She looks scared and not very bright. That’s Jared’s first impression, and he’s a man who bets on first impressions. She’s thin except for the swell of her belly, as round as a full moon. She’s wearing a pale blue… Continue Reading
She doesn’t flinch as the counterfeits in white aprons — her co-conspirators — arrange the raw seafood on her skin. Pink and white, tuna and squid, their hands drop the squares in circles, sweeping the meat in spirals over her stomach,… Continue Reading
Tim fled from his afternoon nightmares to answer the insistent clamoring of the telephone. He tucked the receiver between the sweat-soaked pillow and his ear. “Yeah?” he mumbled. Godliness with contentment is great gain / those who desire to be… Continue Reading
Myra opened her eyes. Light splashed through the angled mini blinds, drawing a trapezoidal pattern of white and gray on the carpet. She turned onto her side and the sheets gripped her body, wrapping her in a fist. The light… Continue Reading
Jimmy Fourfingers looked across the square, his professional eye appraising the mid-day office crowd. He shook his head. High-rise, latte-sipping zombies. Downtown the scores tended to be high, but there were also lot of eggs. For every Mr. Mark there… Continue Reading
“If he’d stayed like that, I wouldn’t have killed him.” Wouldn’t-‘ve-killed-‘im, wouldn’t-‘ve-killed-‘im, whispered the tyres of the London bus as it travelled through the wet, wintry streets. On board, Dora Chadwick wrapped her navy blue coat closer about her, rubbed… Continue Reading
Masterson was getting bored. If it wasn’t for the fact that the guy was producing the highest quality recreational pharmaceuticals in the Northern hemisphere, he wouldn’t have given him the time of day. “Look,” he said. “Stop fannying around. If… Continue Reading
On the steps leading from Bank Tube Station’s north exit, Ralph Jones instantly recognised the woman barging past him. Her swarthy Middle Eastern features were infamous, as were those fathomless, deathly black eyes. “Oi! It’s Nadeen What’s-Her-Name,” shouted Ralph, pointing… Continue Reading
“H… hello, Mr. Sterne.” “Oh, yes. Jonathan, please sit down.” “Th… thank you.” “You look terrible, my boy. You’re shaking. Are you all right?” “Not… really.” “And you smell as though you’ve been drinking.” “I may have had…” “Well, that’s… Continue Reading
A teenage girl is home alone at night for the first time when a storm knocks out the lights. She calls her father. “Are the lights on in the neighborhood?” he asks. She looks out the window. “Yes.” “Then it’s… Continue Reading