crime

The Sweetest Smile by Jim Dawson Deena’s sweet smile scared me more than her right hook. I first encountered her in a two-story suburban home we both broke into. An undersized defensive tackle whose...

The Cashier Always Rings Twice by Jon Wesick I was sitting in my basement office at 4th and Drucker with nothing to keep me company but a bottle of rye whiskey and a bad...

Guts and a Gun by Jason Lairamore Now, I’m from Chicago, a dirty city-boy through and through, raised on the streets, and still working on the streets. I do odd jobs, bits of this...

Biting Worms by RK Greer It is now well after sunset and Pearce is on his fabric camping chair in his yard, drinking a beer. It was a hot day, but now the night...

Dying Declaration by Ann Marie Potter           It was a murder that could have happened in any city in America. It was a tragedy and because it happened in suburban Las Vegas it was...

Hog Heart by Gary Ives Paco fumbled with the orange package of ramen noodles. These boogers were tough to open sober, never mind drunk. Besides, he felt like shit. Wobbling under the dim overhead...

Trigger by Doug Hawley I’m out target shooting in the country when I hear the gravel crunch and somebody yells “Hey asshole, what are you doing?” Without thinking, I turn and shoot him. Well,...

The Golden Pass by Henry Simpson Daphne had already worked her way into Virginia’s confidence. Displaced Lola in her life. Soon she would convince Virginia to end Lola’s employment contract and evict her from...

Heart of Gold by Michael B. Brodin Sissy Krawczuk, just shy of her twenty first birthday, was swinging her hips down Santa Monica Boulevard in East L.A. when she stepped in shit. She knew...

Ronnie B’s by Bill Tope I Halloween, 1982 Shoe stood before the prep table in the kitchen, his huge, gleaming chef’s knife flailing away, chopping the cabbage, peppers, and carrots into a massive mess...