Her Name Was Lisa

Her Name Was Lisa (Box Set – 5 Book Series)

Detective Hank Adler’s life had become a deck of consternation and confusion, as his problems with women were stacking up.

Twin card of disappointment was an acrimonious divorce, combined with a rebellious daughter’s relationship with a reckless beau, was what frayed upon this father’s nerves. Beyond Hank’s strained family ties, there was a card of pleasure in the shapely form of a raven-haired, restless lover.

Set in his ways; Adler was far from being an enlightened man, as a crimp in this alpha’s armor was a new partner which he didn’t want to be burdened with in doing his own heavy lifting on the job and hers too. Murder victim being the wife of wealthy man, propelled the brass at police headquarters into pressuring Adler and his new partner to find the killer in a snap.

For all this man was in the process of dealing with – ex-wife, daughter, lover, partner, murder victim; his worry with women seemed to be a set of five cards of discontentment.

The last thing that Detective Hank Adler needed was another card placed upon the deck of disruption that could upend his agitated life even further.

With that reshuffling deck of chaos in his life, a new card turned up; one which could put an investigation of Hank Adler himself in the middle of his current case.

Her name was Lisa.

Book One - Detective Hank Adler, veteran of the Palo Alto Police Department and his new partner, Detective Stephanie Martin have just begun a high-profile murder investigation of the murdered wife of a real estate tycoon.

In the first two chapters (“Grind” and “Shape of Things”) of “Her Name Was Lisa”, Hank Adler’s past and present is unfolded.

“Grind” – Yawning, as Hank sat there waiting for the traffic light to shift to green, he decided to turn on the car radio for a bit of company on his way to this night’s crime scene. Coincidence or kismet, the kind of company Adler was getting from the tune starting to play on that car radio was bad. Bad Company.

Primary strains of Bad Company’s “Ready for Love’ came through the car radio, like a braid of burgeoning bliss with chords of caressing confidence. From those first rhythmic utterances of Rodgers’ core capability and Kirke’s persistent throb of play to Ralphs’ and Bozwell’s deft combination of smoothness and stamina, this quartets’ prime performance of sultry delivery ascended to a sensuous cresting.

Traffic light turned green, as the Chevy Nova continued on its’ way from the urban bustle to a quieter locale of outer suburbia.

Hank Adler’s grey eyes had a smoldering magnetism to them. His gaze was like a fisherman casting a line outward to anyone in his orbit. Dark brown hair mixed with incoming patches of grey, always gave him a resemblance of a man in need of a trim on the top and the sides. With a stature of six foot, two inches; he had a fit build that was not overly muscular. Adler’s routine of getting a run in before going into the precinct kept him fit enough to pass the department physical. But, being in his 40’s still proved time had a way of pulling in the reins, even on a once charging tiger.

“Shape Of Things” – Hank gazed down at the picture in Stephanie’s hand and also glimpsed at the other items on that table, as he replied, “That kind of ice is probably what got her killed”.

Placing the object back onto the table slowly, Stephanie was about to say something more to him; but was interrupted by the sight in the distance of a diminished figure standing at the entrance of that living room.

In that unchartered realm of late-night commercials for almost twenty-five years, where insomniacs, nursing mothers, and workers on the night shift intersected; there was Desmond Ellis pitching small plots of real estate like Koufax or Ryan in their prime. Having an assuring smile and even grander ambition, Desmond Ellis had been seen as somewhat of a golden-boy for having the foresight of seeing the housing boom before many of his competitors.

The Ellis’ were a couple who enjoyed their wealth and flaunted it without apology for having such success in business and family. Lorraine Ellis was a lovely hostess and philanthropist who had many glowing write-ups in The Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, and Los Angeles Times.

Yet, as a pair of detectives from Homicide stood in the living room of the Ellis estate, this person with a slight slump and quivering lip seemed almost unrecognizable. Almost unsure of that finely crafted image of strength, command and bravado on television and the reality which silently existed there, Detective Martin needed to know who this figure was.

“Mr. Ellis?” Stephanie asked for verification, as she pulled her badge out in return, “Sir, we’re from the Palo Alto Police Department”.

Desmond Ellis was not the bold and brash figure that had been carved out in the public eye to these two persons, as he replied in a low tone of a defeated human being, “Yes”.

Death came to the rich man, as it did to the poor man. Dissipation of the hourglass visited the heart and soul of Desmond Ellis.

Book Two - For Hank Adler, being a cop was a road of ease; find them, cuff them, read them their rights, and throw away the key. On the other hand; as for being a family man with a wife and daughter, that was a rocky road which led towards an acrimonious divorce and an addiction leading to a rehab center.

In the third and fourth chapters (“Valleys & Bridges” and “Clear”) of “Her Name Was Lisa”; a parents’ promise, leads to an unforeseen chain of consequences.

“Valleys & Bridges” – Paula was not receptive to the idea of Deana getting married to someone that was also a resident of Morningside Meadows, knowing from her own past experience as a counselor back at El Cerrito that those in recovery were not in the best of mental space in starting any type of personal relationship, “All I know is that our daughter thinks she’s in love with this loser and wants to marry him”.

Hank pushed a bit more about the man of the moment, “Have you met him yet?”

Shoving hand into purse, she pulled out her car keys and scoffed, “Nope, but I’ve seen him and her talking as I’ve arrived here to visit”, Turning key into door lock, “From what I could see of him, he’s got that chip on his shoulder”, chuckling in thinking about the similarity to the man she was looking at in this present moment, “Reminds me of someone”.

Hank took that jab on the chin and continued, “Paula, I made a promise to handle something for her”.

Being a front row recipient of his less than stellar record of kept words and actions, Paula replied, “Hank, don’t make a promise you can’t keep”.

Verbal armor was retracted when responding to her words, “Listen, I know this thing between us”, He gave admittance of the dimensions of what their own fractured relationship was, “Is what it is”, Culling his own responsibility in making things right, “I promise I will handle this” Hank paused and said a pair of devoted words to her, “For Deana”.

“Clear” – Albert Lomaxx was a walking hard-on, who had the authority to get any cravings he had fulfilled. Drugs weren’t his vice, but women were. Lo would fuck anything with soft hips, soft lips, and a sweet hole for ramming his cock in.

Slovenly man in his fifties with a pot belly, Albert Lomaxx had the tact of flea most of the time. Yet, he had come up through the ranks in racking up enough collars and being gung ho in touting the department’s line in cleaning up the streets of the hustlers and scum; he was given a level of latitude in getting the job done.

Quotas; whether anyone of the higher ups wanted to admit it or not, mattered and this is the one thing that head of vice had as his ace in the hole when certain actions of Lomaxx and his squad came under scrutiny.

A promise is a promise. Some are small or otherwise not meaning something so monumental. Then, there are those whose weight is beyond measure to the one who has made the request and the other who has made the pledge of making a fulfillment.

Hank had failed as a husband and under the mantle of being a father he wasn’t ever going to be considered Super Dad in anyone’s book. But, he did have an ace up his sleeve of using his wily ways to get information and interaction with the person he needed to talk to.

If the bridge of rebuilding the relationship with Deana meant going into the valley of the vile; then Hank Adler had to get low. Or, being more precise – get Lo.

As he sat down into the passenger’s seat of Albert Lomaxx’ car and pulled the door shut, Hank knew everything had been set on a path of being indebted to a viper whose venomous ways were ever so numerous and obvious to both men. Adler would owe and Albert would collect; the day would come and a favor had to be honored in return.

Book Three - Detectives Adler and Martin have a double murder investigation added to their caseload, as Hank comes face to face with the unlikeliest person who could blow his career apart in a single revelation – Lisa.

In the fifth and sixth chapters (“Lisa” and “Straight No Chaser”) of “Her Name Was Lisa”, Hank Adler’s world is shaken by a woman who would change his life forever.

“Lisa” – Lisa Crawford could be described as an unnoticed woman of shadow, wallpaper and bland background which no one ever figured to give a second thought about. But, in happenstance of fate, that woman dressed in drab, blue waitress uniform and white, orthopedic shoes would become vital in transforming Hank Adler’s life.

Alley of red brick, wrought iron, and dumpsters was the intersecting point of two sides of life; as one was wild with wiggles, jiggles, and antics of tawdry tease, while the other was mild with milkshakes, pies, burgers and cordial smiles.

It was in that alley where Lisa Crawford’s tepid existence was upturned in a volcano of violence that scorched simplicity.

Nothing would ever be the same for her ever again.

Beyond the ordinary nervousness civilians have when being questioned by the police, Lisa had a second reason for a flicker of fear in her eyes when seeing the man she saw that night in front of Ginger’s standing only a few feet away in this moment.

Lisa Crawford was now known to him and his identity was now known to her, as she quickly thought back to this man’s gaze of rage when looking at her when being driven in a vehicle past her.

Detective Hank Adler held out his badge to introduce himself to her, trying to convey a sense of being carefree, “Miss Crawford, I’m Detective Adler”.

“Straight, No Chaser” - Red dress, burgundy lips, and a great ass was a calling card which this interested man attentively wished to answer. Samantha Torrado exemplified that essence of Barretto’s “A Deeper Shade of Soul”, as she stood in front of him. This woman had soul, which elevated his senses between the swaying bodies and thumping beat of Barretto’s melody.

“I guess bird’s the word”, Samantha laughed, as any hint of defensiveness vanished, “I’m game”, Taking him up on the invite of a dance, a bond of fascination was made between them.

As he took her hand, the fifth track of Barretto’s “Acid” was just starting to fill the club. Hot, fast and deep was the percussion, brass, fiery piano and electrifying vocalizations of “Soul Drummers” accelerated the air of anticipation inside of “Flashbacks” as Ginger and Samantha melded

Over the half-way point of the melody at two minutes and thirty-seven seconds, a beat breakdown of each instrument calculatedly took hold; leading to Barretto’s lyrics of a three-word clarion of ‘don’t stop now’. That musical maestro’s shout-out seemed a climactic call to action until the song’s conclusion at the three minute and seven seconds mark.

Ginger and Samantha had the same thought of not stopping their evening together. They kissed on the dance-floor and he whispered her ear, “I have one question. Are you real?”

She was transparent in her attraction to him when replying, “As real as that boner you’ve got, baby”. Her left hand slightly brushed downward against the crotch area of his tan slacks, pausing as she gave added description of the woman she was, “Baby, I’m for real”.

Playful and turned on by her, Ginger couldn’t resist a zinger, “A thousand percent?”

Samantha was blunt, “Straight. No chaser”.

Book Four - As the murder investigation into the murders at Ginger’s heats up, what Lisa reveals to Detective Hank Adler upturns his life and leads him and his partner into danger.

In the seventh and eighth chapters (“Upturned” and “Get Low”) of “Her Name Was Lisa”, Hank Adler has a choice to make of whether being a pariah or protector of Lisa. As bullets start to fly, self preservation is paramount for a weary soul.

"Upturned" - With the clerk returning to the front counter of the evidence room with a medium-sized dark, brown box and placing it in front of the Detective, the box top was removed and the plastic bag was placed inside of it. The paperwork was placed into the slot on the outside of the box for any future retrieval.

Clerk in his mid-30’s asked, “Is that it?”

“Yeah, that’s it”, Hank’s left hand patted the closed box and turned to leave the evidence room. Right hand pulled the creaking, rust colored door open and Hank began to walk over the doorsill into the hallway.

Lisa’s question of whether she could trust him blared in his ears, as Hank Adler motioned back inside the evidence room towards the counter, “Hey?”

With box in his arms, the clerk was walking away from the counter and down a long hallway, as he turned his head and responded, “Adler? What’s up?”

Hank placed both hands slowly on the counter and then reached around to his back pocket, “Um…” Adler pulled the small bag out of that pocket, “Can you bring the box back here for a sec?”

“Get Low” – Hank twisted himself around to reach the glove compartment and remove the two-way radio inside, “Take this”, Handing her the radio, “Stay here with Lisa and call for backup”, In a swift motion, he pushed the driver’s door open with left leg.

“Aw, shit!” Wright snarled, “Looks like that fucker Adler’s still alive”, He put the car in reverse slowly, while reaching for his gun on the front passenger’s seat, “Are you ready to finish the job, Norm?”

“As ready as I’m gonna’ be”, Pushing the back passenger door open, Orlando’s left hand pulled the gun from leg holster and readied it for firing.

Stephanie shouted into the radio, “Shots fired! Shots fired! We need backup!! We’re taking heavy fire!!”

Norman Orlando wasn’t going to wait to see Hank Adler exit that Chevy, as he positioned himself against the roof of that dark green car and fired shots from front driver’s side to back passenger’s side of the Nova’s frame.

Bullets entered the back passenger’s side, exactly where Stephanie Martin and Lisa Crawford were situated. Adler exited the driver’s side with his weapon drawn and started firing in the direction of that Toyota Camry and the men inside of it.

Rolling car parallel with the other; Wright blew out his own front, passenger’s window with a flurry of shots in Hank’s direction, as Adler swiftly took cover near the front left tire of his car. At the same time, Orlando made a quick move toward the trunk of that dark green car to get a better shot at Hank and finish off both women on that Chevy’s backseat. Holster located on his left leg seemed to have other ideas, as it snagged and got jammed in the opened, back passenger door. Not able to get a good grip on getting that holster to dislodge quick enough, he pulled leather glove off his left hand with his teeth and spat that item onto the car’s backseat. Bare handed, Orlando ripped off that torn holster, tossing it onto the ground and firing once more at Hank’s car.

“Adler!!” A woman’s voice called out from inside his car.

Opening the back passenger door on the right side, Hank Adler’s being was laid low at the sight of blood pooled on the backseat of his car.

Stephanie Martin and Lisa Crawford were covered in blood, without a sound or movement.

More shots fired.

Everything became a blur to him.

Detective Hank Adler bellowed, “Get low!!”

Book Five - Lovers, liars, lawbreakers, heartbreakers are all in a deck to be dealt with inside the world of Detective Hank Adler.

Question is, are they aces or jokers?

In the stunning finale of “Her Name Was Lisa”; a fallen soul rises to a personal triumph, as the road to redemption is filled with doubts, detours, and determination.

"Crumbs” – Placing phone onto the table in front of her, Romi lightly tapped tips of her fingers onto the wooden table and chose the path of least resistance. One call was made to an old lover who was executive secretary to a watch commander and did a little sweet talking to get the information sent via an attached file to her phone. Within half an hour of waiting at Leslie’s and having three beers, she received a graphical map of addresses as an email attachment in the form of a PowerPoint presentation file.

Ramona Vincent slowly flipped through the image gallery on her phone, as she found a few luscious pictures of the final time she and Sandy Ellard had been together on Wednesday, July 9th and smiled at the mellow memory. She then forwarded the file to Lomaxx and ordered a full pitcher of beer to deaden the pain over what went down at Ginger’s just four days later.

Lomaxx had Ramona over a barrel because of the relationship he knew about between her and Sandy, leaving this pleasure seeker mute over revealing what she’d just done in putting a target on the back of not only a witness, but a fellow cop.

“Burns” – As her back remained away from him, she reached up into the cabinet for two coffee cups. Kelly’s ass cheeks were exposed, as her body motioned upward to collect two, white coffee mugs from out of the cabinet.

Bare ass had a way of grabbing Hank’s attention like few other things in life, as he called out to her from where he sat, “Come here”.

Ignoring what was just said with a slight bit of laughter and her back still turned away from him Kelly continued gathering the mugs for the coffee.

Miffed by being ignored and stirred in an aroused state, he was now fully awakened in many a way; slamming a left hand onto the table, “I said, come here!”

Those items were left a half an inch from their original positions within that cabinet, as Kelly turned around and was greeted with him motioning a hand for her to approach him, “I thought you wanted coffee?”

Hank chuckled at the luscious sight of his brown shirt on her, “Come here and I’ll show you want I want”.

Kelly took a few steps from the cabinet to where he was sitting and stood directly between his legs, as Hank’s hands parted both sides of that fabric to reveal more of her bare body from beneath that brown shirt.

Looking down at him with a hint of puzzlement, a sigh flowed from her lips, “So, I’m here. Now, what?”

His hands pulled that brown shirt completely open, as Hank mused, “I changed my mind on the coffee”.

Although barely lucid from a tiny smattering of sleep, Kelly’s ability to make a wisecrack kick in before the coming dawn was evident, “Well, these sure as fuck ain’t coffee beans, baby”.

Adler’s action of smacking her tits with both hands almost stung as much as his snicker, “That’s for sure”.

Gasping in surprise over his wake-up call to her nipples, Kelly inhaled, “You are in a mood this morning. Ain’t ya, Hank?”

Peeking at the results of light pink flesh turning a shade livelier, his eyes looked up into hers, “That mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble, Kel”.

“Shit”, Taking that titillation of his touch against her breasts and laughing, “This mouth gets in more than enough trouble when I’m with you”.

Running his left hand up her thigh and between soft legs, Hank calmly asked, “Has anyone come around sniffing about me lately, babe”.

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Available in digital ebook and paperback at AMAZON (worldwide)

BOOK ONE

Ebook - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D1D969D

Paperback - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CRLZPQ1

BOOK TWO

Ebook - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D1QMMRL

Paperback - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CRSP5KC

BOOK THREE

Ebook - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D1MTJN2