“Charles? Are you alright?”

Charles DuChamp struggled against the blackness that had enveloped him with such sickening swiftness. He tried to open his eyes, but the pain forced them to stay shut.

The voice came again, more insistent, but also familiar.

“Charles? Charles?” A cool, dry hand touched his face. “Wake up, Charles.” The voice, soft, mellifluous, with a syrupy New Orleans accent, started to break through the fog that clouded DuChamp’s brain. A sudden surge of elation coursed through his heart when he finally thought he recognized the voice.

“Aloysius?” whispered DuChamp. “Is that you? I thought—.” He opened his eyes to stare at the man bending over him, and cold dread cut through him like a knife.

“I’m afraid not, Charles. Aloysius is otherwise…occupied.”

“Diogenes. B-b-but…you’re supposed to be—.”

“Dead? Such rumors have been greatly exaggerated, I’m afraid.”

DuChamp, his heart pounding in his chest, struggled to back away from Diogenes, but his limbs failed him.

“What have you done to Aloysius? I haven’t heard from him since—.”

“Since he went to Italy, six weeks ago? It seems my brother got himself into a bit of a tight spot. Lucky for him I was there to help.”

“Is he—?”

Diogenes laughed. “Oh, no, he’s fine. No...   read more »

Rick Mathies surveyed the crime scene with a sinking feeling. “Crime scene” seemed a mild description for what lay before him. This was not some run-of-the-mill homicide, two drunks knifing each other in a bar or a hunting “accident” as was expected in a place like Winstead. This was insanity.

Mathies watched Charlie Quinn, his deputy sheriff and acting crime scene tech, photograph the bodies of the victims. Quinn was a veteran of a NYPD crime scene unit who had moved to Winstead to “escape the horrors” of big city crime and to enjoy “semi-retirement” with a small town police force. Mathies doubted he was enjoying anything at the moment.

Mathies’ radio crackled to life. He heard the rather subdued voice of Ed Brandt, the deputy guarding the entrance to the property.

“Rick, the coroner is here.”

“He’s going to have wait just a few more minutes, Ed. Charlie is still processing the scene, and we don’t need any more bodies on the premises than we’ve already got.” Mathies winced inwardly at his own weak attempt at a joke.

“Any idea who they are?” Quinn asked Mathies as he knelt by his crime scene kit to retrieve more film. Quinn had only joined the...   read more »

The battered green farm truck sputtered and died just as it arrived at the end of a long gravel driveway. The driver, a teenage girl, swore under her breath and tried to restart it without success.

Damn thing. I told Mom and Dad it wasn’t running right. Now it’s gone and died on me. Perfect, just perfect.

She looked at the bags of groceries in the passenger seat and sighed. She grabbed them, opened the door and exited the truck, stopping to smack the steering wheel one more time for good measure. She divided the bags evenly between both hands and started walking up the driveway towards her house. During the course of her half-mile walk, she thought about the events of the past day and a half. First, there was the fight with her boyfriend. Well, not really a fight. She hadn’t even been able to respond to his statements and questions. She had just sat in stunned silence until he dropped her off at home, and when he had cautiously asked about their planned trip to the city, scheduled for today, she had told him that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. She had other things she needed...   read more »