Nov 27, 2018
LUKE I muted the television and watched the reporter’s flamenco red lips mouth her version of our story. We had checked-in to the Embassy Suites in city-center Philadelphia after Agent Halson, a friend of Detective Townsend’s, unofficially interviewed us. Townsend didn’t want anything to be official until he saw how […]
Nov 20, 2018
Katie I stare at our bed. The soft blues of the room are brighter in the summer sun that passes through the open blinds. I miss this place, I think while I lean the envelope against hispillow. The envelope is crimson — for love. No . . . for blood. […]
Nov 13, 2018
Claire When my feet hit the rock below, I felt like I’d landed in a different world. I peered over the ledge into the darkness below and took in deep breath of the chilled night air. I’d found a colder world, but it was a free world. The freedom of the […]
Nov 5, 2018
Michael We arrived at the fire tower just west of Beaverdam Road around 9:00 PM. The winter darkness coated the mountainside in a foreboding layer of black. We stood in the headlights as Detective Townsend handed me a small black pistol. It was the first time I’d held a handgun. […]
Oct 29, 2018
LUKE The white tent on the bank of the river was surrounded by streams of yellow tape. I caught the image in the corner of my eye as I gave the cashier a five-dollar bill to pay for a coffee and a pack of peanut butter crackers. The clerk, a […]
Oct 16, 2018
KATIE My sister thinks that I should just go back to him. I see myself ringing the doorbell — poor little me standing there, probably in the rain, probably soaked through to the bones, probably with black tears mixing with the rain as it streams down my cheeks. I see him […]
Oct 9, 2018
MICHAEL “I want to see Nikki,” I told the grunt at the door. I knew that I’d made a mistake with my tone when he took a step towards me and bowed out his chest. He crossed his arms, looked at my hands, and then glared at me […]
Oct 2, 2018
CLAIRE I watched the spinning of the fan blades as the ceiling seemed to start to collapse in on me. I couldn’t gasp. His fingers clamped like a vice on my throat and the only thing I could manage was to search the comforter with my hands in a blind […]
Sep 25, 2018
DETECTIVE TOWNSEND Every second counted. As they stood in the burn of the headlights, I heard the shots splintering the tree trunks and cracking against the boulders. They were shooting blind, their targets shielded by red pine, silver maple, and black gum trees that covered the steep hillside between […]
Sep 18, 2018
LUKE The slow blinking of the “OPEN” sign teased my eyes as I sat in the parking lot of The Dollhouse. ON — She stood at the door teasing a smooth-faced frat boy as her fingers grazed her lips. OFF — A lone leather-coat clad man smoking a cigarette sank […]