Time to contemplate

Sitting in the interview room I was surprised that Stevie had agreed to see me. She arranged for the private chat on the pretext of 'further investigations.'

Read Telltale Crimson Trail from the beginning

"Wanted to say how sorry..."

"Sorry you got caught!"

"I just didn't think it through, Stevie."

"You can call me Detective Nichols."

"I really wish I knew how to say how much I regretted what I put you though."

"Yeah, me too! I don't have all day."

"It was all too much. After Julie died and then my little brother got caught up in the whole drugs shebang..."

"Guess it runs in the family."

I let that go.

"He was hijacked for a bag of coke. Couldn't pay it back. They made an example of him. McCafferty was the executioner. He took his time finishing it... But you know all of that."

"Yeah, I read it, after I had put two and to together. Where did you think it would get you... your little revenge killing?"

"Like I said, I hadn't thought it through."

"You'd thought it through enough to cave McCafferty's head in and then try to make it look like another gangland killing. Whoever heard of a gang execution by snowball?"

"Yeah, well..."

"And then you tried to get yourself shot by the patrol boys. What kind of a warped mind wants to pass on that kind of responsibility?

"Will you visit me?"

"Go to hell, inmate."

"I will," I said to her departing back, as the guard let her out.

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Telltale Crimson Trail is a crime thriller, written in 12 x 250-word episodes. Part 1 was originally written for a Vocal Challenge but the story became a challenge in itself, when several other creators agreed to contribute their own alternative continuation storyline, to see where the action might lead. Two of these alternatives were awarded top stories. I will shortly be announcing the winner of that competition. You can see each of these entries, alongside the original 12-part run here: Crimson Web

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