The cars quietly drifted up and down the cables all night long. Talking to each other. Mumbling. Thinking. Hullo. Hullo. Good evening, Totem, sang the red gondola. It was a low, drone song. Good evening, Ewe, sang the blue gondola.… Continue Reading
My younger brother Ben and I sit shoulder to shoulder on the worn leather couch in our family room. “I promise you both Dad is going to fight this,” my mother quietly says. Her eyes meet mine, and I see… Continue Reading
Our brief interview involved more cannibalism than I would have guessed. At the river with my kids, on the last day of summer, and my son is picking up rocks along the shore finding snakes and wolf spiders hauling egg… Continue Reading
Todd Benway is out in his backyard, assembling the swing set he and his wife bought for their daughter Lexy’s birthday. Todd’s wife, Angela, is by the patio weeding her rose garden. They exchange a smile and a wave. Lexy,… Continue Reading
I. Instead of casseroles, the CDC caseworker brought the new widow a cardboard box of food. Canned corn. Dried beans. Prunes. A preprinted label declared this box appropriate for the widow’s age and weight. “It’s not usually quite enough,” the… Continue Reading
Butterfly Boy is watching TV in the trailer park house he shares with his ma, Jeannie. His castle is guarded by a moat of cigarette butts and beer bottles. His face is brown like hers, but the bandages covering his… Continue Reading
Hank sat listening to Oliver describe the car for the fifth time, trying to look engaged, though he couldn’t help the occasional glance past the young man into the kitchen where his pitcher of martinis was waiting. If he suggested… Continue Reading
Ben Taylor was the sort of man who thought nothing of killing another with an unannounced shot from behind. Further, he knew his reputation as just such a man preceded him. He knew he’d probably meet his fate the same… Continue Reading
From: Assistant Editor, Mystery Mayhem Tales MagazineDate: March 14, 2017 8:12 AMTo: jjmmysterymaster@yahoo.comSubject: Submission of “Egregious Accounting Exploits” Dear JJM: I have just finished reading your manuscript of “Egregious Accounting Exploits,” and I am very concerned about the content of… Continue Reading
Approaching the courtyard, Al, my brother, hauled his leather sandals under his shaved armpits. I copied him and reached my left hand closer to his right, but he flinched. “I will not hold her until she covers her face,” he… Continue Reading