fiction
Mystery, crime, murder, unsolved cases. Contribute your own tales of crime to Criminal.
Beggars' Pride
Arnold woke up alone. The brisk morning found him lying under his nylon sleeping bag on a pile of cardboard. Today he was using a grocery bag full of used grocery bags as his pillow. Despite the cold, it looked like it would be a beautiful day. Arnold lived under a bridge on the outskirts of town. It was mostly quiet, and the river kept him company.
Jacob MasonPublished 3 years ago in CriminalThe Little Black Book
Welcome to Verizon Wireless. Your call cannot be completed at this time. Please contact the billing office at … I put my phone down, shaking my head, having listened to the same disconnect announcement twenty times. I pick up my wine glass and drain the last of the crimson elixir before realizing it’s one o'clock in the day, and I’ve already finished an entire bottle. I get up, tossing the glass into the recycling bin before going to the wine refrigerator and pulling out the most expensive bottle I have left. As I pop the cork, my doorbell rings.
Melidee MatthewsPublished 3 years ago in CriminalAunt Mathilde
As far as most members of the Marchmont extended family were concerned, Aunt Mathilde had never existed. The saga of the Aunt who never was began when Rachelle, aged twenty-three, received a call from the family lawyer. A kindly old man who’d served the Marchmonts for decades, Jean-Luc was a dear friend, but he’d never exactly had cause to call the youngest of the Marchmont cousins - nor had Rachelle ever done anything warranting such a call. She was, after all, utterly unremarkable.
Sarah SalisburyPublished 3 years ago in CriminalExecuted Love
A single tear drips down his face as he begins the story. It seemed like it had been two years since we had got a night on the town. Our sweet baby girl almost one now, and just starting to walk. I looked at my wife as we entered the house. She was so beautiful! I could not believe how lucky we were. I could hear Dorothy crying so I headed up the stairs. “wonder what has got my little Dotty upset?” I thought. When I walked into the nursery, it was as though my heart had stopped beating. Everything was going in slow motion. My mind could not comprehend what my eyes were seeing? There he was with his mouth on... At that moment. Before I knew what had happened. I jerked him back and punched him right in the mouth! The next hit caught his nose I felt it crack beneath my fist. I could hear my wife screaming in the background, but I could not stop! He was screaming. she was screaming. I could do nothing but cry and hit. This man, who had violated my baby girl. At some point, I realized all the screaming had stopped. Now I was crouched over the lifeless body of my wife’s brother David. I had to get him out of my house. So, I picked him up on my shoulder carried him down the stairs. I could feel the warm sticky blood draining down my back. Where are my Keys? My head was swimming! My car keys were gone, along with Julie. I found his keys threw him in his car and headed to the river. My mind swirling with rage then I see it, the blunt in the ashtray. I need to calm down! What am I going to do? I picked it up several hits later I see the lights flashing in the mirror. When I pulled over and tried to explain no one would listen. After searching the car, the police found several pounds of meth packed ready for delivery. They also found David’s Dead body. I was facing trial for possession and murder. The combination of a felony and murder put the death sentence on the table. I never saw Julie or Dotty again. When they placed me in my cell on death row, the warden delivered a Moleskine Black Uptown Leather-Bound Notebook, a pen, and a letter.
Angela Kay DollarPublished 3 years ago in CriminalDUKE LEMORE
In such moments pressed in unordinary circumstances I would have to thank my inquisitiveness. I’ve always had a sense of charisma, developing what one would call ‘soft skills’ at a young age and always finding a way out of trouble. Explaining to my oblivious parents that the reason why I kicked the new white fridge was because I felt we didn’t need it; that the older version chilled my ice cream just fine. As a reward for my economic expressions I got a bowl of the cold stuff, and even a few extra scoops. Thirty years later and that’s how I continued to live my life, always aiming to get those few extra scoops.
Autumn PeraltaPublished 3 years ago in CriminalSlow Poison - Chapter Six
Chapter Six Cheltenham December 8th He let himself into the basement flat with difficulty. The padlock seemed to be out of alignment, as though recently forced. The unlit steps down to the entrance would not allow a clear view. Piles of damp newspapers littered the space around the door. A shirt lay crumpled along a sill, a makeshift draught excluder. A dirty towel was pinned over a broken window, keeping something out, or something in. None of the lights in the dingy apartment seemed to be working. The place was bitterly cold. The body sprawled across the filthy sheets in the curtain-less bedroom looked like a corpse, long dead from hypothermia, a Belsen wreck.
David Philip IrelandPublished 3 years ago in CriminalBaby Steps
You know the expression curiosity killed the cat? Well, for whatever reason, I decided to try out that theory. Stupid! I know! But the impulse was just too great. I could have walked away and acted like it was never there. I could have reported the break-in.
Jason HoppPublished 3 years ago in CriminalThe Receipt
Jack Jack searched frantically for the suitcase. He just couldn’t understand why Aimee was so adamant against lending it to his sister. Nora was responsible and the suitcase wasn’t even expensive. Why was she making such a big deal over something so small? He wanted to find the suitcase quickly before she woke. She was sleeping so soundly and he was relieved. She hadn’t been herself the last few days. His thoughts were interrupted with the burning question “WHERE IS THE SUITCASE!?!?”. Just then something fell down on him from the top shelf almost knocking him out of the closet. At this point he was tempted to buy a new suitcase for Nora. He managed to keep his balance and catch the bag but slipped on something that fell out of the bag and landed with a painful thud on the keys in his back pocket. That was the last straw and the straw that bought Nora a new suitcase. This just wasn’t worth it. He picked up the things that fell out of what he assumed to be Aimee’s bag that landed him on his now painful bottom. In the dim light of the closet he was still able to make out stacks of money. “What?!?!”, he whispered incredulously. He picked up five stacks of money and quickly shoved the bag open to find money and lots of it. The bag was full of money and a little black book. While the money was certainly exciting and confusing this one little black book in the middle of the bag of money held more intrigue. His heart was racing as he read the front of the book, Receipt. His mind went in so many directions. What could his fiancée be selling that was worth a bag of money. She was an undergrad student and a waitress and they usually had more bills than money. Just as he worked up the courage to open the book he heard Aimee tossing and turning so with his heart racing he opened it quickly. Page 1: Eyes - $1,000 Lungs - $15,000 (each) Liver - $50,000 Kidney -$15,000 Heart - $50,000 and so on. Jack dropped the book back into the bag. Who puts prices on body parts? Who is buying body parts? Who is selling body parts? Where are they getting the parts? What in the world does any of this have to do with Aimee? He heard her phone hit the floor and had to decide quickly what to do with the bag and its contents.
Jennifer HelmstetterPublished 3 years ago in Criminal“Creatures of the Night”
Usually it starts with a late-night phone call. In my business, we call it the 2 a.m. alert. At that hour, callers run the gamut from the drunk to the troubled cop to the screamer.
John W. WhiteheadPublished 3 years ago in CriminalThe Ohio Slayers
Every day I miss my best friend. The both of us just knew we'd make it out of our crummy small town in Ohio. It's been seven years and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about Mason. A tragic loss is hard to forget.
Ashlynne BuckleyPublished 3 years ago in CriminalSoi Cowboy
Isaac nervously tapped the side of his glass as he sat outside a bar in Soi Cowboy. His solitude was noticeable in this seedy district of Bangkok, as if the working girls had been instructed to give him a wide berth on this stormy night.
Ricky ChopraPublished 3 years ago in CriminalThe Quiet Child
As I set up camp for the night after collecting my payment from the village, I couldn’t help but reflect on the strange day. As I was wandering through town, I spotted a curious little girl. She was maybe 7 or 8. She was quiet and her face betrayed great sadness, but also strangely a positive and cheerful outlook on life. She never saw me, but I inquired about her with the villagers. They told me a story that was tragic, even for an orphan. When she was a toddler, her dad perished in a war. Then a few months later her mother and elder sister perished from a disease that ravaged the town. Her older brother was then killed a year later by thieves. She was then taken in by villagers who tolerated her, but only reluctantly. She was very… unique.
Austin Blessing-Nelson (Blessing)Published 3 years ago in Criminal