The prison gates opened slowly, without sound. No clang, no warning bell, just the quiet roll of steel parting from steel. A guard stepped aside and gave a small nod, more reflex than gesture, already turning back before the man had cleared the threshold. Earl stepped out carrying a canvas duffel that sagged near the seams. He paused, taking in the sky with a look that wasn’t awe or relief, just recognition. The light had...

1971, New York City I scraped the heel of my boot on the concrete, afraid to look at what I’d stepped in on the dimly lit street that smelled of piss and booze. Sounds came from the shadows and crevices even a cop wouldn’t dare investigate. And especially that night, I kept my head down and walked with purpose, something I’d learned when venturing into the city's seedy underbelly. West 42nd Street was part of my beat, and...

Charlie maneuvered through the throng of county police, shoving her badge into the face of anyone who tried to stop her. Close on her heels was her squad's best forensic analyst—who grumbled in dissatisfaction the moment they arrived. "What?" "The heat," Claire answered, clutching her kit to her chest to relieve her shoulder of its bulky weight. "TOD is going to be off..." "Sheriff!" Charlie called, greeting the man as he...

On the 21st of June 1935, a murder was committed, a murder that would go down in history as one of the great mysteries of its time. John Simmons was shot and killed inside a locked and bolted room at his home. No weapon was found and the killer was never caught. As a man, Simmons was not known to have had any enemies and this strange crime appeared to have been committed without a motive. What made the mystery even more e...

For the first time, a month after her twenty-second birthday, Maria, shadowed by her mother, greeted guests arriving at their seaside residential compound. Year in, year out, this was the most exclusive New Year’s Eve party on Earth. Yet one so shrouded in secrecy, that whispers had never once reached the gossip columnists’ ears. Maria was dressed outrageously; if her glamourous little black outfit hadn’t been the most ex...

As he watched the football results in an electrical retailer’s window, he saw that the only goal scored in the Denwick-Whitelaw match was scored by Tristan Simian, a Swedish striker. It didn’t surprise him one iota. Tristan played for Denwick in the third division, and at his current firing rate, his team were heading for the top of the league. They were fourth. It wouldn’t have surprised him if talent scouts had already...

Downtown Los Angeles To everyone in the room, she seemed like just a normal girl wearing Vans, blue jeans, and a red hoodie. They could see she was visibly nervous, understandably so, as were the other four people outside still waiting to be interviewed.  “Are you hurt anywhere?” the woman asked.  “Physically, no,” the girl answered. “Just shaken. Is it still going on?” “Yes,” said a man wearing a dark suit holding a cell...

Tina felt the bedsheet peel away from her skin as she sat up. She was covered in a sheen of sweat from head to toe. Her hair was damp and matted. Even at midnight with all the windows open and no clothing but panties, Tina could not seem to beat the heat. It was making sleep more and more difficult all the time. For days, the city had been caught in a heatwave. The temperature had cracked thirty degrees Celsius on each of...

It was brilliant. In fact, it was genius. He surprised himself at just how great his idea actually was, and it led him to ponder whether or not all great ideas came from the murky depths of a mind fuelled by alcohol. He was fast on the way to becoming drunk, as he certainly wasn’t sober. Did all great philosophers and inventors get their ideas from the shadowy realms of the subconscious? he wondered, presented to them in...

The Price of Betrayal   God, it’s cold tonight, he thought, his breath hanging in the air in front of his face as he exhaled. He remembered a time when, as a child, he would puff out on cold days like these, trying to make smoke rings, like his Grandfather used to amuse him with. Of course, Grandfather had been smoking a cigar at the time. He stood in the darkened doorway of a small electrical store which was deep enough...

She's always warm at night and she wasn't mad at me anymore so I was half-asleep next to her for hours, just happy to be in bed and warm again. I wanted to tell her I was sorry for everything but I can't ever find the words. The feeling's there and so is the sound but there's just a dark unfathomable gap between me and the words. But she eventually said it was okay. Her face had searched me then. Those beautiful and tranq...

I can't believe the cheek of him, bold as anything, staring out at me with his stupid face. Well, there's no way I'm putting up with this. No way. I've never liked him, never trusted him. He's smarmy and sly, and now here he is, a face on a poster outside the small Shaftsbury theatre, in the town where I live. He's appearing in a pantomime in a kid's play for God's sake. This man killed an old woman in a drunken hit and r...

The letter-box slammed shut, the sound reverberating throughout the road, and inside the houses in the vicinity. Geoff Howell turned and stalked back along the path to the gate, not bothering to close it behind him. He walked to the next house, angrily posting their mail, and rummaging in his bag for more.  He was 46 years old, lived alone in a third floor flat, was five feet six inches tall, and sported jet black wavy ha...

They all lie, you see, every last one of them. Sometimes you got to change tactics, it's all psychology at first. Some you finesse, go soft and quiet and sweet. Make them feel safe. Some you close in on, really loud and hard, scream if you have to, never break eye contact. And some, well, you have to go even harder on. Grab their elbow or neck. Slap them, hit quick while that fear is fresh, like an animal, while yelling....

The night was sticky and hot and I was sweating plenty even though it was well past sunset. Gravel crunched beneath my shoes, echoed loud off abandoned buildings. This neighborhood wasn’t safe after dark but I was hurting and needed to be here. A five-inch blade was folded up in my pocket just in case. Manny’s black Ford sat rusting in its usual spot, five spaces over from the back door of the Skol Bar. Three men talked s...