Festival of Felonies — Wayne Zurl

Have You Considered Voodoo? New York Detective Sam Jenkins is handed a bizarre case that develops into the serial killing of animals. It doesn't take long to find a prime suspect, but he's a juvenile headed to no good end, but the system doesn't make life easy for our tenacious squad dick. Reenacting a MurderWhen local antique dealer, G. Nobel Whitehead, is savagely killed at a historical reenactment, Police Chief Sam Jenkins wades through a cadre of quirky local characters to learn how the victim's shady dealings led to his demise.Paper TrailA lone, mentally disturbed young gunman murdered his mother, two adults, and six small children at the elementary school in Prospect, Tennessee before ending his own life.The man carried three guns; one pistol had been legally purchased by his mother for her protection. The origins of the other pistol and the fully automatic Russian assault rifle were anyone's guess.After Police Chief Sam Jenkins conducts an investigation to track down the past ownership of those guns, he confirms a few suspicions and uncovers more interesting facts.The Fergusson ShootingJamal Ferguson's mistake costs him his life and forever changes Police Officer Billy Puckett's. On a cool, damp evening in Prospect, Tennessee, seventeen-year-old Jamal tries to buy beer from a convenience store. When asked for ID, the boy decides to steal the beer and assaults a store employee. All this was witnessed by Officer Puckett who attempts to arrest Jamal for robbery. Only the big teenager has other ideas. While resisting arrest, Ferguson violently attacks Puckett and tries to take his handgun. Moments later, unarmed Jamal Ferguson lies dead in the parking lot. The next day, the community expresses their outrage and a famous activist descends on East Tennessee, declaring that he will help the Ferguson family seek justice for their murdered son. Not much stands between the angry citizens and Puckett except Police Chief Sam Jenkins. A Fire and Old IceProspect, Tennessee's mayor, Ronnie Shields, walks into Sam Jenkins' office with his hat in his hand. Ronnie's wife wants to sponsor a benefit fashion show to raise money for an animal shelter. They need the chief for two things: Convince his friend, TV reporter, Rachel Williamson, to emcee the show and find amateur models to wear the outfits. The show begins perfectly, until someone sets fire to the spring collection of a flamboyant Knoxville designer named Mr. Alex. Jenkins' arson investigation puts him up against a trio of redneck troublemakers and takes him back seventy years to Europe and a closely guarded family secret. Think of this one as an episode of NYPD BLUE written by Woody Allen