Although the mystery/suspense genre is my favorite—both to read and write, I occasionally stray from the dark side. I wrote the following piece of flash fiction as an in-class prompt during a short story class I took last fall. The prompt was “My daughter…” Although I have no kids, I was hooked on The X-Factor at the time so this is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy:
Redemption – A Short Story
Ben Hawkins blames his father for a psychologically abusive childhood and for triggering his mother’s suicide. The two men have been estranged for years. But when Ben is falsely accused of murder, he has no other option than to turn to his father, a retired homicide detective, for help.
As Ben languishes in jail, the noose growing tighter, his father desperately searches for the real killer. The evidence continues to mount against Ben until the case takes an unexpected turn.
The complete short story is available below.
The Switch – A Short Story
Michael came from old money, but when he married Rita, his parents disapproved and cut him off from the family wealth. With his beautiful wife and their three children, Michael never regrets what he lost — until Rita is diagnosed with breast cancer and he doesn’t have the health insurance to cover her care.
Michael hatches a desperate plan to fund Rita’s life-saving treatments and exact revenge against his family.
The complete short story is available below.
Breaking the Cycle – A Short Story
In this short story, Kate Bynum is a patrol cop working the graveyard shift. She has seen more than her share of domestic violence calls. More often than not, these besieged women are unable to find a way to stop the torment on their own.
When she meets a young woman who is trapped in an abusive marriage by her politically connected and powerful husband, Kate knows she must find a way to help the woman escape and break the vicious cycle of abuse.
The complete short story is available below.
Winner Takes All
In this short story, Robert Lewiston fled the country after executing the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He changed his name, had plastic surgery, and escaped to Rio de Janeiro, where he’s living the high life on billions in stolen funds.
John Henderson is an ex-employee of Lewiston’s who is helping the FBI track down his former boss. When John discovers information that could lead to Lewiston’s whereabouts, he is faced with a crucial decision that could lead to dangerous consequences.
The complete short story is available below..
