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Murder at Venice Beach

Early Morning.

"Why don't you take a morning off? " Brad sighed. "And come back here, my love." Kelly smiled as she pulled running shorts over her long tanned legs. "You know I can't miss a day; Not, if I'm going to win that marathon. Keep me company." She tied her sneakers. "Not today babe. I'm real tired." Brad replied with one eye closed. "Besides, I can't keep up with you at my best." Kelly blew him a kiss. "Keep the bed warm. I'll be back real soon." She locked the apartment door behind her.

It was a damp, overcast morning at Venice Beach. The sea mist quickly enveloped Kelly, as she went through her leg stretches. "Maybe I should forget it this morning?" She thought and suddenly yearned to be safe in her lover's arms. The mist felt like icy fingers that pinched her skin. "But I must train every day." Reluctantly, she slowly began to run along the sidewalk. A drunk was passed out next to a trash dumpster, empty bottle by his side. He had been using it as his sleeping place for the last three nights; probably his diner as well, she suspected. Kelly wondered how old he was? It was impossible to tell with his long mattered hair and beard.
She encountered the homeless almost every day and it always depressed her, but when she turned onto Wave View street her spirits were raised as she passed by the quaint houses. Wave View is one of the many pedestrian alley ways that criss cross the city of Venice. The houses are an eclectic community of brightly painted wood bungalows and modern multi-level dwellings. The mist began to clear as Kelly ran passed her favorite house. It was shaped similar to a light house, with a stained glass dome of a roof. The front yard was open and she noticed the young man as he arranged fold-up tables. "He's having another garage sale." She thought. "Every Saturday, like clockwork." The man caught her gaze for an instant and then shyly turned away to set up his wares. "He's cute," she smiled and joined the cycle path that winds along the beach from Santa Monica through Venice and beyond. Kelly kicked her pace up a notch and began to pass most of the others already on the pathway; joggers, dog walkers and skate boarders.

These days the Venice beach community is a diverse group of the rich, poor, street performers, vendors and many vagrants. It is in some ways still a throwback from the sixties, with the ever present legacy of Jim Morrison on billboards, posters, and a even a tribute band that performs Doors music at

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