Category: Crime/Mystery/Thriller

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, Story of the Week

Pater Noster by Tobias Haglund

Tobias Haglund

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Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. I’m a string tied too tight on a harp close to breaking; the tired glow left after a flame; the last paint on the brush colouring the wall of my life and I look to you. Against you I’ve sinned and done what pains your eyes. Lord, turn your face away from my sins but don’t deny me your face or take away the Holy Spirit. Questions and lack of answers have plagued me in a lifetime lived in your honour. However, a lifelong devotion is outweighed by a single misstep. The path to salvation is through you and your son. A kind eye towards friends and foes are not the path; only the submission to your glory is. Continue reading “Pater Noster by Tobias Haglund” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Phil’s Last Journey by Diane Dickson

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When the willow fell it swept to the surface of the engorged torrent in a graceful swoon.  The roots wrenched from the ground flinging mud, pebbles, small boulders and the moss and grass of the bank skywards.  The whipping branches flew across the water to be grabbed and hurled downstream till their anchorage on the great trunk stayed them.  They streamed in the flood, tempestuous ribbons squirming and writhing in the wild water.

Continue reading “Phil’s Last Journey by Diane Dickson” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, General Fiction

Change By Hugh Cron – Adult Content

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It all started when that fat fucker moaned about having to give me change. I don’t ever say ‘Fat fucker’ as I am a rather large person myself but honestly, ‘Jabba The Fucking Garage’ really annoyed me. ‘Is that all you have got’ he enquired with a sneer and a sarcasm that I just couldn’t ignore. I advised him that I would look further. I exaggerated looking through my pockets and this was also lost on this fuck wit, he

Continue reading “Change By Hugh Cron – Adult Content” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, Story of the Week

The Front Page by David Louden – Adult Content

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The nags were against me. Six races. Six bets. All blown out before the finishing line. I’m going to change bars, I told myself, this place is bad fucking luck for me. Superstition and gambling become more impassioned bed fellows the worse your luck is – and mine, mine hadn’t seen anything to show for it in months.

I sat at the bar in the Front Page cursing my luck, cursing the Racing Post, cursing the barman who had talked through the back page of form listings and most probably caused me to rush to a decision when time and a clear head was required. As the stranger pulled up a seat beside me I cursed him too. Wednesday afternoon, quite possibly the quietest time in a bar’s week and in a room full of empty, cold seats this prick parks up alongside me.

Continue reading “The Front Page by David Louden – Adult Content” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

The Lost Dog by Robert V. Stapleton

Nik

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It was a grey April morning in downtown LA. I’d stopped outside my office to relight a stale cigarette butt. A woman was standing on the sidewalk just a few yards away, dressed in a red two-piece, the shade of an irate poinsettia. She was looking at me.

‘You Marlowe?’ she asked.

‘That’s me, lady.’

‘My name’s Marcia Reilly.’

I noticed she was wearing a wedding ring. ‘How can I help you, Mrs Reilly?’

‘Oh, Mr Marlowe,’ she sighed, ‘I’ve lost my little doggie.’

I drew on my cigarette and looked into her anxious face. ‘I’m sorry I can’t help you,’ I told her. ‘I’m a Private Investigator, not a dog-catcher.’

‘But you don’t understand,’ she whined, creasing her face as if she were on the verge of tears. ‘This one’s twenty-two carat gold, with diamond eyes. It’s an antique bracelet-charm worth a thousand dollars.’

Continue reading “The Lost Dog by Robert V. Stapleton” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Unanimous! by June Griffin

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It was late July when the lead story on the Ten O’Clock News opened with a view of our historic Freewater Courthouse and reported that a local, Philip Norland, had been arrested and charged with the deliberate murder of his 17-month son. He had left the toddler strapped in his car seat to die a long painful death by overheating in a locked car in the middle of a parking lot.

Continue reading “Unanimous! by June Griffin” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

The Old Man by Scott Sharpe

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Rust-orange scales litter the ground beneath the pine – sign of the squirrel’s search for the sweet seeds found tucked beneath the cone’s thorny lobes.  The scales fall like heavy snowflakes, twirling and seesawing to the forest floor.  As I raise my eyes to the bushy-tail sitting astride a pine limb, I’m thankful he’s ignorant of my presence and his certain death.  He’ll feel no pain, for I don’t miss.

Not anymore. Continue reading “The Old Man by Scott Sharpe” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

A Gift For Cheyenne by Nik Eveleigh (Adult Content)

Nik

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I know you’re watching me.

My eyes don’t work like they did in my twenties but I can still see you pushing up against my kitchen window, gawping. I should’ve pulled the curtain before I sat down but no matter. The glass could do with a lick but you can see the bars through it just like the others. And you can see me clear enough. Continue reading “A Gift For Cheyenne by Nik Eveleigh (Adult Content)” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Dilemma – An Experiment by Hugh Cron

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The woman cuddled the sleeping child who was oblivious to the man pointing the gun. The father stared and reasoned and wondered if he could. The other man also sat looking for an opportunity. The gunman stepped back and sat down in the armchair.

“Don’t even think about it folks. I know how to use this. I don’t panic and please forgive my arrogance but I am a damn good shot. I won’t miss.”

“What do you want?”

The father tried to keep his voice steady.

“I will get to that but let me first say, you are simply unlucky. I have nothing against any of you. But having just finished your barbecue, sitting having a drink and me seeing you is all that it has taken.”

She pulled the kiddie closer. Continue reading “Dilemma – An Experiment by Hugh Cron” →