Chapter 18: Victim or Villan?

Detective Blackhorse called the precinct and asked for the sheriff. The receptionist put him on hold and returned a moment later, with instructions for him to call Officer Schneider with his questions and requests. Blackhorse asked to speak with Schneider and the receptionist put him on hold. Blackhorse cursed under his breath. After what felt like an eternity, Schneider picked […]

Chapter 17: Ghostly Intuition

Blackhorse parked in the first space he could. The gray car followed suit, quickly pulling into a spot three cars behind him. He sat staring into his rearview mirror, waiting to see if the driver would get out. The day had heated up and he was feeling worse by the minute. A mild headache had intensified, until the blood was […]

Chapter 16: Bad Blood

Detective Blackhorse left the Heavenly Hash Smoke Shop and strode to his car with a spring in his step. Once Smokey said that the victims in his murder case were drug dealers who had stolen from a customer, things finally started making sense. As he drove off, Blackhorse let everything sink in. If what Smokey said was true, then one […]

Chapter 14: Heavenly Hash

The Heavenly Hash Smoke Shop was everything promised by the crumpled receipt printed with cheap smeary ink. He had driven across town and parked in the rundown shopping center. The curling faded Bob Marley posters taped in the dusty storefront window contributed to the overall neglected appearance of the smoke shop. Pulling open the front door got him blasted in […]

Chapter 13: Back to Basics

Officer Schneider roughly brushed past Detective Blackhorse and stalked out of the police precinct. Blackhorse stood watched his hasty retreat for a few gleeful moments, before turning his attention to the toxicology reports on the victims. Analysis of their blood and urine showed the presence of atropine. Blood concentrations were consistent with an overdose. Detective Blackhorse surmised that it was […]

Chapter 12: Questionable Motives

Detective Blackhorse sat in his car, waiting for his irritation over Officer Schneider’s unprofessional antics to pass. It would be a mistake to allow that buffoon to get under his skin. Blackhorse grudgingly admitted to himself that part of him was tempted to sink to Schneider’s level and clap back at him, when he was being spiteful. How satisfying would […]

Chapter 10: The Outsider

Detective Blackhorse awoke determined to go and lay eyes on the woman whose name kept coming up in interviews with the townspeople. He wanted to see for himself if there was anything to their suspicions. Normally, he took accusations of witchcraft made against misfits and outsiders with a grain of salt. More often than not, they were baseless and born […]

Chapter 9: Following a Thread

With daylight beginning to fade, Detective Blackhorse revised his previous decision to go down the list of suspects in order and selected a woman at the address closest to his motel. Weariness had settled on his shoulders like a heavy cloak. The sooner he got this next interview over with the better. After sleeping all folded up in his car, […]

Chapter 8: The First Snag

Detective Blackhorse sensed that Alice Barnhill was about to end the interview, before it even began. While he found her reticence a typical small-town reaction to a stranger, it seemed exaggerated. Was she trying to stonewall him? One look at her dilated pupils and he realized that she must have recently eaten, smoked or snorted some illicit substance. Even if […]

Chapter 7: Pulling at Threads

The idea of ducking out of the summer heat for a mid-afternoon nap between cool sheets in an air-conditioned motel room was very inviting.  However, Blackhorse was determined to make some headway on the case, by nightfall.  He decided to see how many people on the list he could contact and interview.  One good interview could set him on the […]

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