The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: Fifth Annual Collection, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, Honorably Mentions “Favors” by your humble editor. While the publicity is very much appreciated, “Favors” was not published by Shred of Evidence. It originally appeared in the anthology The Blackest Death Vol. 1, available from Black Death Books. It is also reprinted online.
Summary 2003
As far as comic books go, 2003 turned out to be a pretty good year for crime fiction. This was in part due to a rise in genre fiction as a whole, in part due to the growth of the small presses, and in part due to a combination of good marketing and fortuitous timing. Yet, as with all growth trends, this year produced a few dogs.
I don’t care.
I’m in a psychological flap, I know. Tom’s not having an affair. He’s not. He’s working late. That’s all there is to it. Working late at the office. They’re busy this time of year. Christmas looming. I should know that after all these years. And there’s the new contract with McKimmey and Bradbury. Jesus, what am I thinking?
I don’t care.
Melissa pushed the curtains aside and feigned a friendly wave at her cousin and rival for the proceeds from Grandma’s house and possessions. Melissa hadn’t seen Catherine in years, but it didn’t look like she had changed much. Melissa watched her pay the cabdriver, then trip and nosedive to the pavement. Melissa couldn’t believe her eyes or her good fortune. She was right. Catherine hadn’t changed one bit.
Melissa held the front door open. “Boy, that was some fall you took.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust my husband, Mr. Patterson.” She clasped her veined hands in the lap of her sun dress. “It’s just I’m afraid if he were to die suddenly, I’d either never know the truth, or it would show up on my doorstep.”
Most of the time I would have classified my newest case as run-of-the-mill divorce work with a twist. But while I’ve never understood how “trust” and “hire a P.I.” go together in the same sentence, my gut told me this particular lady wasn’t scratching around for court evidence.
Winston was with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Tank Regiment, and Jeremiah was with the 5th. In the dust and smoke of the battles for Sidi Rezegh, tank crews were shuffled as the situation demanded, and one day the two brothers found themselves in the same Honey, Winston as commander and Jeremiah as gunner.
War is a study in contradictions. There are moments of sharp intensity followed by hours of boredom. People who are strangers try to kill one another, the most personal of acts. The men die on foreign soil so that we women will be protected. My two boys died in the deserts of Northern Africa so that I would be safe from the Germans in London.
The bell over the door jingled, advertising the fact that someone had entered the building.
“Right with you!” Conrad yelled from his back office, cursing Debbie under his breath. Debbie was the receptionist, and she was sick again—pushing fifty and coming apart like a lemon-toned Dodge Aspen. Conrad slammed the filing cabinet shut, stubbed out his cigarette, and walked heavily down the short, linoleum-tiled hall. He halted briefly at Ovide’s open door. “Doin’ anything besides trolling for porn?” he asked. He didn’t wait for an answer.
Detective Jill Waliewiski wasn’t the least bit hungry. But Detective Sergeant Gina Nolan had insisted the quiet night could turn into a frenzy at any minute, and it was never a good idea to go into battle on an empty stomach. They had been working together long enough to be on a first name basis, but Nolan could still pull rank.
Waliewiski launched a protest. “You know, Gina, you keep fretting about your weight, but you just keep right on scarfing down cheeseburgers like they’re going out of style.”
Homepage: Noir Originals
E-mail: allan@allanguthrie.co.uk
Allan Guthrie lives in Edinburgh with Donna and Bruno. His short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. Out from late October, “Dealing With Flaws” in the first issue of UK print magazine, Bullet (ed. Keith Jeffrey) and in the November issue of Plots with Guns, “Maybe Something Priceless” (ed. Anthony Neil Smith). Forthcoming from Cyber-Pulp: “I’m No Killer” in Dark Streets After Hours (ed. Thomas Deja) and “Eyes Of An Angel” in Be Mine (ed. L. Marie Wood).
Homepage: http://members.aol.com/etogneri/
A member of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, Elaine Togneri is also the founder and a past president of the Sisters in Crime - Central Jersey chapter. Her short fiction has appeared in Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Mystery Time, and most recently in Blood on Their Hands, a Berkeley Prime Crime Anthology. A NJ native, Elaine graduated from Rutgers University and works as an Information Technology Specialist.