Cry Me a Murder (part eight): Mother Knows Beast
The corpse of Mr. Tejon -soon to be buried under his official name of Ted Jones, was all over the kitchen floor. Like agent Phelps before him, Ted Jones had been torn to shreds. Deep claw marks ran from his torn throat to his open abdomen that was now...
Cry Me a Murder (part seven): Only a Scream Away.
Hotel Kisanti was without electricity. The lights were out, the whooshing of the ceiling fans slowed and rattled like the exhale of a dying man. The industrial freezers thawed, endangering the shelf-lives of a thousand dollars' worth of ice cream. The...
Pages From a Dog’s Diary #3
It really doesn't take much - a warm space under the kitchen table, the simmering kettle on the polished stove - Mrs Grant's quiet humming of a popular song.You could also say, it takes a whole lot, but mostly it's the sum of tiny things that makes...
Pages From a Dog’s Diary #2
**Pages From a Dog's Diary #2** There is a strange old house on Thistle lane. I've always believed it was vacant, but today I saw something that makes me stop and look at the curious house, whenever I pass by; if for just a moment. The house...
Pages From a Dog's Diary
**Pages From a Dog's Diary #1** I have often wondered, what was behind the green gate. It looked as if it was never opened; old and dusty, on rusty hinges and with thick layers of green paint flaking off. But today, someone had left that gate...
Fallen Angels, Part Eight - Kisses From a Demon
Chapter Seven Kisses From a Demon Like a rare bubble of clean air can rise to the surface of a festering mire, a wave of clarity washed over my mind, if only for a second. _Please,_ I begged some uncaring god, _don't let me do this. I don't wish to...
Fallen Angels, Part seven - See Daniel Run. See Daniel Kill
Chapter Six Desmond Crane was an impressive looking man in his late forties. His hair was gray around the temples, same color as his eyes. He wore expensive shoes and a cheap shirt two sizes too small. _He lives alone_, I realized. _Same as...
Fallen Angels, Part six - Murder in Mind
Chapter Five Murder in Mind The tiny traveling _Circus Mascot_ was part circus and part freakshow, all mixed up. The performers traveled across the country to entertain towns large and small, with their acrobatic acts, freaks of nature and...
Fallen Angels, Part five - Night is the time for Killing
Chapter Four Night is the time for Killing Inspector Quinn loves coffee. Cappuchino, espresso, cortado - just give him a decent cup of joe and he'll love it with a passion that makes you suspect him of being secretly French. Only, I don't have hard...
Fallen Angels, Part Four - Can you Pet a Phantom Cat?
Chapter Three Can You Pet a Phantom Cat? The bottle of Bourbon was missing from Dr. Gill's office. When I arrived at the hospital, Quinn was staring intensely at the blank spot on the desk, as if he tried to make the bottle reappear by will...
Fallen Angels, Part three -Scratching the Itch
Chapter two Scratching the Itch I think Inspector Quinn and I were equally surprised when his crazy idea worked. We both knew that drinking is a strong trigger for my grip on reality to collapse. Time, space and dimensions buckle under their own...
Fallen Angels, Part two - Falling From Grace
Chapter one Falling From Grace "Daniel?" "Speaking." "Quinn here." _Inspector Quinn?_I reached for the remote and put _Kind of Blue_on pause. Quinn is one of the few people outside of my family who knows about my unusual condition. He's also chief...