Lil’ Mike had skills. That’s why he was running this primo corner north of the Ike, couple blocks west of the Stadium. Knew how to spot the five-0, knew how to work the suburban white breads that didn’t like to wander too far into the hood to score, Lil’ Mike giving ‘em a mix of […]
A well-dressed old man carrying a leather briefcase was pacing on the sidewalk outside my used bookshop in Philly’s Spring Garden neighborhood when I arrived this morning at 12 before 9. Half an hour later, he was inside, taking his sweet time browsing book after book. I hoped he’d make a purchase – or just […]
When Beatrice opened the door, she assumed the two young men on her front porch were Christians from some church or another. They looked the part. She said, “Sorry, we’re agnostic.” The taller of the pair, his hair shaved to stubble, grinned like a monkey. “If you ever want to see your daughter alive again, […]
Jumpy flinches at the smell of his underarms as he takes out his passport from the inner pocket of his jacket. His stomach rumbles but not from hunger. He doesn’t like long flights because they seem to decompose his body. He exhales. Ugh. His heart pounds when the immigration officer calls the person before him. […]
It’d been five weeks since Irene O’Connell’s father collected her from the Dominican Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary Orphanage on 63rd street. He turned up on a June day in ’39, driving a borrowed Model T Ford, not mentioning the borrowed part until they were well into the Bronx. Irene was sixteen, old […]
I remember my first night at BoucherCon this last year, hooking up with Matthew C Funk, Dan O’Shea and the moving party that was Team Decker, named for their astounding agent Stacia Decker. And I asked one of the party goers, “Where’s Frank?” They pointed over in the general direction of Frank Wheeler Jr. and […]
A Skynyrd guitar riff licked the back of my neck as Tampa shrank in the rearview mirror. It was seven-PM on Christmas Eve. Me and the new guy were headed to Apollo Beach to talk to a degenerate gambler that owed my boss money. The new guy sat in the passenger seat, his knees high […]
-Why can’t we go again?…-Be bad for you.-Bad for me? How so?-Jus’ bad.……-It’s just a key.…-A sandbar practically. A couple of palms. Mangroves.…-Huh. Looks safe enough to me.-Señor should jus’ go back to his hotel, no? Nice beach at hotel. Clean.-But we want to go over there.………-Look, I have plenty of money.-Be better you go […]
A gambler, a liar, and a cheat walk into a bar… Heath Lowrance has been telling stories most of his 40+ years, and like with good whiskey, the stories just get better with age. And let me tell you, Lowrance’s stories go down smooth and hit you with a kick. Last year, I shared pages […]
If there are two things you outta know about Lynchwood, it’s that nobody votes Democrat and nobody blasphames the Lord God Almighty… at least in public. Now Chad Parrish, would’ve broken rule number one had he lived enough and it’s ‘cause of rule number two he didn’t ever register. He was always makin’ a ruckus […]
Didee Fuller looked about half his age, slumped across from me in his pajamas with the specter of a black eye floating above one cheek. Looked about six. Small, skittish and unafraid. “You know who I am, Didee?” I gave him eyes as unblinking as my star tattoos under them. Didee chuckled. Maybe more of […]
“You’ve got an ugly pair of coconuts!” I sing with a wolf’s grin dripping indignation. I watch his micro facial expressions. Light flush to the surface of the cheeks, a flicker of the eyes as they dig into my stare, scanning for what I know. “You feeling alright Doctor?” He says through a fragile smile. […]
