Detective Fiction by James Clar Honolulu, 1948 My chair creaked as I lit a cigarette and leaned back to make myself comfortable. I had some foot-dangling to catch up on. I was out of practice. The overhead fan in my office above a pawn shop on Hotel Street did little to blunt the odors fromContinue reading “Taking Care Of Business”
Category Archives: Crime Fiction
Kayfabe
Crime Fiction by Gregory Meece A sharp clang cut through the arena—brass on bone. Wild Bill Brewster crumpled, wide-eyed, staring at nothing. John McMurphy didn’t flinch. The fans roared—at first. McMurphy knew how they worked. They’d buy the blood, revel in it. Then doubt would creep in. Too real. Too much blood for a convertedContinue reading “Kayfabe”
A Rare And Fragile Flower
Speculative Crime Fiction by Floyd Largent Sometimes, Kenbe Bilundgren thought he understood humans beings; other times, he was certain he did not. In the ten months since he had been manumitted by Master’s death, he had made a continuing attempt to comprehend the greater society of which he was now a part. One thing heContinue reading “A Rare And Fragile Flower”
Detroit Noir
Flash Fiction by Drew Bufalini Danny Bonbono parked on the Belle Isle beach in his Escalade nervously puffing a cigarette, rethinking for the trillionth time the wisdom of going behind his Family’s back. His father would either be proud or murderous. Launching a new Family on the backs of his enemies was ambitious. There wasn’tContinue reading “Detroit Noir”
The Solid Right Cross
Flash Fiction by William Kitcher She was good. Really good. Not perfect; her style was slightly sloppy, but not enough to attract undue close negative attention from the average passerby of life. You see, she’d punched this guy at the end of the bar who’d been paying no attention to her with a right crossContinue reading “The Solid Right Cross”
A Slip And A Fall
Crime Fiction by Russell Guenther Norv watched as the three boys laid their trap, making no attempt to stop them. He found it more effective to let them finish their mischievous little games and catch them afterward. They were more remorseful this way. He stood at the glass entry doors leading into the main schoolContinue reading “A Slip And A Fall”
Piece Offering
Crime Fiction by Jon Matthew Farber With one notable exception, the chess players sat at their boards, waiting for the tournament director to announce the start of play. In retrospect, the missing person would have done far better to stay away. The bulk of the hall was set up with long rows of chessboards, chessContinue reading “Piece Offering”
No Ransom
Crime Fiction by Jim Courter As the car bumped over unpaved country roads, Ernie Sticklin bouncing in the trunk along with the jack and the spare and who knew what else, it occurred to him that he should have taken more seriously the plot-making gears in his head that had imagined this scenario, that oneContinue reading “No Ransom”
Cold Turkey on Black Friday
Flash Fiction by Bern Sy Moss Almost, one year. Black Friday marks the day my wife, Janie, disappeared. I remembered her saying, “early bird gets the worm,” on that morning as she pecked at my forehead with a gesture that almost resembled an actual kiss before she headed off to the shopping mall. “Birdbrain,” IContinue reading “Cold Turkey on Black Friday”
Today, There Will Be No Charges
Crime Fiction by Galen Pickett Keeping an eye on Mr. Curtis was not a problem at all. Every lane change was signaled. The nondescript sedan seemed in good repair. The occasional flicker of the brake lights gave the detectives plenty of warning that Curtis was slowing down, and the running lights called just the rightContinue reading “Today, There Will Be No Charges”