Theo
Minor Infractions
Sales were up for the third of four quartersThis was despite the agreed-upon bordersThe owner was glee, all a-thrill and elatedThe enforcement of law in his ambit abated. A deal was signaled: “this far and no more.And if you comply we will simply ignoreTransgressions you may or may not have committed.They stand wholly separate from … Read more
Truth Be Told
Auggie looked at the boy suspiciously. “What do you have to say for yourself?” “I don’t know what you mean, sir.” His red coat was faded from the long Virginia summer. “The hell you don’t. I walked outside this morning and found my favorite fruit tree hugging the grass.” “The one near the Rappahannock River? … Read more
Sleep, Interrupted
Scientists called it “auditory exclusion.” Aubrey Johnson would discover that later when she began obsessively researching. It started with Google “why wasn’t the gunshot loud” and ended with a thirty-nine-page research paper by Pilson, Myers, et al. But all of that would come later, after she dealt with the now. Now was limited by “visual … Read more
Thicker Than Water
It really was a thing of beauty. A fountain of clear water, spurting cold and clean, the sunlight scattering every which way. Even when it hit the blood—bright red arterial pulsing—the solar illumination was a picture waiting to be captured. Ansel Adams would have made millions. Stunning as the clear fountain was, I was drawn … Read more
525,600 Dollars
When given an inch, I consider it rude not to take the entire mile. So, when my grenade lady offered a BOGO, I decided it was time to stock up. She normally retailed them at $300—her wholesaler was an African warlord’s angry wife, or so she claimed. But TODAY ONLY!, your average purchaser of grenades … Read more
The Red Thread
The address led Rachel to a forgotten street. Ancient elm trees laced their branches overhead, casting a perpetual twilight over houses that had settled deep into their foundations, their paint peeling. Professor E.S. Ward’s house, number seventeen, was the most neglected. A low stone wall, half-swallowed by ivy, marked a yard where weeds had long … Read more
Three of Hearts
Jen opened the door, enjoying the delicious feel of skin on cloth beneath the trench coat. Oh, sure, it was tropey as hell. But tropes existed for a reason, right? She closed it quietly behind her, the snick of the bolt a bright sound in the dark house. He was probably waiting upstairs, perhaps reading … Read more