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Ever since Poe invented it, de Maupassant perfected it, Arthur Conan Doyle immortalized it, and Alfred Hitchcock televised it, the suspense / mystery short story has become one of the most popular forms of literature.
Whether we love the characters or hate them, we remember them. Which is more than can be said for the introverted protagonists of far too many mainstream short stories. The suspense / mystery story pulls us quickly along with its narrative drive, sharp motivation, and colorful characters. In the following eight stories you’ll meet heroes of varying shades of white, villains not always in black, and characters with consciences every color in between.
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On the cargo deck, I slipped the grey cylinder back into its hiding place. These pallets would be on a Dallas-bound flight less than thirty minutes after we landed in Anchorage. When they were unpacked in some Texas warehouse, the presence of an small untraceable grey cylinder would go unnoticed.
I checked my watch. In forty minutes we’d be back in radio contact and I could call in an emergency, tell them Bill had suffered a heart attack, and that I had been unable to revive him. I’d land the plane, exhibiting the right amount of grief. After all the paperwork was done, all the questions asked and answered, I’d stop by the dispatch office and ask if I could take a few days off to recover from ‘the loss of a friend’. Then I’d catch a flight to Chicago and meet Melissa.
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