Guest Author Alex Knight

A fine line

Walked daily

Pulled one way

Pushed another

Cries for help

Ignored.

“You’re the one

we always

count on,

the

‘strong one.'” (more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

Fingers tapped; clock watched

Late for dinner… again.

Spun tires; churned gravel

Car door slammed…

again.

“Stuck at work.” (more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

One Night’s Stand
by Alex Knight

I called tonight
Knowing you weren’t there
I wanted to hear
your voice
Cool confidence
Expressed in every syllable
When you said you would
Return the call
That’s what I needed to remember
Not the terrified pleas
That escaped your lips
When you faced
Certain death
I expected so much
More from you. (more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

It took a few weeks for life on Marilyn’s houseboat, Just Reward, to settle into any kind of normalcy. She had trouble sleeping initially; every sound was foreign to her and it kept her nerves taut and her mind and body alert. Eventually she came to recognize the routine sounds and could now easily dismiss them.

At first her days seemed lonely, after all she had not intended to retire this early or alone. It was true that she was used to Daniel being away ninety percent of the time, but she had always counted on sharing their retirement time.

It was during the third week that Marilyn finally started to unwind and develop a schedule. She would start the day with a quick shower followed by breakfast of a half of a Ruby Red grapefruit, black coffee and whole-wheat toast. Then she would take the canoe out and go fishing for rainbow trout. Sure she could just fish from the deck, but she wanted the exercise the paddling provided for both her body and mind. (more…)

COVER STORY
by Alex Knight

Prologue:

I always thought that my grandmother was crazy. She rocked all day on the front porch, talking to herself and she had a way of looking through a person that unnerved the bravest of souls.

When passers-by spotted her on the porch they would cross to the other side of the street. If they spoke together in hushed tones she would proclaim just loud enough for them to hear, “I can still hear you.” At that they would walk much faster.

Some people called her crazy and some called her a witch. The rest of them called her a crazy old witch, or worse, but never within earshot.

Everyone was afraid of her.

Now… they are afraid of me. (more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

The killer was certain there was no one with the victim. Only one car was in the parking lot, a baby blue Cadillac De Ville with the vanity plate SUMFUN. The Killer sneered, accountants and their sense of humor, who else would think number crunching was fun? 

After parking in front of the building the emergency flashers were activated and the hood popped up. Pretending to be looking under the hood, the killer scanned the area once again for potential witnesses. So far the coast was clear. Now the cell phone came out, a ploy to make it look good in case the victim was watching. An oath was uttered and a fist crashed down on the roof of the car. The cell phone was angrily tossed in through the driver’s side open window. The killer knocked on the storefront door; the victim cautiously opened it.

“Excuse me but my car’s dead and so is my cell phone. Can I use your phone to call the motor league?”

A quick look up and down the street indicated the stranded motorist was alone, and the victim opened the door wider.

“Sure, c’mon in,” those were the last words Bob the embezzling accountant uttered.  (more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

Jake Stevens read the article again; he couldn’t believe what he had read the first go round. Yep, it said exactly what he thought it did and he immediately envisioned his next ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme.

A company in the east had developed a way to take the ashes of a cremated person and turn them into diamonds. A spokesperson for the company said their premise had been based on the principle that diamonds are merely crystallized carbon and carbon is found in all organic life. He further stated that people could now keep their dearly departed close to them always, by wearing these specially created diamonds in custom made jewelry. The spokesperson then outlined that approximately a thimble-full of ash would yield a 1/4-carat diamond at a cost of $4,000.00. Jake snorted when he laughed hard and he was snorting now.

“Molly quick, c’mon ya gotta read this. We’re gonna be stinkin’ rich!”

Molly ran as she always did when Jake hollered. She never knew if he was going to be in a good mood or a foul one. But even if the mood started out good and she wasn’t fast enough, it could turn foul in a blink of an eye. Molly read the article, but wasn’t sure what he was so all shook up about. Dare she ask? It would probably set him off again.

(more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

Racing from the square, Jennifer knew something had gone inexplicably wrong. The dense foliage impeded her progress through the jungle. Her face and arms scratched and bloody, she pushed on. Exposed roots threatened to trip her more than once, and it was all she could do to keep her balance. Tempted to look over her shoulder, she knew her attention could not be diverted from watching for pitfalls ahead. With two sets of pursuers on her heels she couldn’t afford to stop for a second. Her chest about to explode, she saw her only chance of escape ahead. If she could just make it to the river, she knew she would be safe.

Finally looking over her shoulder, she saw them both gaining on her. The Mayas were on one side and the conquistadors were on the other. It was 1518 and the Spaniards weren’t supposed to be here yet. Then Jennifer recognized the second set of pursuers, they weren’t conquistadors. It would take a miracle for her to make it to the river alive now. A shot rang out just as a brown arm snaked around her waist, pulling her down. Everything went black.

Waking some time later, Dr. Jennifer Wallace Whittaker was surprised to find that her limbs, though stiff, were not bound. As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she realized she was in some sort of cave. Chilled, she was glad to see there was a small fire a few feet away. The large figure of her attacker huddled over it. He appeared to be the only other occupant of the cave. She knew she would have to outwit or outrun this man when she regained her strength and senses. (more…)

Guest Author Alex Knight

Diane Morrison, the college’s most popular professor, stood smiling from her lectern as the class trickled in and settled down for the last lecture of the semester. As usual, it was standing room only. She was famous for the unorthodox methods by which she challenged her criminology students to think outside the box.

“This is my favorite topic,” she said, and the rustle and hum died instantly. “Is there such a thing as the perfect crime? Who wants to start our discussion?”

Several students took turns presenting a scenario for the perfect crime and each time Professor Morrison pointed out the problems and pitfalls, which would guarantee detection of said crime and lead to the eventual arrest and punishment for same.

“Professor, is it only a crime if you’re caught?” this from an earnest young man standing in the back. He was a new student who didn’t know better and although he arrived twenty minutes early, he was still too late to get even the poorest choice of seats.

“No, it’s still a crime if you’re not caught, but then it becomes the perfect crime. As soon as one other person knows of it, it ceases to be perfect. Consider the following story, and then tell me whether or not it was the perfect crime.” (more…)

Alex Knight

Making it to the lobby unrecognized was a miracle, but now Phyllis needed another one. While smoothing her hair back from her face, she realized the diamond-encrusted platinum P earring was missing from her right ear. The C was still in her left one. Phyllis knew she had them both when she left the studio and prayed her trademark earring wasn’t underneath Richard’s bloody body.

No one would ever believe she hadn’t murdered Richard, especially after the bitter argument they had on the set of her talk show earlier that morning. Even the show’s producer didn’t know it was engineered to generate more publicity and add fire to the rumors that had started when these ex-lovers announced that they were doing a major motion picture together. Groaning, she imagined the sound bites, “Academy Award Winner and Talk Show Queen, Phyllis Carter Kills Former Lover, Director Richard Arnett after a bitter, public argument, news at eleven.”

Creeping along the hallway, Phyllis was once again at Richard’s door. She entered the apartment with great trepidation and made her way to Richard’s den. Phyllis remembered how she planned to surprise him earlier with tickets to New Zealand, stealing into the den, coming up behind the chair as he looked out over the ocean view. She spun the chair around fast saying, “Surprise.” Only she was the one surprised when Richard’s body fell to the floor. Suppressing an urge to scream, Phyllis had fled the scene.

Phyllis knew if she didn’t find her earring right away, she would have to look underneath Richard’s body. Wobbly legs carried her over the threshold where she stopped short. Richard’s body was back in the chair, just as it had been earlier, and there was no sign of her earring. (more…)