fiction
Mystery, crime, murder, unsolved cases. Contribute your own tales of crime to Criminal.
Nowhere to Hide
“Now, that’s something you don’t see every day,” Greg said to the group of kayakers. He was referring to a large houseboat that had somehow broken free from its moorings, floated down the river from who knows where, and run aground on an outcropping of rocks.
By Mark Gagnon3 years ago in Criminal
A drop of blood
“Darn, homeless people just drop their crap in our way.” Gregg Braden scurried past when an odor hit. Looking closely, Gregg realized it looked like a body. A quick 911 call and police presence confirmed a 5’ 6”, dark-skinned blonde, about 30 years old, DOA, under the pedestrian bridge. The credentials from her purse identified Stephanie Mace. Crime scene evidence suggested she was killed elsewhere and dumped under the bridge.
By Cat Turner3 years ago in Criminal
The Reasonable Man
Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Given the condition of the victim, I’m convinced he’d have died before he could have made a sound. I know Hutchins has to say “suspected homicide” because we’re not doctors, but it’s a damned obvious murder from where I’m sitting. I’ve never heard of a guy on an outdoor walk on a space station stabbing himself and half tearing off his helmet before. The body, still anchored to the deck of the station by magnetic boots, bobbed back and forth under the undetectable movements of Tranquility Station, slowly spinning below us. It was an object of horrified fascination: somehow limp and rigid, a body weighted to the bottom of an infinite black ocean with metallic cinderblocks. I could see the pallid white of his frozen neck beneath the torn edge of the suit’s neck seal. I shook my head to clear away something that danced between nausea and morbid curiosity.
By Edmond Morell3 years ago in Criminal
Curtis
“I don't want to grow too close to you and bring you into my world...” He looked into my eyes, his right eye full of concern and care, a faded blue; his left an always seemingly mischievous and eluding fog. There was something about his blind eye that seemed to entrance me. Curtis had a way of making my heart ache and creating a sort of compulsion to run to his aid, be at his side. He had an average look, and average build. His attempt at the middle-age soccer dad was dead on, with his Nike golf shorts and button-up shirt, white tennis shoes, and baseball cap. “You want to blend so that you always go under the radar, and keep a baseball cap on with your eyes low so they never remember your face,” he explained to me several times while getting ready for “work”.
By Stach Nizzle3 years ago in Criminal
Murder On Mars
‘Nobody can hear you scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. When Ernest’s eyes opened, terrified, and his mouth contorted in pain, I knew what it would sound like, in my head. Before I heard it for real. The atmosphere out here on Mars is, as you know, a hundredth of that back on Earth. Do you know what that does to a scream? When Ernest unclipped his helmet and threw it away, he was still screaming, right next to me, I heard it through my own helmet, nothing more than a distant whisper, the worst scream ever.’
By Alasdair Yule3 years ago in Criminal
The Mover
Serial killers have always held a fascination for me. I watched all the movies, devoured the novels, and followed the news faithfully when reported. I have a horrid fascination for the Ted Bundys of the world. I have no desire to ever met one, yet they seem to pop up in my stories from time to time. Having given a massive spoiler in the introduction, I will stop here. I hope you enjoy my short story - The Mover.
By Cat Turner3 years ago in Criminal
Thicker Than Water
Death had not come easy. That much was clear. His body, once spry and athletic, lay on the cold, steel table under the harsh, unforgiving light of the autopsy suite. His face, once full of smiles, was bruised and blackened. His mouth, once full of a thousand stories, was swollen and nearly unrecognizable.
By B.P. McGinn3 years ago in Criminal
