“Luck” by Mark SaFranko

Denton was nothing if not a success in life. After a brief struggle in his twenties he succeeded in finding an audience for his work, which included novels and stories and screenplays, two of which were purchased by Hollywood. He had fans, many of them adoring, all over in the world. He realized that he […]

“A Couple Words, a Kite, a Piece of String” by Robb T. White

“How can a single photograph start all this?” The big cop asks me that question a second after he introduced himself as Detective Baquero. I look at him, our eyes locking briefly. My fingers laced together, shoulders hunched in a meek posture. I’m on his turf and I have to be careful. That doorknob I […]

“Florida Weird” by Jaap Boekestein

Florida is a strange place, filled with strange people. Maybe it’s the sun, the heat or something else. “Florida Weirdness,” I call it. Last time I was in Florida, I was on holidays. I slept with a bunch of guys and broke my arm in a scooter accident. No, those two things aren’t related. Long […]

“Pongo’s Lucky Day” by Craig Faustus Buck

Pongo Smith’s adrenaline could have burst a fire hose. The cash wouldn’t stop gushing. He had to keep pulling bills from the slot to make room for the ATM to feed new ones. Then his sluggish brain kicked in. This is too good to be true. He felt a blast of fear as cold as […]

“Capital Story” by Nick Sweeney

“I am an Albanian,” the man said, and drew me out of a daydream. He looked at my face, which was trustworthy and kind, or so people had often said in their descriptions of me. I took in his sharp chin shaved blue, and his eyes the colour of keys. His ivory teeth presented an […]

“Frankie” by Warren Moore

None of us were too surprised when we heard about Frankie. I mean, he wasn’t exactly a Jeopardy contestant to start with, or even Wheel of Fortune, and that was before he got overcome by fumes in that silo up by Jasper, and that was before we found him passed out under the trailer’s front […]

“Mr. Sparkles” by David Rachels

Everyone needs a go bag, but it’s one of those things that you keep putting off and then the day comes when you actually need it and HOLY SHIT you wish you hadn’t kept putting it off. At least I had gotten around to buying a bag, a $50 gym bag with a shoulder strap […]

“Voices” by Jack Dann

I was carefully papering the balsa-wood wing struts of my scale-model Gotha G-V Bomber when Crocker asked me if I ever spoke to dead people. Although Crocker is a member of the Susquehanna River Model-makers and Sex Fiends Association (which doesn’t say much because all you have to do to become a member is hang-out […]

“The Short Tale of Msgr. Pigeon” by John McCann

My first thought was, “How the hell did that thing get all the way down here?” I was sitting on a bench, several stories underground, waiting for the Warminster Line to take me home when I noticed a fat, black-throated pigeon hopping around looking for specks of food. The bird had two legs but only […]

“Hollywood Homicide in the Seventies: The Snake and Bake Murder” by Steve Hodel

I applied at city hall for both LAPD and the sheriff’s department. Two weeks after I had passed both entrance exams and had been rejected by the sheriff’s department at the in-person interview for being too young, I was called in for my oral at LAPD. That went better. I fit their job description as […]