By Matthew Senn Marshal’d come back on a wagon that wasn’t his, pulled by a horse that sure as hell wasn’t his either. Coming to a crawl outside Farrell’s’, a group of us gathered to greet ‘im. He didn’t smile. His face & the cross onnis neck covered with dust. A fresh bullet graze satContinue reading “You got Faith. I got Works.”
Tag Archives: Crime Fiction
Swimming Under Barges
By Jason P. Reed You couldn’t practice swimming under a barge and coming out the other side alive. It was something you had to just do. Or not. Most guys didn’t. Wouldn’t even think of it. But sixteen year old Neville Breaux wasn’t most guys. There was something about his chemical makeup that made himContinue reading “Swimming Under Barges”
The Backyard Digger
By Robb White The boy was a nuisance. Every day I’d find him digging out there with his child’s shovel and pail with happy cartoon figures bordering the tops and bottom. I was solely concerned about his well-being, not the fact he was trespassing. Two summers ago, we had two bands of coyotes raising theirContinue reading “The Backyard Digger”
Poison Marsh Summer
By Mark Benedict When your parents first pitch you on their idea to steal a laundry basket full ofcash, you know you should skate. Not that you’re above petty crimes. Heck no. In fact, petty crimes are kind of your thing. But it’s a dark, do-nothing chapter in your life, not to mention that theseContinue reading “Poison Marsh Summer”
A Scene Illuminating the Perils of Truancy
By B.W. Carter So, yeah, this boy, he’s standing on his usual corner, right, watching traffic dissolve into the vast white wash of the sun. The day is loud as a concert and very bright. The boy is slouching against a streetlamp. Squinting into the beeping, belching exhaust-sweet bustle, he smokes his last cigarette. Smoking,Continue reading “A Scene Illuminating the Perils of Truancy”
An Inconvenient Death
By Ben Mimmack Inspector Forsyth looked across at the doctor and considered whether to unbutton his trousers. Dr. Tyler was driving them both to a black-tie Christmas dinner in Devizes and Forsyth’s suit trousers were a relic of a younger and fitter past. The cummerbund would hide the undone button, but he doubted he couldContinue reading “An Inconvenient Death”
Buxom Burgers and Flirty Fries
By Dave Larson Chapter One Katie turned to her sister, “Kathy, do you expect me to kill a cow myself. We needground beef to sell hamburgers. And to make hamburger gravy for the fries. I don’t want to do this, but I’m going to quote Clara Peller, ‘where’s the beef’”? The sisters, called the burgerContinue reading “Buxom Burgers and Flirty Fries”
Fun in the Sun
By T’Naus Nieto I tried to control my breathing. My heart knocked against my rib cage. My stomach was in knots, and at times I had to fight the urge to vomit. I knew what I was doing was good, but I couldn’t help but feel bad about it. I comforted myself with the knowledgeContinue reading “Fun in the Sun”
Warhawk Road
By Ken Wheaton Tyler’s shadow stretched before him in the moonlight, landing on his girlfriend’s back. The first time they’d driven up 285 into the mountains just west of Denver, they’d picked a moonless night and the dark was too much. It pressed, it smothered. Every sound was amplified, every crackling twig a mountain lion.Continue reading “Warhawk Road”
Discretion
By M.C. Herrington I was sure I’d seen the face before. The illustration looked like a police composite, maybe hand drawn in pencil, maybe computer generated– I couldn’t tell which from the TIF. I received at least fifty new illustrations for the magazine each week, and I had a slush pile of a few hundred,Continue reading “Discretion”