The Hollow Silence, Part One
**PREFACE** The story you're about to read is true. Of course, I cannot guarantee that every word is completely factual, because I was not personally around to witness the events, and two of the people involved could not be here to make corrections....
*Rewrite* The Extraordinary Casebook of Dr. Exeter; Chapters 1 and 2
**I: DEATH** _Aberdeenshire, Scotland, November 23, 1888_ Let us begin with the fact that I was dying. Not by a natural death from old age or heart failure or cirrhosis of the liver, but from strychnine poisoning, which is a very unpleasant way to...
Cry Me a Murder, Part III - a Strange Crunching Underfoot
We had worked on two cases together already, and our team of therian and otherkin was growing tighter than ever -but ra'gasso was far away from his jurisdiction. "i can't, man" he finally grunted. "i've got a whole spree of burglaries on my hands."
Havana or Hell, part five
IX Katryn scratched the bridge of her nose, and placed a second engineer token on the R&D section of her map. "Your move!" she said. If my sister had assigned her researchers to develop a small project, such as a weapons upgrade, it wouldn't take...
Havana or Hell, part four
_Recap from part Three:_ _"Watch out!" she cried. "He is here."_ _"What is he doing here?" asked the General._ _"He shouldn't be here", replied Karen. She sounded concerned._ _"It's too dangerous."_ _"Guys, you're playing yesterday's tape!" I...
Havana or Hell, part three
V "Tell me, Mr Kent Do you hear voices right now?" I nodded. "They are hiding in the traffic noise." "Can you describe them to me?" "Man and woman, both sound young and old at the same time." The psychiatrist and I were in a small office in the...
Havana or Hell, part two
III Some times, when I lie awake, I feel like I'm a tiny pinprick, floating in an endless void. It's a physical sensation, but not linked to any of the usual five senses, and the feeling disappears as soon as I open my eyes. It's accompanied by a...
Cry Me a Murder (Part One) : Six Red Tears
Museum director Philip Smythe marched down the hallway of the Oakfort historical museum, the hard heels of his shoes banging against the marble floor with every angry step. He was underslept, stressed out and even grumpier than normal. The museum was...
Fallen Angels, Part Nine - Sing me a Song, Dead Girl
CHAPTER EIGHT - SING ME A SONG, DEAD GIRL When Oscar Peterson played The Phantom Cat in 1986, a young Jesse Juliano captured a photo of him. He framed it and hung it on the wall, next to the upright piano. Peterson is all smiles, wiping sweat...
The Casebook of Dr. Exeter, Chapter Three
**III - THE FOOL** I am certain that you understand the dilemma I was in. Not only had I acquired a book of such exquisite rarity that its mere existence was widely considered hypothetical - an illusionary work thought up by dreamers and fantasts,...
Fallen Angels, Part one (Prologue)
Taiz, Yemen. February, 2019 "Why don't we talk about something pleasant? How about...iced mint tea?" The crackling voice came from a simple speaker on a gray concrete wall. Abdul Aziz struggled against the leather straps that held him fastened to a...
The Fire Without. (Part 2)
If Lester Finch had known he would be a corpse by lunch, he would have bought himself a pastrami sandwich. But he shuffled past the Jewish deli, ignored the German bakery and paid no notice to the French Patisserie. Far from being a food nationalist,...