JUGGLER The Lion Tamer had been with the Bearded Lady since Birmingham, six cities ago. Rolling into Laredo, he heard the familiar howling from her tent and rushed in to find her breathlessly staring into her compact, rubbing rouge into a facial scar. You can cover a scar with makeup, but you can’t cover your […]
INVESTIGATOR Investigator Zambrano shifted his weight in the chair, striving for comfort in an uncomfortable situation. Worst part of the job. “No easy way to say this, ma’am, except to tell you we located your car, and the man inside, in the driver’s seat, he was killed. He had -” “NoNoNoNoNo,” Patricia said, speaking over […]
HOUSEKEEPER For the fifth time this shift, Betty Jean knocked on Room 12, back of the building, far from the freeway. Do Not Disturb dangled from the doorknob, but it was near seven o’clock in the evening and the room hadn’t been cleaned yet. Ominous, was that the word people use? Gloria, motel manager on […]
GARDENER Mary Cavanaugh brushed the red hair from hey eyes, glanced at the big blue circle on her calendar, and allowed herself a smile. Only two more days. It had been arduous with six kids, but she knew life was about to change dramatically. Seven years, the insurance company had told her, and if there’s […]
Fisherman “Starboard, lads, double time, she’s crashing down on us!” The sea was a tempest, rocking monstrous waves and unleashing its fury on our courage. “Hold fast,” I called to anyone who could hear above the squall as salt bit into my scarred lips. Safety an afterthought, I gripped the nets to pull in our […]
CARPENTER The unshaven slob shoves my mother aside and slides his Smith & Wesson .38 into my ribs from behind, demanding my wallet. “How tall are you?” I ask, measuring my enemy without getting a look at him. “Six-two,” he spits out, “what the hell you need to know that for?” I ask a second […]
JD Frain 