Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Criminal.
The Nook
On a bright spring morning as colorful and delicious as ripening grapes on a vine, Fiona was happily strolling to her favorite place in Culver City. Listening to a jazzy number by Louis Armstrong as she bopped along, Fiona was lost in a world of her own thoughts as she imagined what her first day as the new owner of The Nook would feel like. She had known the place well as a patron, but she remembered her conversation with Maggie, one of the previous owners, about the secrets there that lay hidden waiting to be discovered. Fiona was boiling over with the anticipation of possibility and prosperity.
By Wendy Sanders5 years ago in Criminal
Norsemen
EXT. FOREST - DAY Birds chirp and wind whistles. Faint noises of wildlife fills the air. A young Norse man, HALDAR, sneaks in the shrubs. Holding a bow that he handcrafted. He draws back an arrow wrapped in mistletoe. Aims it at a deer tail in the distance.
By Christopher Wagner Lee5 years ago in Criminal
The Innocence Of Oscar Slater, And How Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Helped Set Him Free.
December 21st 1908. The biting chill of a Glasgow December wielded it’s glacial grasp on the home of Marion Gilchrest. She lay in a pool of her own blood. Clear signs of physical beating besieged her face. Dead before her discovery at the hands of her servant – Helen Lambie. The 82 year old had amassed a hefty fortune over her lifetime and, in turn, quite the collection of jewels. This, seemingly the motive for such a heinous act of violence. This further evident when Gilchrest’s horrified maid credited a single article missing amongst her collection of jewels. One golden brooch. A piece in the shape of a crescent moon, with several diamonds tracking down one side. Such an article, at the time, approximately valued £3,000 – hundreds of thousands when adjusting to today's inflation. The foundations of such a transgression seems torn from the pages of a turn of the century crime novel. A story from the genius of Agatha Christie, or Raymond Chandler. But this was far from fiction. Ironically, with the venomous tentacles of prejudice, it took one of the genre’s best to bring the investigation back to reality. The real-life work of an iconic author to save the life of a wrongfully convicted man. This author, Sherlock Holmes’ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
By Martin S. Wathen5 years ago in Criminal
Unfortunately For Chris
From a young age, I remember having to deal with death. Something you learned, where I grew up, is that people die. Most of the time it would happen when you least expect it, but death was a constant part of life that no one had any control over. When I was eight, I watched a young man suffocate to death on our neighbor’s lawn while two police officers stood over him and watched. His name was Chris. The young man, not the neighbor. Our neighbor always went by Mr. Rice, even by my parents.
By Chennea Russell5 years ago in Criminal
Yellow Cab vs. Yellow Pedicab
I saw the picture above in a law students' Facebook group where the moderator asked the members of the group if the owner of Yellow Pedicab who is also selling pizza may be held liable for infringement and/or unfair competition if Yellow Cab Pizza pursue a case against it. The moderator likewise asked the group to provide legal basis.
By Olivia Marlene5 years ago in Criminal
Tick
Flicking a blonde curl out of her eyes, Joelynne Stevens glanced at her computer as she waited for an important email to come through. Seeing it hadn’t come yet she pushed her chair away and stood up and stretched her long arms above her head to relieve her aching muscles. As she put her hands back down beside her white knit jumper and slim fitting denim jeans that she had chosen to wear that day, she sighed and yawned as she spoke,
By Ashleigh Holmes5 years ago in Criminal
How I Beat the Pandemic
My nights end with watching the sunrise. After last call, clean up, then employees’ last call, by the time I hopped – or stumbled, depending on the night – out of the streetcar – the buildings were all outlined in gold light. Getting a camera was one of the many things on the old To-Do list once I had the money. It was, I should say.
By Luiza Araujo5 years ago in Criminal
THE BIG INHALE
Three days ago I stopped breathing. But, hey man, I was desperate, you know? This damn covid thing meant I was out of a job, and my girlfriend kept hounding me to get something else. That wasn't happening so I decided to go back to my old way of making money. Sure I was rusty, but I figured it was like riding a bike. Besides, it would only be for a while. That’s what I kept telling myself.
By Diane Kasulis 5 years ago in Criminal
His Name Was...
It started at the New Years Eve Party last year. I came in with a couple of my girls and he stood over in the kitchen smiling from ear to ear in her face. As it seemed, he could easily fool anyone that he was madly in love with this woman. He fooled me for sure.
By Daisy Lane5 years ago in Criminal
