Do No Harm Or Injustice

Crime Fiction by C.D. Baxter Marquis fired potshots from his Glock as the rattlesnake wound across the floor toward the pile of ballooned-up black tar heroin tucked inside his living room fireplace. He’d come home jacked-up, nodding in the entryway. The heaven of his high vanished once he blasted a round into his right footContinue reading “Do No Harm Or Injustice”

A Fast Weekend

Crime Fiction By William D. Higgs III Some people called me a “private detective,” but I thought of myself as a fixer. People came to me with problems, and I fixed them. Someone thought their husband was screwing around, so I’d follow the bastard, take a few pictures of him going into a seedy motel,Continue reading “A Fast Weekend”

Tiny Soldiers

Crime Fiction By Anthony Ventre Fabian and Joe Bottom just left. They split, both of them, a few minutes ago. A couple of creeps! Sniff! Sniff! Fabian’s cheap cologne permeates the curtains, my clothing, the entire cottage. Joe Bottom stood right over there by the china closet, lips slightly parted, baring his keyboard ivory teeth.Continue reading “Tiny Soldiers”

Dead Short

Crime Fiction By Tony Sweatland The cops showed up while Mickey was in surgery. Liz didn’t say much other than the basics. He tried to get me, we fought back. He shot at Mickey. Mickey shot back. They still had plenty of questions but they were understanding of the situation and made arrangements to talkContinue reading “Dead Short”

Plausible Deniability

Crime Fiction by Richard L. Matta I’m ocean fishing for striped bass (“Stripers”) … deliberately within cell phone range of home, where they’ll be another battle on her birthday. Conscience restrained me before, but sometimes events push you beyond your tipping point—tear away decency, set actions in motion which can’t be undone, exposing you toContinue reading “Plausible Deniability”

Khaos on the Karnival Kruise

Crime Fiction By Derek Maldonado The boat docked at 2100. I stared beyond the eastern sky as the moon reflected off the silent sea. A look back down at the clipboard in my hands showed a list of every passenger on the cruise, all 37 of them. The Karnival Platinum Express had finally finished itsContinue reading “Khaos on the Karnival Kruise”

An Atypical Day

Crime Fiction By Liam Musumeci After sipping his usual three shots of espresso, Frankie headed to the nearby smoke shop.This was his morning routine, as he took precisely five minutes slurping from his piping hot to-go cup before walking over to 9th Ave Tobacco. Frankie enjoyed the feeling from cigarettes after an ample amount ofContinue reading “An Atypical Day”

Checkmate

Crime Fiction by Maurice Givens After eighteen months, Robert White was beginning to feel like his life was returning. He no longer felt dead. After the mess in the city ended, and with time, he had discarded most of the unpleasantness, but he couldn’t erase the image of Sarah’s body on the kitchen floor, lifelessContinue reading “Checkmate”

The Bad Sleep

By William David Higgs III Seventy-two hours. That’s how long I had been awake. My downstairs neighbor blasted Korean soap operas at full volume. I would’ve told the asshole to turn it down, but the asshole was my landlord. Ms. Hwangbo. If her love of bad K-drama wasn’t enough, the hag was deafmute, which sheContinue reading “The Bad Sleep”