The Dresden Files, #1
Storm Front
by Jim Butcher
Contents
Chapter Nineteen
Overview
Harry ambushes Donny Wise at Linda Randall’s apartment and learns Linda hired him to photograph an orgy at Victor Sells’s lake house for blackmail. Harry destroys the film to prevent further leverage, confirms the link to Victor’s circle, and deduces he was deliberately steered into the case. He resolves to confront Monica Sells.
Summary
Hiding in Linda Randall’s apartment, Harry waits as a nervous man enters and frantically searches beneath the bloodstained bed. Recognizing him as the photographer from Victor Sells’s lake house, Harry reveals himself, flashes his consultant badge, and pressures the intruder, Donny Wise, for answers.
When Donny tries to flee, Harry magically slams the door with a gust, frightening him into talking. Harry bargains with the film canister Donny seeks, then trades it for information to keep the investigation moving.
Donny admits Linda hired him to shoot through lake house windows during a storm, capturing Linda, another woman, and three men in a candlelit orgy—material Linda intended to use for leverage. Donny claims he would trash the film; Harry, sensing a lie, incinerates it with a spell to prevent further exploitation.
With the blackmail motive established and the lake house orgy linked to Victor’s circle, Harry experiences a surge of resolve against the killer using magic and the ThreeEye drug. He pieces together that his involvement wasn’t accidental: a cautious, nameless caller engineered his presence at the lake.
Concluding that Monica Sells orchestrated his entry into the case, Harry gathers his gear and leaves to confront her, aiming to break the plot before it kills him.
Who Appears
- Harry DresdenWizard investigator; corners Donny Wise, trades for information, burns incriminating film, and deduces Monica Sells lured him into the case.
- Donny WiseAnxious photographer; admits Linda hired him to shoot an orgy at Victor’s lake house for blackmail.