\ncolleagues and their families gather in Marystown, Newfoundland, to
\ncelebrate those being promoted up the RCMP ranks, a sophisticated heist
\nby international mobsters and local biker gangs unfolds in multiple
\ncities and towns throughout the province, robbing banks and businesses
\nof hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Mounties soon realize more than
\n money is being lost.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
In this, the sixteenth novel in the Book Excerpt<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sergeant Winston Windflower couldn\u2019t be happier for his friend and colleague Eddie Tizzard. On Windflower\u2019s recommendation and with the approval of the big boss, Superintendent Ron Quigley, Tizzard was being promoted to sergeant in the Mounties, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But in terms of being proud, Windflower might have to stand in line because in the crowd that was gathered at RCMP Headquarters in Marystown, Newfoundland, were Tizzard\u2019s partner, Carrie Evanchuk, and his dad, Richard Tizzard. Both were beaming from ear to ear as they juggled Eddie and Carrie\u2019s two children in their arms.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Carrie had the easier task as little Sophie had been fed and was now snoozing in milk heaven. Hughie, on the other hand, would try and make a break for it every now and then, so Richard had to hang on tightly. He finally gave in and handed the little boy over to his Aunt Brenda, who was sitting farther back in the audience with the rest of Tizzard\u2019s extended family.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Eddie looked down over the assembled RCMP officers and his family and smiled when he saw Hughie trying to get up closer towards him. He could also hear Hughie yelling \u201cDaddy, Daddy\u201d whenever the little boy got pulled back into the crowd. He smiled again as his superintendent called him to the podium and asked him to take off his corporal\u2019s uniform jacket. Ron Quigley then handed him his new jacket with three chevrons pointing down and a crown on top on the right sleeve of his dress uniform, the RCMP\u2019s famous red serge.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There were no speeches. That wasn\u2019t the RCMP\u2019s style. So, the two men shook hands, and Tizzard walked back to his place to thunderous applause from his fellow officers and family. Next on the agenda was the promotion of Windflower\u2019s assistant in Grand Bank, Constable Samira Gupta, to corporal. This time Windflower did the honours, and Gupta exchanged her old uniform for one with two chevrons pointing down that indicated her new rank. She didn\u2019t have any family in the crowd but was very popular with the troops, given the nice round of applause that she also received.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some of those were special cheers from Windflower\u2019s wife, Sheila Hillier, and his daughters, Stella and Amelia Louise, who had come over from Grand Bank for the occasion. All three loved Sam Gupta. They loved Eddie Tizzard, too. But they all had also made a strong connection with Windflower\u2019s new sidekick and now brand new corporal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There was a small reception afterwards with coffee and a large cake with the RCMP insignia on it. Both girls had a large piece of cake while Windflower and Sheila visited with Richard Tizzard and Carrie. It was a great celebration day for the Force, as the members called it, and there was plenty of good cheer all around.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But while the Mounties and their families were celebrating, something far more sinister was happening a short distance from the hotel where they were eating their cake.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A group of men had ambushed an armoured truck, and two of them had managed to somehow get inside and now had both armed guards hostage. They ordered the guards to undress, took them to another vehicle, a large panel van, and shoved them inside. As someone else drove them off, the first two men stripped and put on the security guards\u2019 uniforms.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As the reception continued at the hotel, the fake security guards resumed the route that the real guards had been on and made stops at a number of local businesses before making one last visit to the bank in the shopping mall. They looked like the real deal as they walked into the branch. But instead of making their usual stop at one of the tellers, they asked to speak to the manager. A few minutes later the manager was left tied and muffled in the safe, and the false security officers walked out through the bank\u2019s main doors with bags of loot from their efforts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n By the time the alarms were sounded and the bank manager released from the safe, the robbers were long gone. Gone from the bank and gone from Marystown. The real security guards were found out on the highway where they had walked to after being dumped in a deserted area. The day after, when the police started looking for suspects, they were not only off the Burin Peninsula, but they were waiting for a flight at the airport in Gander to take them completely out of the province. Of course, none of that would be known for days as the investigation into the boldest crime in Marystown history began.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u2013 Excerpted from Friends Are Forever by Mike Martin, Ottawa Press and Publishing, 2025. Reprinted with permission.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n About the Author<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Mike Martin was born in St. John\u2019s, NL He is the award-winning author of the A Tangled Web<\/i>\u00a0was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and\u00a0Darkest Before the Dawn\u00a0<\/i>won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award.\u00a0All That Glitters<\/i> was shortlisted for the LOLA 2024 Must Read Book of the year award.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest Darkest Before the Dawn<\/i> was released as an audiobook in 2024. All audiobooks are available from Audible in Canada and around the world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Website & Social Media:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Website <\/b>\u279c<\/b> \u00a0https:\/\/sgtwindflowermysteries.com\/<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Twitter <\/b>\u279c<\/b> https:\/\/www.x.com\/<\/b>mike54martin<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Facebook <\/b>\u279c<\/b> \u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/span>
\nSgt. Windflower Mystery series, author Mike Martin continues to craft
\nintrigue in the cultural and geographical setting unique to Newfoundland
\n and Labrador. Readers new to the Windflower mysteries and those
\nreturning will experience the joys of a close-knit community that
\nthrives on the simpler things in life: por\u2019 cakes, a lighthouse in
\nserious need of a facelift, TV movie nights and the warmth of
\nget-togethers with family and friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEg69umu7DLR3rlAG5qdFL4jLFquUe7zgA75qdb9b4hd7EU-_pinr_3DMDsYLf0bXWjHKhvat_B4Vhi0FS_UqlWgk9jQ0Bvdvq-xtTqSe13kiViNdro_qIUIgbiPjriiRFBhTr-1CG0eZ6CcAYWPc_H6yXaSmKfbmfBLCLCV6lOhQ9JN2LDB7gVF9uIlxA\/s445\/Mike%20Martin.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario.
\n He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have
\nappeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in
\n the United States and New Zealand.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nbest-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand
\nBank. There are now 16 books in this light mystery series with the
\npublication of Friends are Forever<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nCrime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian
\ncrime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers\u2019
\nGuild and Capital Crime Writers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n