Blue
I met Blue when I was sitting on a bench in front of some disreputable high-rise flats. It was about midnight. The fact that I wasn’t wearing…
NEET, Part 7
L. Ben found his cigarettes and left to smoke. He heard the scraping sound of the monster’s paws as it followed him out of the house. He went to slam…
The Purple Platform
Maribel piled the kids into the car. Two were her own, one belonged to a friend. She’d offered to drive them all on their outing, to let the other…
The Smoking Nun
“There is Christ, or there is death.” This was an odd thing for Andrew to say, given the man’s generally jovial character, and was sufficiently…
Falling
In the middle of the night, you hope for the bright of the day, but sometimes---or most of the time when you wish for it---it never comes. And that…
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, Part 2
My parents had a lot of Jewish friends, and so did I. In fact, I was taken to school throughout my childhood in a carpool made up of Jewish kids. Our…
Tough
Years ago, I was a great fan of Mickey Spillane. Mike Hammer was the toughest dude ever to hit the literary scene. Could anybody ever be tougher?…
NEET, Part 6
XLV. When Ben got home, all he wanted was to smoke and get high. He had to think about things, replay every moment of the therapy session until it…
The Axeman Cometh
The back lane between Melcombe Avenue and Winter Lane has always been home to an axe murderer. The news don't report on it, but I know. Oh yes, I……
Lunatic Asylum
“Another pint of Davenport’s and a Bushmills chaser please, Steve,” said Mickey as “My Little Son (England’s Motorway)” by the Dubliners played on…
