Bluebird Buttons: Sneak Peek at the Mark of the Mafia!

Once upon a time a little girl blew her nose. She was kneeling on the sidewalk with a stub of chalk in her fat hand. It was drizzling on the Italian street. Cornelia Devoy had just finished chalking a circus tent on the sidewalk and it was slowly washing up. The colors ran together and the dancing bear was a black smudge on the red ball.

Cornelia was a homely ten years with short black hair and a flat nose. She had a small scar on her left cheek from a pencil. The only thing that had to be looked at twice in her face were her dark eyes which glinted fire. She lived off the pier in a dirty houseboat which belonged to her obese godfather Uncle Ronald, a flabby relative with fishy blue eyes and beefy cheeks which bulged like a pufferfish(Pardon the awful pun!). He spent his days sitting outside the boat and spitting in the water. How he lived was mostly pillaging the back street dumpsters, particularly behind the bakery where there would be half consumed doughnuts and croissants, and perhaps a slab of cornbread. Cornelia was mute from birth and Uncle Ronald was socially deficient. They got on well.

Cornelia undid her satchel and drew out huge binoculars. She saw a man not fifty yards away draw a black lump from his pocket and transfer it up his coat sleeve. Cornelia put the binoculars in her satchel and followed close behind. Slipping her satchel over her shoulder, she drew out a camera and snapped a photo of the man before he disappeared round the corner. I got it, thought Cornelia smugly. Cornelia unclipped a barrette from her hair and twiddled it in the lock of an office. She locked the door again and scuttled down the acrid hallway. A curling poster of Kiki & Smith Dwarf Show was stapled to the wall. Cornelia rapped on the door. She was by far the shortest spy of the Mafia Resistance. A wiry man with sunglasses and red tendrils wrenched the door open and started. Cornelia crossed her arms. “Sorry, I’m still not to used to the insane idea...the P32 folder of Case 64.” Cornelia handed him the camera film and flipped open the manila folder. it was full of lists and articles. Cornelia looked up. Barney leaned forward and tapped the film on the worn desk. Cornelia nodded, drew out a notebook and began to scribble rapidly.

This is my newest book and it will be coming out Fall 2016. To receive an emailed excerpt please email me at amgdauvin@gmail.com. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!