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    Off the Rails
    Off the Rails
    Off the Rails
    Ebook56 pages51 minutes

    Off the Rails

    By Pen Avram

    ()

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    About this ebook

    When Hendrych visits India's Kashmir to attend a wedding, our intrepid duo go off the rails... literally. The train is derailed in a catastrophic accident and Kroupa and Hendrych find themselves amongst those lucky enough to have survived. Thoughts turn to terrorism, but there are too many coincidences for Kroupa's liking. He decides to investigate, with the help of his true four-legged friend.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPen Avram
    Release dateJul 19, 2013
    ISBN9781301139989
    Off the Rails
    Author

    Pen Avram

    This one-time piano mechanic turned Master of Applied Science (Critical Enquiry/Social Ecology) fled to the West from the former Soviet bloc, finally finding his home in Australia. Growing up in a family touched by the horrors of the holocaust and communism, Pen Avram has spent his life studying what drives people of different faiths around the world to act the way they do. His insights now inform the mysteries investigated by the intrepid team of Kroupa and Hendrych. And Sara is a real dog, blood an bones.

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      Book preview

      Off the Rails - Pen Avram

      OFF THE RAILS

      A book by Pen Avram

      PUBLISHED BY:

      Pen Avram on Smashwords

      Smashwords Edition License Notes:

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

      Copyright 2013 Text-Author - Pen Avram

      Copyright 2013 ArtDesign Author - Pen Avram

      The author and the artwork designer assert the moral rights to

      be identified as the author and designer of this work,

      Contact: mailto:pen.avram@gmail.com

      Chapter 1 - KROUPA AND HENDRYCH

      To those who have not met previously Kroupa and Hendrych in their adventures, let me redress this misfortune and introduce the pair.

      Kroupa and Hendrych shared a similar build and both were middle aged. Detective Chief Inspector Kroupa was a few years older. His pink cheeks were sagging and he was going bald. Every criminal, who encountered him, feared him. His simple interrogation technique was well known in every police academy - ‘He never answers a question with an answer, but always with another question.’

      There was a popular anecdote circulated about him. A suspect had asked Kroupa, Why do you always answer with a question? Kroupa replied, Why shouldn’t I?

      However Kroupa had a weakness – which also proved to be his strength at times – and it was known only to Hendrych. Kroupa always followed his intuition

      Kroupa had worn the same black, horn-rimmed glasses for over twenty years, since he had become aware that his eyesight was deteriorating. He liked the old-fashioned look and they also served as a memento of Rome. Therefore, he never replaced them. Instead, he simply had the lenses replaced every year. On the rare occasion when a smile crossed his face, his cheeks touched the bottom of his glasses.

      Kroupa wore tweed. Usually rusty Harris tweed, comfortable moleskins trousers, dark brown, soft flat shoes, and a dark green woolen necktie. Whenever he went outdoors, regardless of the weather, he sported a Baxter Tartan cap – of course, he’d had the pompom removed. It looks more ‘classy’, and it matches my car, he liked to say. The car in question was a dark-brown Rover SD1.

      He liked classical music and art, his favourites being old Dutch Masters. However, he also had a penchant for Picasso and Dali, and Miles Davis was often his choice of music, but not for too long at one time. Philosophy was another of his hobbies and his library included everything from Plato to Wittgenstein, but also many Russian writers. He had no time for poetry or Dickens. But always had time for a pint of cold beer. It helps me think, he liked to say. Sometimes, more often than not, the thinking did for him his beloved dog Sara. Nobody has ever known how these two found each other, but there have been inseparable, making Hendrych jealous. He thought that too much credit went to Sara - which he thought he deserved.

      Kroupa’s friend Hendrych had been a freelance reporter for over 20 years. He’d written for major newspapers in Hamilton and when Kroupa had relocated to Boarsville, he moved too. Amongst his major publishers he counted Boarsville Morning Post, Boarsville Daily, and Hamilton Telegraph. He loved to get an ‘exclusive’ and be paid for it. Occasionally he still struck gold with The Times and The Guardian, due to his previous contributions and contacts there.

      Hendrych had met Kroupa at the very beginning of his career while on assignment and since then the two had become best friends. Hendrych often helped Kroupa in his investigations. His reward: 'exclusives' for his papers. He was in his forties, about 185 cm tall, lean but strong, with a mane of reddish hair that was always neatly combed. Curiously, he wore contact lenses and sunglasses, even when the light was dim. Mostly he was dressed in a fine soft black leather jacket, perfectly tailored, as were

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