Hinky Jenks, Madelyn Argent, and me, we could’ve changed the world. Now I’m here alone with the envelope from Maddy’s father, and the priest with the click-clack heel on one of his shoes is walking the cellblock toward me. Damn you, Jenks. My death warrant expires in nine hours. No chance of a reprieve. But …
Lorna Harkonnen, director of the Red Sea Scroll division of Strang Research Center, announced the discovery of a several new scrolls in Cave 4 at Qumran at a press conference. According to Harkonnen, the find establishes that the current fascination with reality television is anything but a modern occurrence. “These newly translated texts,” Harkonnen said, …
Clayton Bardell stared at the letter, cursing his good fortune. Five minutes peace they won’t leave me, he told himself. Five minutes—it might be enough, but they won’t give me even that. Already he could hear the creak of Elder Stinson’s buckboard approaching from the main road. Bardell returned to the letter, determined to afford …
According to Wendy Morrone of McTrendz Research, things will get busy for concert-goers next year. With more than 90 percent of Americans claiming to hold spiritual beliefs, many secular bands are now focusing on the “religious” demographic. And because secular groups get the prime gigs, Christian bands will look to increase their piece of the …
The Uptown Diner, one of those tacky restaurants where everything’s faux nostalgia and sticky. But it’s cheap and convenient to Rosie’s studios: her third floor walk-up and the Delwyn Bros’ Recording Studio where she goes through the motions of bookkeeping to get some session time on the piano. And it’s close enough to Dale’s shrink that …
The doors are halfway shut when the two young punks clamber on board, distracting me from my search of the dozen or so boxes discarded in the corner. I turn when I hear them come over. Under the guise of nodding hello, I look closely at their faces, reflexively rub my stomach to calm the …
Roger woke after two hours sleep, listening. Footsteps? Engine ticking itself cool? Anything? He let out his breath long and slow. Only a dream. Just to make sure he grabbed his shotgun and removed the black-rubber knothole plug at the front of cabin. The road leading up from Santa Cruz was quiet. Checking peepholes in windowless …
Ronald Uno leans on the desk, casual, smiling. “The uncertainty’s the problem here, Mr. S. Will they or won’t they—how and when will we find out? You can appreciate The Boss’s concern, right?” Arvy Schrödinger tilts his chair onto its back legs, tries to match Uno’s breeziness. “As I’ve been saying, Ron, the feds’ll never …
When Pamela Tedesco arrived in the emergency room, nose pulped, more teeth out than in, scalp almost clotting amid now-hairless patches, she vowed she’d never go back to Lyle. When she bought the pistol from the TriCounty Gun and Rod Show, wearing a black tam with widow’s veil like a late-show femme fatale, Pamela told …
The light in the throne room turned sour, changing gold to brass. At the foot of the dais, angels caught the cue and shifted their praises to a minor key. Jesus turned to his left. “He’s waking up.” “Tell me something I don’t know,” the Father replied—their old joke along with “another day, another ten cents on …
