Detective Joanna Steele arrives fifteen minutes late. She apologizes without making excuses, orders a black coffee she never touches, and scans everyone entering the cafรฉ before finally taking a seat.
The interview begins with questions about growing up in Hollywood, her family’s successful horror films, Catholic school, film school, the engagement she ended, and the surprising decision to leave Hollywood behind for a badge and a gun.
Twenty minutes later, Detective Steele glances at her watch.
JOANNA STEELE: I really should get back.
CRIMESPREE: Just a few more questions.
JOANNA: That’s what you said ten minutes ago.
CRIMESPREE: I know. But we’d be doing our readers a disservice if we let you leave without asking about the case.
(Joanna eyes him carefully. Sheโs worked on a few cases that have gained notoriety.)
JOANNA: Which case is that?
CRIMESPREE: A teenager is murdered in broad daylight on Hollywood Boulevard, one of the country’s busiest streets, and you’re saying no one saw anything?
JOANNA: I never said that. Make sure you get what I say right. It’s important. What I said was that no one willing to talk saw anything. There’s a difference.
CRIMESPREE: Why wouldn’t they talk?
JOANNA: (staring intently) It’s easier to convince yourself you didn’t see something than to get involved. Fear has a way of rewriting memory. Some people have a strong appetite for apathy. I’ve seen people step over a dead body because they were late for work. There was a producer who cried harder over a canceled movie than over the murder of someone who worked for him. After a while, you stop asking why. You just keep taking notes..
CRIMESPREE: At what point did you realize Kiddy’s murder wasn’t just another homicide?
JOANNA: I never see a murder case as just another homicide. The minute I stopped asking who killed him and started asking who he really wasโฆ victims have stories. If you ignore them, you usually miss the truth.
CRIMESPREE: You studied film before becoming a detective. Has that education ever helped you solve a homicide?
JOANNA: Every crime scene tells a story. The trick is figuring out which parts connect. I am also known for using storyboards.
CRIMESPREE: Storyboards?
JOANNA: They can help with timelinesโฆ witnesses.
CRIMESPREE (glancing through his notebook): My notes say your primary witness is a drifter… a homeless woman. Is she on one of your storyboards?
(Joanna’s expression shifts, and the smile slowly dissolves.)
JOANNA: Then your notes are wrong. This is an active murder investigation. Next question.
CRIMESPREE: Fair enough. Without discussing witnesses specifically, has anyone involved in this investigation surprised you?
JOANNA: Everyone and everything. Thatโs why we call it an investigation.
CRIMESPREE: You grew up around horror movies. Has real life ever frightened you more than your family’s scary movies?
JOANNA: Movies are make-believe. Evil isn’t. There are real-life monsters. They donโt scare me; they make me want to take them down.
CRIMESPREE: You walked away from Hollywood, canceled your wedding, and chose homicide over what many would call a dream career. Do you ever wonder what your life would’ve been like if you’d stayed?
JOANNA: I don’t spend much time wondering about the life I didn’t choose or about what others think. The one I did choose keeps me busy enough. But if you’re asking about regretsโฆ I have none.
CRIMESPREE: You’ve spent your career searching for the truth in other people’s lives. What about your own? Has this investigation brought you any closer to the truth you’re seeking?
(Joanna doesn’t answer right away. Instead, she unlocks her phone and scrolls through several photos.)
JOANNA: Ever notice those God billboards around Los Angeles? My partner laughs every time I stop to take a picture.
CRIMESPREE: God’s billboards?
JOANNA: That’s what he calls them.
(She smiles to herself as she continues scrolling.)
JOANNA: Most people drive right past them. I used to, too.
(She stops at one photo and turns the phone toward Crimespree.)
“Surely You desire truth in the inward being.” Psalm 51:6
JOANNA: There are others.
“God is always home.”
“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
(She slips the phone back into her pocket.)
JOANNA: To answer your question… no. I don’t think I’ve found what I’m looking for yet.
(She pauses.)
JOANNA: But I think I’m finally asking better questions.
CRIMESPREE: Is this how you approach your murder cases โ by looking for better questions?
JOANNA: Every murder asks the same question, though in a different way. Sometimes the investigation changes before the detective does.
(Joanna starts to get up. She points to her watch.)
CRIMESPREE: Last question.
JOANNA: You’ve said that twice already.
CRIMESPREE: This one really matters. After everything you’ve seenโฆ Hollywood, violence, broken families, betrayal, and murder, what still makes Detective Joanna Steele want to get out of bed in the morning?
JOANNA: Every once in a while, someone does the right thing even when there’s nothing to gain. Those people remind me why I came to work this morning… and why I’ll come back tomorrow. And of courseโฆ I have a murder to solve..
Kevin Moore is the imaginative storyteller behind Jack Kellyโs gripping paranormal adventures. His debut novel, โThe Book of Souls,โ earned an Amazon Editorsโ Pick for Best Science Fiction & Fantasy and a Global Book Award Gold Medal for Ghost Fiction. The sequel, โThe Book of Demonsโ โ described as Harry Potter meets The Exorcist โ was chosen as a BookLife Editorsโ Pick. In early 2026, Moore continues the saga with โPandoraโs Box and The Lost Boys,โ an even darker and more intense ride.
Moore also explores new ground with โWaking Sleeping Beauty,โ a neo-noir thriller about redemption and awakening. Bold, unsettling, and unforgettable โ this is not your motherโs fairytale. The novel will be released in 2026.
Beyond the paranormal and noir, Mooreโs โChristmas Stories: 7 Original Short Storiesโ became an Amazon No. 1 bestseller, while โChristmas Stories Volume IIโ won gold in the Global Book Awards for Short Stories and was named a Christlit Book Award winner.
