Story-alien

The alien looked down at the milky water globe she held loosely.
“The human killed the other humans”, she said to her colleague.
“They do that."
“But what are these other people doing. The ones searching the woods."
“They’re justice."
“What’s justice.'
“It’s a game they play.  Very self important."
“They don’t know, do they."
“No they don’t. They’re quite primitive really’.

Story - cops and forensics

“Recognise him?” the grey haired uniform asked.

“How could I not? “ said June.  June was the homicide detective assigned the case.

 Do we know who the girl is yet?”

“Doesn’t look like the pictures I’ve seen of his wife?”

“No, it doesn ‘t, does it?”

“Who found him?” she asked.

“A jogger. Said he likes to combine his visiting the cross with running.  Jogs up here every Sunday.  This morning said he saw the car in passing, happened to look in the busted window.. Got quite a fright.   Used his cell phone to call 911.”

“You the first here?” June asked

“Yea, I was just ending up my shift.  Rain pretty much washed everything away.  We’ll still waiting for forensics. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

“Otherwise it’s just a shot through the window,” said June.

“That’s about it.”

“We’ll have to talk to the wife. Would be nice to know who the girl is.”

Forensics arrived then. June went back to her car to wait while photographs were being taken.  A couple of ambulances pulled up beside her.  In addition to the victims car,  three patrol cars, forensics, the ambulances and herself there wasn’t any more room on the hill.  Looking up, she saw the cross.

“Lieutenant Hallbrick, we’re ready to examine the body,” the tech told her through the crack in the car window.  She put her note pad back in her pocket, climbing out of the car to follow him.

“Time of death, Doc?”  June asked?

“Somewhere around midnight.

“Looks like shot to skull then shot to face.  That how you see it.”

“Looks that way. I’ll be more certain after I’ve examined all the evidence.”

“You’re right, Doc, just considering preliminaries.”

“Shooter may have been trying to get both with one shot actually. Trajectory just off by a little.”

“That might be important. Thanks Doc.”

“You know I’m not saying anything, just speculating.”

“I know, but thanks anyway.”

June poked her head in the door and glanced around some more before letting the ambulance attendants take the bodies.

Wayne arrived then parking his red mustang behind the last ambulance. 

“Glad you could join us,” said June

“Yea, yea,” said Wayne “What have we got?”

Story - lovers

The night was darker than most. Given her intentions she wasn’t wearing bright or reflective clothing despite what the ads recommended for cyclists.  Leaving her bicycle in the trees at the final turn up the hill, she began the slow walk.  A slight drizzle caused her eyes to squint. So much the better.  Neon lights flickered in the distance.   

Ahead, the mid size car was just visible.  Closing quietly from behind, to the driver's side, she saw the passengers entwined, groping.  She moved closer, bending,  seeing the back of his head, her face covered in the kiss. 

She actually thought that with one bullet she might kill them  both.   But the angle was off.   Taking the Glock 9 mm from her pea jacket pocket, she put its barrel nearer the window.  She leaned further sideways, aiming. She squeezed off the shot.  The sound was deafening, reverberating. Shattering glass, the hollow point bullet entered the back of his skull, instantly praying mantis his brain.  

The bitch took the second bullet in her pretty face. She was looking straight at her.   The brown eyes wide, mouth forming the beginning of a scream,  She had  pulled back instantly from the kiss of death. The bullet shattered her brain against the window behind her.  Probably mussed her perfect hair as well.  

The silence was deafening then. The only light was the neon sign at the top of the hill.  A flickering cross. 

Pocketing the Glock, she scanned for movement.  There was none.  The noise had broken the silence but the dark remained in tact.  

She walked down the hill.   The drizzle turned to rain.  It would hide her prints.  Still, she'd thought to wear men's shoes, her size.  She picked up her bicycle from beside the tree, mounted it.  The rain splashed her face as she rode downhill.  There was no other traffic.  No sirens either.   Back at the car she dismounted and strapped the bicycle on  the back rack.   In the car she turned on the ignition. The lights came on,  the engine fired immediately.  She checked her mirrors before pulling out.  There was no need. There were only corpses and a cross behind her.  She was finally alone.

She  circled back  to the city.   She felt safe in the city.  No one would find her.   She was  a stranger there. Just the way she liked it.

William Lashner

I've just finished "Falls the Shadow" by William Lashner. It's a brilliant mix of the finest of the classics of the detective genre brought into modern day parlance. A kind of Hitchcock remake by Steven Spielberg.  A horrid French chef in prison for murdering his wife has an old lover now wealthy from marital gold digging hire Derringer and Carl legal team to get him a retrial.  Derringer is a beautiful big hearted woman lawyer paired with the gumshoe skeptic Carl.  Through twists and turns of who dunnit and amazing characterization we follow the story of  the tragedy all the while the parallel pro bono case of child rescue entertwines with the main characters in the murder mystery thriller.  William Lashner (www.williamlashner.com) was himself a trial attorney in the criminal division of the United States Justice Department.  We never do learn where he got his very mixed feelings about dentists but it must indeed be a truly piercing story.  A gripping read.  I can only look forward to reading more by this Philadelphian New York Times best seller.

Miracle Cure - the book

Harlan Coben has done it again. This intriguing  thriller is an extraordinary story of gay killings aimed to stop research into a new cure for AIDs.  Sara the beautiful television news reporter and her celebrity model sister Cassandra team up with Mike a basketabll hero in helping Harv their researcher doctor friend find out whose behind the rash of gory deaths.  The motive at first seems plain to Max Bernstein the pencil chewing New York detective  but as doctors and nurses die and healthy people go missing there's much more at stake.  Especially when the sleazy televangelist is raising money saying Aids is todays plague of Egypt.  Chemistry and sociology mix with Coben's endearing characterizations.  I couldn't put it down. But then I've read all of Coben's books.  He's a heavy hitter against anti semitism and any kind of discrimination that makes a person miss seeing the truly entertaining human in all of us.

D.W. Linden

I just read D.W. Linden's Sand Creek.  It's a Johnny Hart mystery novel set in the midwest. Johnny Hart is a deputy sheriff rodeo rider recovering from a recent goring whose rodeo clown Indian friend Char falls in love with a cowgirl living near Sand Cree,k the site of the Indian massacre. The FBI arrest Char as a serial killer and Johnny Hart's alcoholism interferes with his ability to help. Sandy, the Christian cowgirl whose the next victim depends on her grandfather a grizzled old cowboy whose heart isn't so good. The FBI isn't telling the back story and Johnny Hart has to get help from the Indian drug and alcohol counsellor and his Tex Mex ex wife, the attourney for prosecution. Now there's a spicey relationship.   It's chalk full of gun battles, Indian fighting, road races and horse back rides to the rescue.  One heck of a fine book, original and yet uplifting with all the history and cowboy wisdom.  A must read. This would make a very fine movie tool.