side, not quite elbowing the DA out of the way.

Maura had to look down to hide the fact she was biting back laughter. The indignant look on Alex’s face was priceless. He sputtered as the PIO adjusted the microphone and took over.

“Apologies, everyone. Those are all the questions we have time for today. Any further questions can be directed to my office or to ADA Brannigan.”

Maura jerked her head up, too shocked to hide her emotions as she sought out Alex. He still looked pissed that his platform had been so precipitously removed and he was glowering at her. He mouthed, “What the hell?”

She gave him big eyes and a vague shrug of one shoulder. She didn’t have a clue and she also had no clue why she would be singled out to answer questions on this case. Alex had claimed it as his very own. He was the point person.

“We’ll finish this in my office, Miz Brannigan,” Alex hissed as he brushed past her. She turned to follow but the commissioner called her name. Both she and Alex turned to look at the man.

“I need your ADA for a moment, Alex,” the Commissioner explained.

Alex shot her a sour look and marched away after snarling, “Make it quick.”

Maintaining her composure, she faced the Chief and the Commissioner. “Don’t worry about your ride,” the Chief said. “I’ll get a squad car to take you back to your office.”

She nodded in thanks but let her gaze trail over what was left of the audience. Ronan O’Connor had disappeared. Good.
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There you have it folks. Maura’s caught between a rock and a hard spot and I guarantee things will not get easier for her in the next few chapters. Writers, free theme today. Have any words you want to share? And readers. what is THE one book that you are looking forward to reading?