Four P Front

INTRODUCTION: The complete existing text of Four P, eighteenth novel in the D Is For Damien series--and second in the unofficial Minot spinoff series. This unfinished work was important in the mythology as it featured the introduction of Detective Max Kristeva, who quickly grew to become a character of equal importance to Kincaid himself--he's even somewhat taken over the focus of the stories, for reasons quite similar to Kinnie's (but I get ahead of myself). Taking place in June 1997, Four P (named after the cult featured in Minot) was to bring the two groups of characters back together on a related case; and the sheriff, suspicious of Kincaid being allowed back on the job, was to send one of his own to the city police post to "spy" on him and keep him apprised of what was going on. Det. Kristeva, as it turns out, was this spy...but it also turns out that he wasn't quite up to following Sheriff Rhoades's agenda when it came to shutting down the ritual crimes unit. Keep your eyes open for how Kristeva reacts to things in this story and maybe you'll get a tiny hint at what's going on with him, and why this Judas actually turns out being a blessing in disguise. (If you're too impatient, you can just find my story "A Crack Of Light" and read that instead.)

One nasty error which I committed here was in the naming and ethnicity of "Trooper Lopata." When I first came across the name "Lopata" and thought, "Oo, I want to use that as a surname!" (as I often do with odd names--Kristeva, hint hint), I mistakenly assumed it was a name of Spanish origin--I mean, LOOK at it already, LOPATA! Turns out I was WAY off...and it's in fact a Russian/Jewish name. !!! Eeghgghh!! *urp!* Well...by then I had already well established that Lopata is of Latino ethnicity, so I couldn't really back out of this gracefully. I came up with some convoluted story that he had just been adopted by Russian-surnamed parents. *ugh* Mama, don't let your babies grow up to not learn the ethnicity of names before using them.

Oh, another interesting tidbit; I never got far enough through this story to establish it properly, but, that body that turns up at the beginning--? It has serious repercussions WAY later in the series--repercussions which involve Kristeva himself. Ask if you're interested in all the juicy details!!

This story is from the same file as Sidekicks (second draft), Flashback, The Scorpio Murders, The Ties That Bind (second draft), and Blood Secrets, last modified in 2001. It was almost definitely started before then--probably around the actual date of the story itself. I would say around 1997-99.

Front, Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

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DEADLY SECRETS...

Minot, North Dakota has always had its share of bizarre problems, especially with the local Satanists. However, as the river begins to flood and panicked residents rush out to stop its rampage, another, more serious problem has arisen: The "locals" appear to have murder on their minds.

Enter Officer Christine DelBora, a rookie fresh on the Minot police force's Cult Ritual Crimes Unit, recently established to combat the pervasive influences of the Satanic, nationwide Four P Movement. [Note--in rewrites I will rename this the "Ritual Crimes Unit." "Cult ritual crimes" just sounds redundant. Four P, by the way, is named after and based on a real cult.] Naive as she is to the cult's threat, DelBora has big plans to help halt its spread--plans hindered by her growing interest in the unit's leader, Lieutenant Kincaid, an unstable cop with hazy, disturbing half-memories and flashbacks of cult abuse. When a state trooper ends up in critical condition and visitors to an airport are taken hostage, the Minot police learn that this time, the price for messing with the Movement can be deadly indeed... [Note--I find it amusing how there isn't even any mention of poor Kristeva here!!]

FOUR P