fiction
Mystery, crime, murder, unsolved cases. Contribute your own tales of crime to Criminal.
Jack's Place
I like neighborhood bars. They harken back to a time before corporate edifices attempted to make themselves neighborhood-looking by putting big stools around small tables. Jack’s Place was a long bar accompanied by wobbly stools and low booths with sticky tables. Last night’s popcorn was still on the floor where the broom hadn’t quite reached under the tables. The neon beer signs hadn’t been dusted enough to remove the film, which dimmed the struggling light. On the wall, the TV bled colors so the sportscasters on the screen looked like they had fuzzy orange halos around red faces.
By Reverend Dude5 years ago in Criminal
Daddy's Little Girl
The news made her feel like she was stabbed in the heart. Gwen Stevens had worked as a make-up artist for Day-Glow Productions for the last ten years doing make-up and hair for every major stage event coming through Altoona from San Francisco to New York. It was her dream job and now because of the pandemic, Day-Glo was shutting down forever.
By Robert Forte5 years ago in Criminal
LogBook
Vancouver, Washington From all the strange gifts Samuel has received over the years from family and friends, an envelope that contained a letter and a sum of $20,000 in cash left abandoned by the door to only find the lonesome envelope and nothing else. Not even a person in sight walking away from his house, and Samuel thought that was the cherry on top of strange coincidences. He was glad his wife and two daughters were off on vacation with their grandmother and brother-in-law down at Long Beach, as Samuel was left behind to take care of the house for the weekend. Of course, he wanted to go but had stacks of paperwork to grade by High school students that barely look-up from their phone screens waiting for his lecture to end. He closed the door and went back inside still holding the envelope with the letter and cash. He opened it reaching for the Letter first.
By Levi Ewing5 years ago in Criminal
When angels tread in blood
The Reverend Theo Littleworth had never been threatened with a pistol by a nun before, and so he was naturally at a loss as to how to react. The awkwardness of the situation was not helped by the fact that he was kneeling in an antique store over a prostrate man who appeared to be dead. That is to say, blood was flowing liberally from his chest and he had no pulse. His glanced around the antiquaries, many of them of a religious character, and his eyes rested briefly on a resin statuette of Saint Christopher carrying the infant Christ on his shoulders. He half-hoped it might provide some guidance, but it bore the expression of someone saying ‘Sorry mate.’
By Gary Campbell5 years ago in Criminal
The Proposition
Do what you’re supposed to do, and your life will be easy. Well, easier said than done. Nothing in life was ever easy. Not everything in life is hard, but anything is possible it’s the right frame of mind. Believe it, then it will happen. Somehow, I tried my hardest to change my boring life. I went to my boring little cubicle job every morning, slaved away while staring at a computer screen. I would occasionally talk with my coworkers in the break room if I felt so inclined. I did this every single day.
By Natalie Bittner5 years ago in Criminal
Moleskine
I had dreamt of studying abroad since my elementary school days. It was on my “to-do” list of life accomplishments, so when the college of performing arts accepted me into their program, I was practically on the next flight out of the states to begin my big adventure, right out of high school. My parents were skeptical, and in my opinion at the time, were a couple of worry warts, especially my mother. She always thought the worst case scenario was the only scenario there could ever be. Despite the worry, and constant arguments from my parents of why I shouldn’t be so far from home, I still made the decision and moved across the Atlantic Ocean to begin a new life in the beautiful, vibrant and cultural city of Milan, Italy.
By Amy Philbert5 years ago in Criminal
Daughter Outlaw
Once Daddy's revolver was found in the glove box, it's pretty standard procedure from there. They cuff Daddy, and all us kids begin to cry so loud the group of uniforms outside the car turn in our direction. It's apparent that they can hear us, but none of them even budge. Daddy notices their response and requests that the arresting officer allow him to say his “goodbyes” to his children crying in the backseat. The man grabbed the center links that locked his hands to one another and drug him in an awkward manner towards the back door. Shuffling in sync behind the man with the badge, Daddy appeared smaller than normal. When the gentleman reached for the handle, that is all the permission we required.
By Star Besio-Sharp5 years ago in Criminal
Little Black Book
Detective Emel, a 43 year old NYPD vet stares at the body of a young woman near a dumpster in an alley. The trench coat shielding Emel's body from the slight chill in the air, sets the detective apart from the surroundings... Emel's brow twitches, perplexed by this seemingly random act of malice. This woman has nothing of value, not even a cell phone, so the likelihood of a family close by is slim to none, but Emel has had a string of these occurrences as of late; this just so happens to be the latest... There's something missing. Something very important...?
By Nupage Entertainment5 years ago in Criminal
The Guilt of Howard Shanks
I don't know how it happened. It started like any other Friday night. I found myself once again staring at the red dice in my hand. I call the bartender to light me up as I pull out a cigarette. I twitch as the dice roll out of my hand. After a good few rounds, my luck finally runs out as the dice begin to stop. A 6 and a 1. Dang, there goes all my money. Only this time I couldn't afford to lose. I curse under my breath until I hear someone shout "I won" from across the bar. I look up and see his face. He had the clothes of a rich man. I follow him out of the casino appearing as indistinguishable as possible, lagging for a little bit till he turns into an empty alley. I call out and ask him for a cigarette. He reaches down and that's when I shot. Everything freezes as I watch him fall backward. I quickly come to my senses and search his pockets for the check he had just won. I find it stashed within a small black notebook with the initials "H.S." I decided to take the notebook along with the check to make sure there was no evidence. I run back to my apartment fleeing the murder I had just committed. I decide to wait a few days to cash the check-in to make sure no one would trace it back to me. I threw the notebook on my desk and look at the amount of cash written on the check. 20,000$! That's more than enough to pay off my debts, along with rent for a few months! But then it set on me like a paperweight, I just killed a man. I have a drink to ease the guilt and try to sleep it off
By Hammerhead Softworks5 years ago in Criminal
