This ripped-from-the-headlines short story begins at the 20th reunion of the Santa Clara High School Class of 1986. Several old friends and teammates met there after many years and shared their personal and professional experiences since high school. We check in again at the 30th reunion to find that they are all doing quite well on their chosen paths. Then Covid struck, and a downward spiral began. In 2025, the government implemented several programs that had a profoundly devasta...

Jeffrey Martin is a popular District Attorney, the favorite in his reelection bid. A few months ago, his daughter was killed by a drunk driver. He wrongly blames his wife, Erin. He tries to drink his sorrow away every night, then becomes enraged and beats Erin. She decides to leave him, and he comes home early during her exit and confronts her. He begins to beat her, and she fights back and inadvertently kills him. Now she finds herself in a tough spot. Who would believe that it was self-d...

This gothic horror short story takes place in Charleston, South Carolina in the years following the Civil War. At that time, the area was transformed as the plantations failed without the slaves to do all the work. One man who profited from the war was the local funeral director. You could say that war was good for business. He eventually became the choice of the higher class of former plantation owners when it came time to inter their dearly departed. Every few days he would bury a rich, ...

In this fact-based short story, we meet Angela Mortay, a nurse in the hospital area of a maximum-security prison. The time is the early 1960s, when single working women were not the norm. Angela is a caring, compassionate nurse, a favorite among the staff. She has also tasked herself with ridding the world of those she decides are a threat to society. Or those whom she believes she is saving from terminal pain. This setting is perfect for a serial killer like her! As you read this noir tal...

This is a short story -- In a sleepy beach town during the off-season, a prominent businessman from the city is found stabbed to death in his bed. All the doors and windows in the house were locked from the inside! The baffled police called attorney and part-time consulting detective "Silent" Sal DeMarco to help with their confounding conundrum.

In this short story, Dr. James Evans, a successful plastic surgeon, is trapped in a loveless marriage while he longs for another. His wife, Nancy, said she would never divorce him. She enjoyed being a doctor's wife too much. When his frustration reaches the boiling point, he devises a perfect scheme to murder his wife, or so he thought . . .As you read, picture this noir yard in black and white.

In this short story, Jim comes home and tells his wife, Joanie, that he just lost his job. Jim has been depressed and miserable for the past few years and it is now starting to drag his previously bubbly wife down with him. He has refused therapy several times. Joanie has given up. They decide to end it all with a double suicide, but things don't go exactly as planned.

In this short story, Mildred, a stressed CEO, discovers that her husband, Roger, is cheating on her. This news sends her into a rage, and she forces her security chief, George, to agree to murder Roger. When George decides to double cross both Roger and Mildred, things don't go quite as planned in this modern-day noir tale.

In this short story, we meet a group of guests at a bed and breakfast in a small town. Any hotel, motel, or, in this case, bed and breakfast, is a microcosm of our society. The guests in each room are all on their journeys with their own challenges and experiences. Some are happy, like those on a vacation or a celebration, some are not, like people attending a funeral or visiting a sick relative. But each of their journeys is separate from those of everyone else in the building, until an i...

In this short story, Alisha and Riggy are bright college students wondering where they will get the money to continue their educations. Then Riggy saw a story about a man that was tied up and robbed by an escort and Alisha was inspired. She devised a fool-proof scheme to attract middle aged, well off men to hotel rooms and gain their trust. She then handcuffed them to the bed and called Riggy who came in with a camera. Then they took their victim's credit cards while they threatened blackm...

In this short story, Trish tells her lover, Marie, that she suspects that her husband, George is having another affair. When she confronts him, he denies it, like he always does. A few weeks later he comes home falling-down drunk and tells Trish that he broke it off and that it is over forever. The next day George is arrested for murdering his mistress. After he is convicted because of overwhelming evidence, all of their lives are changed forever!

In this short story, Amy and Rich are on a Caribbean island celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary. They are enjoying the sun and the sand, then they take a tour up into the mountains to visit a village to explore how the island's residents live. While on the tour, they meet the village medicine man. Rich is heard saying he is a sham, which insults the man and the local culture. The Shaman's eyes glow as he squeezes Rich's hands.