The Internet Murders www.silvaredigonda.ca (Order your own signed copy or how about an ebook?)

“What’s wrong with me?” She whispered. Philip joined Tomasso and they both headed towards the elevator. “Maybe we should let homicide know?” Philip casually commented. Tomasso smirked, “Homicide? She’s alive Philip. Maybe she is tired looking and a bit banged up, but she is alive.” “Funny boy.” Philip responded smirking in kind. Tomasso grinned, withholding the slap he wanted to give Philip, like the one his mother often provided him with. It was contagious and Tomasso had to keep stopping himself from doing the same continuously with those he liked. He continued, “Ok, we can still go talk to Homicide, but first I want to stop by and see Fr. Francis. I want to see how he is doing. After all, they killed someone at his church.” “Sure, you really like that priest, hey?” “What’s not to like? You know he and I went to school together. I used to always get into trouble with some wise guy or another and he used to be there all the time looking out for me. The guys just seemed to leave him alone. It wasn’t that he was tough like me, you know. There was something about him that was different. Everyone respected him, even the worse of our teachers. Maybe it was because he was smart.” “You are smart too, Tomasso. You just like hiding it for some reason.” Tomasso gave him one of his toothy grins. “Me smart? Thank you Philip. I knew there was a reason why you grew on me.” Philip remembered the first time he met Tomasso. Tomasso was having coffee in the lunch room and ranting on about the people in the States all going crazy because a cop shot a black person. “What do they think? Cops just become cops so they can shoot some black guy? They don’t think that maybe, just maybe, the copper had no choice? Naw, that’s not important. Then they find the cop is innocent by the judicial system and naw, that is not good enough and so now there is some big conspiracy going on that cops like to kill black guys. And then what, some nut job goes and kill coppers and ooops none are white. Does this make sense? Than they have this movie series that is all about sex and killing and they do a show where of course a white copper kills a black person and of course they make it look like it is done on purpose, and the show people have the nerve to say that the public is intelligent and they want to see intelligent stuff. Guess what stupid show. If people wanna watch something with intelligence they would not be watching your show. They wanna watch your show because it shows as much sex as it can for a family show. Yeah!” The room had gone silent when Philip walked in and it was only Tomasso still shooting off his mouth. Everyone else “looked uncomfortable. Philip spoke so low, it was barely audible, “How about I shoot you? What will the public say then?” Tomasso turned, looked at Philip and responded casually, “It doesn’t work that way bro. You must be my new partner. Welcome to the hood.” “How do you know I’m your new partner – because I am black?” “No, because you are mulatto.” Tomasso looked serious, as did Philip. Not a good start. “Have a donut, pardner.” Tomasso grinned, that grin that would soon become familiar. Philip took the donut without realizing that by the end of the year Tomasso would save Philip’s life not once but twice. They could downplay crime all they wanted for the rest of the world. Ask anyone who lived in Toronto all their life and they would tell you it was not the same at all. Crime was getting worse and many left the city to get away from it and all else associated with it. After Tomasso saved his life the first time, Tomasso brought Philip home to meet his mom. He had not stopped going since. Tomasso’s mother was always talking about the old days. “People had respect for the police then “and you never heard of a bus driver getting beat up. Toronto the good? Getta outta town. Tomasso – go find another job. This job is too dangerous for you. They shoot you one day.” Philip was munching on her delightful gnocchi. “Naw ma, they just try to kill your Philipo but don’t worry ma. I keep him alive just for you.” “Mrs. Rossini, give him one of your slaps, please.” Philip chided. They all laughed. Philip realized that he now had another family. Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “The Internet Murders.”