By Scott McDonald I took a job in Tucson. Unusual for me but the customer was very motivated and paid extra, plus all expenses. Wanted the job done in a particular way. Insisted that I don’t kill the guy instantly. That I incapacitate him, and then explain to him why a total stranger is makingContinue reading “Turtle”
Category Archives: Noir
Tracked
By Rena Robinett AIRPORT I – KALI I was sitting in the United concourse at San Francisco airport sucking Cappuccino foam off a spoon when I spotted him. This was my third time tracking him out of SFO, using a TSA security badge from an old friend. He came out of Terminal Three, walking fastContinue reading “Tracked”
All Saint’s Day of the Dead
By Jason P. Reed All Saint’s Day of the Dead is a book written by Jason P. Reed under the banner of New Bayou Books. This was said about the Author on Goodreads.com. “Jason studied English at what was then the University of Southwestern Louisiana in the mid 90s and worked as a technical writerContinue reading “All Saint’s Day of the Dead”
The Education of a Young Gentleman
By Charlie Jacobson And I eat men like air.—from Plath, Sylvia. “Lady Lazarus.” 1962. *** “Charles!” “Uh?” “Richie has a flat.” I rolled out of bed and stumbled after my mother into the kitchen. She thrust a receiver into my hand and lit a Chesterfield. I grunted. “Richie?” “Git your ass over here.” The lineContinue reading “The Education of a Young Gentleman”
Dirt
By Sean Williams It was July. The sky resembled living watercolor; dark blues and soft purples slowly consumed the fiery streaks of sunset. The air was thick enough to taste, yet cool enough to breathe. The smells were vivid, damp grass, fresh dirt, and the unmistakable scent of sulfur. A congress of strangers assembled intoContinue reading “Dirt”
Old Ninety-Seven
By Byron Spooner It’s one of those strange evenings when the moonlight reflecting off yesterday’s snow gives the whole world a soft bluish radiance. I’m out wandering around, no particular place to go, anywhere but home, and I see the Field House lights are on. The front door is unlocked. I stomp the snow fromContinue reading “Old Ninety-Seven”
Thinking of You
By Tony Sweatland Danny loves animals. And he hates people. Yesterday he knocked on a door and a woman wearing pj’s answered with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. Meanwhile, not twenty feet away, a small dog shivered in a plastic igloo-style dog house inside a 10’ by 10’ cage. He wrote herContinue reading “Thinking of You”
A Fast Weekend
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, and getContinue reading “A Fast Weekend”
Bedford Drive
By Charles Jacobson Los Angeles: Friday, April 4, 1958. 8:06 pm. Detective Ken Stricker left his ailing mother at the Valley Hospital, put on a coat and slid into his black ’56 Packard. Vice had been quiet. He caught a 273 and 314 on the scanner, switched it off and dialed in Guy Lombardo. VeeringContinue reading “Bedford Drive”
Fossil
By Steve Saulsbury They noticed the older man at the beach where people went looking for fossils. He was fiddling with his pack on a picnic table. Shane sprawled in the sand, puffing a crumpled cigarette. Lacey splashed along the shoreline. “Find any fossils?” Shane asked the man. “No. Just enjoying the scenery.” Lacey watchedContinue reading “Fossil”