Lonestar Crime

I lay in bed, staring at the #glow of the alarm clock's static time, willing the numbers to move faster than the laws of physics would allow. Time slowed to a glacial pace in my mind as my brain tried to make sense of everything that happened. A minute ticked by slowly. *** I knew I was off the case until tomorrow but I had to do something. Under cover of darkness, I left the house only to be greeted with driving sleet coming at me horizontally. There was already an #icicle or two hanging from the porch but I got into my car and headed out. *** I figured the captain would have sent everyone home so I could question the woman without witnesses but there was one person who was still working. "Hey #Pudding," a woman's voice said from the shadows. "Hi Jaci," I muttered. "What are you doing here?" "Stopping you." *** "You knew I'd come?" I asked. "Captain knew you couldn't stop yourself," Ja...

"What time is it?" The Lt. asked while the ME looked at the body. "Six o'clock, why?" "It's Friday night." Realization dawned on me. "Eugh, #curry night." "Don't knock it till you've tried it, detective. Why don't you join us? The wife keeps asking me to invite you." *** The Lieutenant's house was nice. There were the usual family pictures & landscapes but a statue caught my eye. It was made of a green crystal. "It's #serpentine," the lieutenant's wife told me. "It doesn't look like a snake." "No, that's what it's made of," she smiled. *** We sat down at the dining room table to eat and I was initially skeptical, but the chicken curry was nice and not too spicy. They were a couple in love. I saw that each one had framed their wedding #vow & hung it on the wall, a reminder of what they promised each other. *** "Whass inis...

I headed for the judge's table at his favorite cafe but the Maitre d stopped me. I waited while he took a #slip of paper to the judge. He came over. "This better be important, detective." I handed him the warrant & a pen. He read it & signed it. "Go catch the bastard." *** Now I had the signed warrant in hand, I headed for the club. We'd tried to bring Loom down several times but nothing ever stuck. This time it might. If he had any #part in the murders of Tyrrell Marcus and Darius Jackson, we'd be able to nail him for sure this time. *** As I neared the club I saw black smoke rising into the sky and sped up. The lieutenant waved me down half a block away and I knew it was a bad #omen. "What happened?" "It seems we stumbled into the latest battle between The Hemphill Crew and the Camp Bowie Destroyers." *** "This wasn't arson," the fire chief said when he came out to us a long time later....

I rang the doorbell and LaShonda Marcus answered, looking strung out. "We need to talk." "Come in, detective," she said and led the way to the living room. I saw the cocaine on the table and asked, "Did this get your husband killed?" "Are you gonna #bust me for it?" *** "Answer the question." "No, that's not what got him killed." "Do you know what did?" I asked. "Maybe." "Mrs. Marcus, if you know something, you have to tell me." "They sent a video to my phone. Said if I didn't help them, they'd kill him." "#Play it for me," I said. *** I watched the video twice. "Do what we tell you...don't call the police...we'll kill him." It was a familiar #refrain. "What exactly did they ask you to do?" "I'm a cellist for the World Orchestra. They wanted me to poison the conductor." "But you did...

After several hours checking sewer exits with a bunch of rookies, I was tired and grouchy. I knew the lieutenant wasn't going to be happy, but I did what he wouldn't. "What did you do?" He asked when he caught up to me. "I #spoke to the ME. She has something for us." *** The medical examiner was dressed in scrubs and her usually coiffed hair stuck straight up like she was a #troll from the movie. She scowled when she saw us. "It's never easy with your bodies." "Meaning?" "Your victim was shot to death and decapitated postmortem." *** "Can you determine time of death without the head?" I asked as the Lt. looked on, silent. "You're in luck," the medical examiner answered. "His watch recorded his heartbeat. It stopped beating two days ago, on #March 3rd." "He was killed before Tyrrell Marcus," I said. *** "Thanks, Doc," I said as we left the ME a...

The lead detective approached the car but it was empty. He gestured for us to fan out and search the area but I thought I knew better. I touched the hood, still #warm. They hadn't been gone long. On a hunch I checked the trunk and found the suspect's body, without a head. *** While we waited for the ME to arrive, the CSI assigned to the case began taking pictures, collecting evidence from the car, and asking questions. "He was your suspect? Who was he supposed to have killed?" "Didja hear 'bout the dead football player, a Baltimore #Raven?" *** The CSI's eyes went wide. Everyone had heard of the footballer's death. The problem was the number of suspects. Tyrrell Marcus had made a lot of enemies and was known to have a short #fuse. Now their best suspect was dead. They had two bodies and there were no answers. *** "Detective. There's a bag in here, partially covered by the body," the CSI called out. "I ...

Welcome to my new blog, fresh for 2020. This will be primarily used, at least for now, for my Twitter #vss365 murder mystery entitled Pandora's Children. I plan to put other stories up on here as well, short stories and vignettes. Anything I write until I decide to publish it elsewhere. See you soon. Marc