Christopher and Emily Kesley met the old-fashioned way. At least, that’s what Kesley told me. He told me a lot when we served together. About his childhood, his family, his wife. Dear Mrs. Kesley, I pause, examining what I had just written. The curve of the M. The sharpness of the K. It seems wrong; […]
The quick report of a pistol rang through the quiet autumn night. It was no unusual sound in the unsavory quarter where Dr. Chevalier had his office. Screams commonly went with it. This time there had been none. Midnight had already rung in the old cathedral tower. The doctor closed the book over which he […]
Alexei Dubov has a kind of magic. Maybe a mutation. Newspapers aren’t sure. Scholars debate. His lawyers argue he cannot help it—and anyway, who can say the things he doubles are less real than their originals? “After all, how can you forge a person?” they ask, and point to me, miserable and silent in the […]
A Dance in Silence The girl in gold drifts, her hands outstretched. Her body floats amid shards of fine china, pressed white napkins, and the passengers — now corpses — of the U.C.S.G Luxitor. The chandeliers cast flickering light over the girl’s silent dance. She moves without a partner. All That Glitters A ball gown […]
In the dingy office of A. Slivowitz & Co., manufacturers of dyes, things were humming. Every clerk was bent over his desk, hard and cheerfully at work, and there was a general air of bustle and efficiency. That was because A. Slivowitz stood in the doorway of his private office looking on. The portly head […]
“Patrick McMahon died two months ago, defending his country,” Father Cunningham intones. Most of us in the church look over at Patrick, where he sways in the first pew, to see if he reacts. He doesn’t. Patrick has not spoken a word since the two army nurses led him, with a tight grip on each […]
They rolled in at one thirty-five in the morning and headed straight for the beer in the back. I checked the clock. My shift at the Quick-N-Go was ending at three A.M. But when cutoff time for selling booze is two o’clock, a little attention to detail is needed. I stashed the sports page and […]
The old lady was almost the perfect mark. Sasha held back an urge to smirk, and instead leaned forward to listen with polite interest. “Do you like cats, Miss… how do you pronounce that?” Sasha nearly grimaced, but caught herself. “Oh yes,” she said quickly, glancing around the condominium. Nothing in sight but good solid […]
Mimsy peered into the dark chamber. One hand daintily held her skirts up off the dirty floor. The other gripped a curved, snarled, shining blade. “Hello? Anyone in there?” Her melodious voice infiltrated every cranny and nook, dank corner and dusty crevice. At the sound of her chiming query, darkness bulged and strained against the […]