“Headline: City Mourns Slain Pol, Chicago Style” by David Hagerty

FICTION: “Compared to a generation ago, when bootleggers and gangsters controlled this city, it’s uncommon for an alderman to die violently now, and many people still looked shocked….”

“Eight O’Clock Sharp” by James McCrone

FICTION: “What had been a general resentment of the halfway house and its rules was now a searing hatred….”

“Swamp Witch Blues” by Jason M. Tucker

FICTION: “Heavy, mud-scented air wafted in from the swamp and was warm enough to build up a sweat just sitting. It made everything a bit more miserable.”

“Leaving Rock Bottom” by Robb T. White

FICTION: “If there was a bottom beneath where I stood in that March wind, I didn’t want to know it.”

“Tenderloin” by Steve Carr

FICTION: “I still wear my dog tags. They remind me of who I am, or was…. No one can see the damage but me.”

“Making Amends” by Julian Grant

FICTION: “And then nothing…. I explained to them the importance of making amends, the value of a rigorous moral inventory and doing the right thing….”

“Kitty at the Window” by Barry Gifford

NOVEL EXCERPT: “You like her, huh?”….“Just looking,” he said. “Do you know her?”

“Boilermaker” by Susan Hammerman

FICTION: “Delores didn’t want to think about what she was. Her job was done now, anyway….”

“Death Takes a Byline: the Interview” by D.S. Lliteras

The below was excerpted from Death Takes a Byline (Book One, Chapters 1-3) by D.S. Lliteras (Rainbow Ridge Books, 2020; Copyright © 2020 by D. S. Lliteras). She reached into a canvas bag that hung from her shoulder, pulled out a notepad, and studied him. He walked as if he was being followed; he was afraid […]

“All You Need is a Gun and a Girl” by Jim Towns

He leaned across the seat and opened the door, watching every inch of her…. I. Bare trees clung to the snow-frosted hills around the ravine, and the girl who walked along the railroad tracks was tall and beautiful. She wore mirrored sunglasses, long coat, tall boots. An old surplus army bag swung on a leather […]