The phone rang as I was locking up for the night and I thought about leaving it ring. Then I thought about my bank account, went back around the desk, picked up, and said: “Conde.” An older man’s voice came on the line, dry as a desert bone. “Ah yes, Mr. Benjamin Conde of the Conde Detective Agency I presume?” “The same.” “Splendid, Mr. Conde. Splendid. Ah, yes, Mr. Conde, my name is Douglas P. Cahill III and the reason f...

The night was sticky and hot and I was sweating plenty even though it was well past sunset. Gravel crunched beneath my shoes, echoed loud off abandoned buildings. This neighborhood wasn’t safe after dark but I was hurting and needed to be here. A five-inch blade was folded up in my pocket just in case. Manny’s black Ford sat rusting in its usual spot, five spaces over from the back door of the Skol Bar. Three men talked s...

Todd awoke on his back in a puddle of beer and broken glass with his ears ringing and his vision blurred. He laid still, watched the ceiling fan spin lazily without seeing it, and thought about nothing. A few seconds passed and he sat up. He closed his eyes tight and waited for the room to stop sliding around, the colors to stop smearing. Finally, his eyes came open, focused, and looked without expression at overturned ta...

Bishop’s Lounge was busy and loud and blue with smoke. I sat by myself back in a dark corner booth, contributing my share of smoke and watching Angela. She had come in with a group of work friends and they sat at one of the tables chattering and drinking wine but she seemed distracted and kept looking over at the bar. She had on a black dress to match her black bob. There was also a black wire in her black purse she didn'...

I was tailing the unfaithful husband of a neurotic client down a dark alley when someone slipped behind me and put a gun to my neck. I heard Bugsy’s voice and knew I had a problem.“Frank Danger, P.I.!” he said with a delighted baritone that rumbled like a dump truck.“Bugsy.”He laid a heavy mitt on my back and sent me staggering. Bugsy was a great guy. I thought the world of him.“Hands up!” he said, “Turn around slow.”I ca...

 A white ball streaked across green felt and snapped into a triangle of colorful balls. The formation exploded, and the balls thumped off rails, clicked off one another, came to rolling stops. Two stripes fell into pockets.Billy Miller removed a greasy baseball cap, ran a hand through greasy hair, returned the cap to his head, and said: “I hate you.”Stephen Zander smiled and chalked his cue with a big fist. He was tall an...

Shelley’s monsters are wailing at me like their lives are at stake, and this guy wants to talk about insurance. Oh, I’ll call him all right – no question. Thanks for the card.The brats pull me free. They lead me past a shoe store, a phone store, a jeweler. We go by a kiosk for t-shirts, a kiosk for hobby drones, a chattering pack of teenage girls, and now we’re near the food court. I corral the kids over to a table, and w...

The woman sat at the bar and stared into her drink and Harvey stood behind her. He laid a hand on her back and leaned in so his mouth was in her ear. “Did you get it?”She nodded at her drink.Harvey sat down. “Beautiful.”The bartender walked over. “What can I get you?”“Whiskey,” Harvey said. “Neat.”“How about you, ma’am? Ready for a refill?”The woman covered her glass with her palm. The bartender left and came back with a...

She pulled from her cigarette, blew a stream of white smoke over my head, and asked: “Really John, what are you implying?”“I’m not implying anything,” I said. “I’m telling you flat-out that you killed your husband.”She blinked. There was a slight clenching of the jaw. Otherwise, her face remained careless and slack. She laughed. “You’ve seen too many movies!”“Have I?”She sighed and regarded me with disappointed eyes. “Wel...

We followed railroad tracks by the forest, and the tracks followed the river. A white moon hung full and bright to our right, fluorescent on the water. To our left, dense black trees grew close to the tracks. Chalk-white stones glowed with the moon, piled loosely around heavy wooden ties. I grabbed one of the stones and gauged its weight, its feel. Then, with all I had, I flung it into the river. We were silent for a mome...

Since 1946, the same electric sign has hung out over the sidewalk in front of Dusty’s Pub. The sign features a cartoon French maid dusting the word “Dusty’s” with a feather duster.One warm summer evening in 1978, Dusty, the club’s namesake and creative genius behind the sign, clutched his chest, slid down a wall behind the bar, and expired. His widow sold Dusty’s before Dusty was cold and the pub then belonged to a small,...

He stood in a large hole, perhaps four feet deep and five or six in diameter. The digging was strenuous, the ground comprised of gravel and sand. With each thrust, the shovel stopped dead, sending a jolt through his arms, his shoulders, his back. Every few minutes, he dropped to his hands and knees to dig by hand. With his fingers, he unearthed heavy rocks, straining to wrestle them from the hole and heave them aside. The...

Rush the stageAnd fight your wayThrough tempest of the sea This oceanRaging, churningOh, how it beckons thee! Rush the stageIn foaming wavesLook straight up to see Close enough to touch himYou could almost wash his feet! And every night he battlesAnd everyone he slaysEstablishing his kingdomAll that he surveys Til fateful dayWhen vice he takesHim it takes instead Behold the king has fallenThe mighty king is dead! Then dar...

He stared in disbelief as fire consumed the world. On every side it raged, roaring through century-old trees like a blowtorch through dry straw. He watched detached, as animals scampered to and fro in terror and he realized in an offhand way that he was completely surrounded now, the heat an impenetrable wall. Still he remained frozen, bearing witness to the horror as acres of forest were incinerated. Then, a massive bran...

The stuffed bear was dearer to the boy than a pet, perhaps dearer than a cousin or sibling. Always, he brought it along to Grandma’s farm.When he snagged it on a barn nail, cotton stuffing erupted. He stared horrified then sprinted to the house, every second critical.“Earl is hurt!” he shrieked. “He’s dying!”Grandma appeared quickly. She pried the bear gently from his fist and carried it to her sewing machine. Within mome...