A time for crime

I had plenty of time to think about it during those long night shifts. In the end, I couldn’t believe how easy it was. As a security guard at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, I had access to all areas. It took less than twenty minutes during the evening lockup. I slipped into the gallery, carefully razoring the painting out of its frame, before replacing it with a beautifully crafted fake. It would not fool anyone taking a closer look, but it gave me time to get away.

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I'd seen gray snow, I'd seen brown, mushy snow on the highway. I'd seen yellow snow too, but this was the first time I had seen pink snow. The sight of it turned my stomach. The crimson stain had grown into a shadow, an outline, like an island. The spatter from the blow had left a telltale bloody trail leading away from the gaping wound in the victim's head.

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“Good morning” he said before engaging me in conversation on an early Sunday morning train into London Bridge Station. We had a carriage to ourselves.

When he said “would you mind handing me your wallet,” as we pulled into London Bridge, I thought I’d misheard, until my eyes caught sight of gray metal beneath his jacket. Tracing my gaze, he smiled again and nodded.

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I was nervous as hell that day. It had all been arranged. As one of only three senior executives with access to the strong room combination, I was alone out back with Christmas takings of over $2.5m in used notes awaiting cash-in-transit collection. The heist mob agreed a cut of $250,000 to me as the inside man. The plan was for the heavies to arrive at exactly the moment I opened the walk-in safe. Two men inside the safe and one outside, holding me up with a gun to the head. Just for appearances of course.

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I had a sinking feeling, pressure on my chest, desperate to take a breath. My head felt like it was about to explode then, suddenly, I was free.

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If you have ever thought about writing murder mystery, crime, detective fiction or whatever you want to call it, but have never managed to get started, you might find the following article useful. Although it was written about a particular Vocal challenge that has long-since closes, most of the advice included therein is still valid.

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Fancy a bit of spooky criminality?

I crept into the crypt intent upon a grim and grizzly task. Having scaled the walls of the cemetery after darkness and prized open the door to the vault, I crouched just inside, silently waiting and listening for any movement outside. I could hear nothing but the wind in the distant trees and saw no sign that my nocturnal visit had been noticed. Leaving the door open a fraction, I cautiously covered the crack with my coat before lighting a small dip and venturing further inside. I did not want any patrolling Rozzer to look through the graveyard gates and notice a flickering light from within.

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Or how about this little equally macabre tale of the gothic à la Poe?

Crime comes in many ways, shapes and forms and in the most unexpected of places. But among fisherman? What can be more innocent than a fishing trip?

To find out... READ ON

A space ship on a long-term mission, a happy ship, where everyone not only gets on but is totally empathetic to everyone else's needs and feelings. That is until...

Murder and retribution in the wild west...

If you liked these stories you might also like to read some of my other fiction including science fiction, historical, plus tales of witchery and the weird, ghostly and ghastly.

A selection of other short stories from the author

If you have got this far, thank you so much for your interest. I hope that you have found something you liked and please do let me know which stories captured your imagination.

I will look forward to reading any comments you may be kind enough to read.

Love and best wishes

Ray