Stain of the Berry: A Russell Quant Mystery
by Anthony Bidulka
Summary
Everyone has their Boogeyman. But who—or what—is scaring Saskatoon locals to death? Private detective Russell Quant is roused from his sleep only to fall into a nightmare case when the family of a suicide victim hires him to uncover the real cause of death. But what is real and what is imaginary? From Saskatchewan’s summer storms to the menacing Lotus Land of Vancouver, Quant finally touches down in the Canadian Arctic where tragic hope resides. As Russell Quant penetrates the truth of the Boogeyman, he finds himself on a perilous suspension bridge between idyllic childhood and grown-up violence.
Excerpt
I awoke startled, my heart playing a spicy salsa within the cavity of my chest. Perspiration stuck to me like shrink wrap, yet the room was cool as a tomb. I was unaccountably frightened, disoriented, not fully conscious really, struggling to identify the source of my discomfort. Was it a dream? A nightmare? Someone was chasing me. A hand was reaching out for me, almost touching me. But no, it wasn’t me the hand was reaching for, it was someone else, someone I knew, and I was watching from afar, helpless to save my friend. Then the image was gone, replaced by a jarring clamour assaulting my fuzzy brain. My left arm shot out for the phone on the bedside table, knocking it to the floor. Thankfully the action brought to an end the unsettling din, but then came something much worse. A deliberate, dark voice invaded my addled brain: The boogeyman is gonna get you. My eyes flew open, searching the empty space before me for whomever it was who was haunting my room. I heard it again; a voice, disembodied. I rolled onto my side to the edge of the bed and reached down, fumbling for the phone’s receiver. I pulled the handset to my ear.
“What? What? What!” I called into the phone, loud enough to wake the two schnauzers at the foot of my bed, both completely hidden beneath the bedcovers I’d wrestled off myself sometime during the night.
“What?” a voice repeated back, sounding not at all like the Grim Reaper in my head but rather more like a frightened woman.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I answered back, for some reason relying on repetition to propel me further into this unexpected conversation. “I was sleeping.” Bet she was surprised. Through slitted eyes I saw that the clock on my bedside table read 2:37 a.m. “Did you say something about a boogeyman?” I asked.
“Oh God, I’m sorry…you’re gonna think I’m crazy.” Her voice sat in the lower registers, but was no doubt feminine. Then, more to herself, “Maybe I am crazy.”
Well, I don’t know who you are, but yup, I pretty much don’t think too highly of you so far. “I think you have the wrong number,” I growled, instinctively pulling at the bed sheet to cover myself. Barbra and Brutus, my mutts, growled their own displeasure at the rude awakening. “Oh be quiet,” I said to them.
“What?” this from the woman.
“Not you.” Well maybe. “Wrong number,” I told her again and was about to hang up when I heard her call my name.
Huh? “Excuse me? Do I know you? Who is this?”
“Russell Quant?” she repeated, haltingly.
I debated a lie. “Yuh-huh,” I answered, my tongue still thick and eraser-like with sleep.
“He…he’s coming to get me.”
Reviews
“… sharp wit and generous helpings of heart….” – Mystery Scene Magazine (New York)
“Bidulka is a talented author worth seeking out.” – Spinetingler Magazine
“This novel is the most complex in the series.” – Lambda Book Report (New York)
Author's Biography
Anthony Bidulka’s mystery series tells the story of a half-Ukrainian, half-Irish, gay, ex-farm boy, ex-cop, Canadian, prairie, world-travelling, private detective living a big life in a small city.
The Russell Quant series is a multi award nominee and was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery.