Falling Out Series

Falling Out – Part One

Detective Carruthers never liked working days. It wasn’t the sun shining or the crowds of people on the street, it was the general feeling of being at odds with nature. Yet here he was, sitting at the same old desk with the stuck third drawer staring at sadly familiar folders of unsolved cases. It was…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Two

Detective Carruthers walked down the tiled hallway, weaving around empty gurneys and construction supplies. The east wing was getting a facelift and expansion to support the influx of the recently deceased. As the city population grew, so did the problems within it. Carr pushed through a heavy double-swinging door to the inner sanctum. Roy was…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Three

The Red Rose wasn’t on any tour guides, and for good reason. Built before the influx of trendy condos and lofts, it was primarily a gathering place for dock workers and barflies. Carruthers pulled into a parking spot, tires crunching on broken glass. He remembered this neighborhood, back when he was on patrol. Peeling paint…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Four

Carruthers tapped the accelerator, easing through another blinking-light intersection. Part of the city revitalization project, unsold condos and renovated warehouses sat in the unfolding darkness. The sidewalks were abandoned with bits of trash blowing about in fitful gusts of wind. A soft tone pinged, alerting Carr to a call. He pulled over to the side…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Five

A dull grey fog flowed off of the harbor, street lights swaddled in flecked motes of moisture. Carruthers stared out into the formless void where light scattered and lost its way amongst billions of suspended water molecules. It felt like his efforts to unravel this case – bumbling and mostly directionless. Baxley Shipping wasn’t the…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Six

Carruthers didn’t want to see another time sheet ever again. It had taken hours to sift through the records, cross-checking them with the monthly schedule. He had two leads. Technically only one, the john doe found dead on Kennedy Street was one of the workers who had called in sick. Carr rubbed his face, he…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Seven

Carruthers walked outside, closing the door behind him. It took some prodding, but Frank finally produced a printout listing every container that had been shipped in the last two weeks. Cryptic number-letter suffix at the end of each line, like a street address, except the houses were stacked ten stories high. He would need some…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Eight

Flashing lights and blaring sirens on the drive back to Baxley. Carruthers didn’t like going full-bore, but sometimes there was no other choice. Time was passing at an alarming rate, what had been early morning wore into noon and was rapidly becoming evening rush-hour, cars clogging streets with weary commuters. The bartender hadn’t made it.…

Click to read more…

Falling Out – Part Nine

The constant drone of circulation fans in Carruthers suit lent an eerie undertone to the surroundings. Carr checked the printout, noting the location of the shipping container “ER2C”. The containment team had done well, each towering column of stacked containers were completely encapsulated. Below, the low ceiling of semi-translucent plastic reminded him of tent caterpillar…

Click to read more…

(If you’re wondering why have another page that you click-through to read, its to set up for expanding on this category with subsequent posts. Thanks for your understanding.)