The Bodyguard

Flash Fiction by Roy Dorman Jeremy Fulton is enjoying his morning coffee in a little deli off 45th Street in New York City’s  Hell’s Kitchen area.  Surveying the other customers, he sees he’s the only one with an actual paper newspaper.  Everyone else has their heads buried in their laptops or are intently studying theirContinue reading “The Bodyguard”

Brimstone

Flash Fiction by Nick Di Carlo Between 1972 and ’74 when he was arrested, Brimley Stone abducted at least thirteen women, painted their faces, dressed them like Raggedy Ann dolls, and strangled them. He was 19. Serving hard time for life—no possibility of parole, Stone obsessed with time, agonizing over how he’d fill a lifetimeContinue reading “Brimstone”

The Cheater

Crime Fiction by Michael Downing Night is the hardest part. The stretch that burns you out inside, drawing out the minutes until they snap like a whip against your skin. Cooper sucks on his Marlboro, feeling the burn, squinting his eyes shut, letting the smoke roll around his head until it stings. The darkness neverContinue reading “The Cheater”

Havana Nocturne

Crime Fiction by Russell Thayer Gunselle adjusted her stylish new sunglasses, unshouldered the straps of her new bikini top, and melted into the poolside lounger to let the blazing Cuban sun caramelize her flesh. A green parrot with a smart red bib admired her from the limb of a potted Bougainvillea. Gunselle gave it aContinue reading “Havana Nocturne”

La Femme Bleu

Crime Fiction by Lissa Muir Abigail was, if you took her apart piece by piece—he didn’t, but he could have—altogether average. Five foot three or five depending on her shoes, straight brown hair, tawny skin, hazel eyes, a light dusting of freckles across her nose if she didn’t feel like wearing makeup. The cliché aboutContinue reading “La Femme Bleu”

Foundation Repair

Crime Fiction By William David Higgs III He had been repairing foundations for fifteen years, but it only took him fifteen minutes to decide that it was the worst condition he had seen a house in. It’s a miracle this place is still standing, he thought. He prepared to turn around when he heard clangingContinue reading “Foundation Repair”

Chuco Has A Bad Day

Crime Fiction by J. Marquez Jr. The world is an anthology full of short stories and small clips. Everybody has a story to tell and everyone has something to say. But not everybody tells their story. The majority cruise through life creating interesting stories that they eventually take to their graves.  Alike the world, IContinue reading “Chuco Has A Bad Day”

Cut

Crime Fiction by Kevin Hopson “We have a problem, boss,” Wally said. Wally was my right-hand man, and he sat across from my desk, his dark mustache twitching nervously as he met my gaze. “What kind of problem?” I said. “It concerns this morning’s shipment.” It was the 1970s, and I ran a small –Continue reading “Cut”

Charon 2.0

Crime Fiction by Matthew Snyderman It wasn’t until he’d decided to kill himself that Joel Barkley gained the relief meds and booze had failed to provide.  Fading fast was the guilt for having laid off the employees at his floundering art gallery.  Ditto the night sweats over his landlord’s increasingly loud threats to put hisContinue reading “Charon 2.0”

Parfum

Crime Fiction by Kim Castle The night her brother Jason flung himself off the 500-foot-high bluff, the full moon glowed a chalk white, hovering above the Pacific Ocean’s shimmering surface. Just before he leaped to his death, he probably heard the harbor lighthouse’s foghorn blasting out a low and steady moan. Jodene Moore imagined hisContinue reading “Parfum”