Linda was determined to prevent her adversary from storming the castle but too cowardly to pull the plug. Hours earlier, she had sailed down the hospital corridor, a roast beef sandwich and a coffee in hand, and a mystery novel under her arm. The sight of a bony priest black as a crow crouched by … Continue reading
Just Rewards
“Come, quickly,” urged Jane Simmons breathlessly. “You’ll miss the punchline. It’s riveting.” I doubted that. Edgar’s stories were not palatable let alone riveting. Insidious little creep that he was, “Blackhead” told macabre stories, violent stories, and stories decaying with double entendre, but delicious stories? Never. Edgar, the worm in question, lifted his weasel eyes towards … Continue reading
Faces
I knew my door was locked; I’d heard the click. While my custodians sometimes ignore my dietary preferences, they are vigilant about securing the exits. If I escaped, which I was determined to do, I’d be pursued like the brown fox, although, unlike the fox, not these days, quick. Now that their charge was incarcerated … Continue reading
Robert’s Rules
In the fresh morning light as she doodled on the hotel notepad, drawing and re-drawing the Chairman’s small, ferret like teeth, Kate still felt change was possible. If she could keep her cool and follow her carefully calculated strategy, her colleagues would rally and insist the problems be addressed. As the day progressed, her optimism … Continue reading
Slicker Down
When the Bellybob town council announced the Most Outrageous Cat contest Tania’s friends knew that Slicker-Down was a shoe-in for the $1,000 prize. Tania, however, was adamant that her cat would not compete. “I don’t want Slicker-Down exploited,” she said. “If his antics are on the Internet he might get kidnapped.” Her friend Dolly erupted … Continue reading
Right Time, Right Place
The room was square. Six sat, two against each of three walls. Quentin sat facing the fourth blank wall in the middle of the room, hands on her lap. There was a long pause and then the meeting began. “Quentin,” said a loud voice immediately behind her. “I believe that you have long suspected that … Continue reading
Breadcrumbs
She’d lost count of the time and of how far she had walked. Focused as she was on her quarry, her surroundings were a nebulous backdrop: buildings with three walls, corridors that stretched as if elastic, streets that stopped and melted into holes. Inside her head, she was circling but her feet moved relentlessly forward. … Continue reading
Eye to Eye
“I haven’t eaten a potato since I moved out.” This was the opening remark from Jennifer’s lover’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Brie. The announcement, accompanied by a smug grin, lauded Brie’s anti-spud stand as a worthy accomplishment. This from the woman whom Jennifer had expected would outshine her at their first meeting. On hearing the remark, Jennifer … Continue reading
Scattered to the Wind
Still as stone she lies beside her husband soon to be her ex. Forty years earlier, at 28, she had expected that in death she would mirror the Egyptian statues at the museum one of two constant companions side-by-side equal and loving to eternity. Instead, when death calls, she will be single, leaving behind a … Continue reading
Rosebud
Shivering in the cold night air, my arthritic fingers reluctant participants in my struggle, I scrounged in my purse desperate to find the scrap of paper with the hotel address that had eluded me on my first ten searches. If I didn’t find it, and soon, I’d be sleeping beside some homeless guy in a … Continue reading