fiction
Mystery, crime, murder, unsolved cases. Contribute your own tales of crime to Criminal.
Limoncello
Antonio and I had been meeting at the same café, on the first Friday of each month, at 7 pm, for several years. If he was going to be late, or wasn’t going to be able to make it, he always texted to let me know. But it was approaching 8:30 pm, and I hadn’t heard from him, so I was starting to get worried. I tried texting him, and calling him, but he did not reply or pick up. I decided that I would have one more drink, and then would take a walk by his apartment.
By Joe Christo5 years ago in Criminal
Bobcat Bingo
The rain had been inching its way across the Ozarks for the past several hours, and the scattered drops on the front window were starting to coalesce. It would only be a matter of time before it started in earnest, and then the bum out front would surely find his way inside. Any excuse would do, but the rains this time of year were a relatively good one.
By Andrew LaBree5 years ago in Criminal
Routes
Silky. That’s quite literally the only word I could conjure up to interpret the way the air felt on my way to Uncle Yip’s (he’s not actually my Uncle, but my older sister Jivani always called him uncle so of course, I did, too). I couldn’t think of any other words because the ride on my bike over was dreamy. So much so, I felt the calmness seep from my spine as the sun hit my face as I arrived at the top of the biggest hill on the route. In the little pause as I set the tip of my foot down to gain momentary balance I nearly drifted off. The sound of a couple local grandmas loudly chirping about the local market fish prices snapped me to.
By Richard Giang5 years ago in Criminal
Bookstore Ownership is not for the Faint-Hearted
Martin opened the little book and immediately flung it shut again. With a venomous glare at the finely embossed cover, he issued a silent demand for the volume to sort itself. After a moment, he cautiously pinched the lid of the book and slowly lifted it.
By Amanda Alden5 years ago in Criminal
THE ANCIENT BLOCK
For a very long time in almost no time, we have existed in your homes, parks, clubs, and public offices; making every demand on the street a priority. Welcome to the ‘BLOCK’, you need only pay your dues and respect the game. ANCIENT BLOCK, a cartel syndicate well established on the American continent for decades controlling most trade routes; shipments and also taking care of most dirty jobs the governments wouldn’t want to associate themselves with, having members in very high positions in public offices to help their goals be realized.
By Theo Baidoo5 years ago in Criminal
Big Winner
On March the Third, a Wednesday, amid the frenetic clickings and sotto voce titterings of the office floor, beneath the drop ceiling and its whack-a-mole of panels displaced or teetering, encased between chipped drywall and plywood dividers, and the far tighter boundaries of his own spiralling mind, Nick Cerny tried to remember why. Why he should pick up the phone and dial the next number. Why he should scroll down the list on his computer screen. Why he should even drag his gaze up from the gray emptiness of his desk to the static vacancy of that informational array. Why he took this job to begin with. But he knew why, and it was as simple as the cogito: a body needs money like a mind needs… stimulus.
By Kilgore Trout5 years ago in Criminal
The Old West Is Dying, And So Did She
A greyed frock coat clad down with a dark vest was what kept comfort to the locket that sat in the left inner pocket of a twenty-two-year-old’s trousers. He had been sat long enough in the leather red seat of a saloon that was closing down for the night to know he had no risk of robbery any longer. As the balding man behind the counter began to drone on about the randoms that often came once and never again to his bar stools, the younger took it to himself to gaze upon the locket once more. It was as if the scheduled times to do it, a growing obsession that didn’t have any luck of halting.
By Tyler Barry5 years ago in Criminal
