If you want to make your case, sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious and pluck the improbable from your creative imagination
The Brains of the Outfit
Crime Week’s free story
DETECTIVE BOB NEVER SOLVED A CASE, but today he would break that string. He knew it in his gut. His partner Duffy thought Bob relied on his gut too often, solid police work too little, and his brains never because Duffy doubted Bob had any brains.
What a laugh. Bob’s brains got him promoted to detective, well, Bob’s brains and the fact that his father was precinct Captain. Well, Bob’s brains and the fact that his father was precinct Captain and that his grandmother was mayor and knew the dirt on everyone in the police chain-of-command.
But mostly Bob got the promotion because of his brains. Which is why he knew the current theory of the crime was all wrong.
Detective Duffy kicked the toe of his shoe against the sidewalk. He did that a lot when talking to Bob. “Jesus, partner, the husband confessed. He showed us where he hid the garden hoe he chopped her head off with.”
Detective Duffy kicked the toe of his shoe against the sidewalk. He did that a lot when talking to Bob. “The husband confessed. He showed us where he hid the garden hoe he chopped her head off with.”
Bob pushed his Fedora back and scratched his bald head. “I don’t know. Something feels off about the confession.”
Duffy banged his head on the door frame. He didn’t mention Bob’s feet standing in the middle of the blood spray. “He posted photos of her head on Instagram.”
Bob glanced down, realized he was standing in blood, and wiped his shoe on the porch step. “Could have been someone who hacked his account.”
“Six witnesses saw him do it.”
Bob reached for the mail delivered that morning. He removed it from the box outside the door. “See this? It’s a slam dunk. Wrinkled envelopes, poorly sorted. The mailman did it.”
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Wry noir author Phillip T. Stephens wrote Cigerets, Guns & Beer, Raising Hell, the Indie Book Award winning Seeing Jesus, and the children’s book parody Furious George. Follow him at Phillip T Stephens.
