Clues, Cops, & Corpses: A Flash Mystery Collection

By Rebecca M. Douglass

Nine tales of murder and mayhem, from the classic to the absurd. Can detective L. R. Hen discover who is committing the notorious Cackling Murders? Have the waters of lakes and rivers washed away all the clues in several damp cases? And just what can motivate a brainless thug to care about something? All these cases and more are solved in this quick, fun collection of stories by the author of the Pismawallops PTA mystery series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca M. Douglass
• Release date: Jun 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005669607

Rebecca M. Douglass

After a lifetime of reading and a decade of slinging books at the library and herding cats with the PTA, Rebecca began to turn her experiences into books of her own, publishing her first (The Ninja Librarian) in 2012. That failed to quiet the voices in her head, but seemed to entertain a number of readers, so she wrote some more, which generated still more voices. Despite the unlimited distractions provided by raising sons to the point of leaving home, not to mention the mountains that keep calling (very hard to resist the urging of something the size of the Sierra Nevada), she has managed to produce many more books in the years since.For those who enjoy murder and mayhem with a sense of humor, Rebecca’s Pismawallops PTA mysteries provide insights into what PTA moms and island life are really like. If you prefer tall tales and even less of a grip on reality, visit Skunk Corners in The Ninja Librarian and its sequels. And for those who’ve always thought that fantasy was a bit too high-minded, a stumble through rescues and escapes with Halitor the Hero, possibly the most hapless hero to ever run in fear from any and all fair maidens, should set you straight.Through it all, she has continued to pen flash fiction, for a time sharing a new story on her blog nearly every week. Now those stories are getting new life in a series of novella-length ebooks, with an omnibus paperback coming soon.Why does Rebecca write so many different kinds of books (there’s even an alphabet picture book in the mix!)? It might be because she has a rich lifetime of experience that requires expression in many ways, but it’s probably just that she’s easily distracted.

Book preview

Clues, Cops, & Corpses

A Flash Mystery Collection

by

Rebecca M. Douglass

This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, events and places portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 Rebecca M. Douglass

ISBN: 9781005669607

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

Contents

Introduction

Dead in the Water

The Case of the Missing Corpse

The Body in the Brambles

Death Among the Dahlias

The Cackling Murders

Just Another Job

Attraction of Opposites Saves the World

Thug’s Passion

The Barmaid and the Pirate

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Rebecca M. Douglass

introduction

My loyal readers will know that most of my novels are cozy mysteries, the kind of light-hearted murder-puzzles that leave out the gore and focus on the puzzle—and the relationships among the characters. Most of these stories fall into the cozy category, but others are more adventures, or experiments in something a bit more noir. At least two cross over into the fantasy genre, and one toys with gothic themes.

Writing a mystery in the flash-fiction format is quite possibly harder than writing a full-length novel, but it’s a good challenge! Most of these stories appeared on my blog at some point. Since then, they have been removed from the blog and thoroughly revised, and in some cases expanded to improve the story lines, and are now only available in this collection. Revisiting and revising the stories has been a fun task for me, and I hope the result will offer some enjoyment to you, my reader.

This book is part of a set of flash fiction collections, including Wizard Libraries and Dragon Archives; Strong Drink: Tavern Tales Short and Tall; and Missing Snow: A Collection of Holiday Stories.

Dead in the Water

The body washed gently against the shore, bumping the rocks then washing away, only to return with the next small wave. The shoulder-length blonde hair floated about the head like a halo. Marsha Harrigan, police detective, watched the corpse for a minute, and reflected that her peaceful lakeside vacation had just come to a crashing end. With great reluctance she pulled out her cell phone, looked up the number of the local police, and dialed.

She would have liked to just report the body and let the local police take over. She wanted to go on vacationing. Except that Lilacs-on-Lakeshore was in her jurisdiction, and she knew the police chief. Alex Tormentino had no illusions about his own abilities. He was very good at handling petty thievery, speeding, and excessively noisy parties. He had never, to her knowledge, handled a murder, and he would want an expert at his side for this. Marsha was an expert, and she was on the spot. She had no doubt her boss would order her to cut short her vacation and take the case.

#

It worked about as Marsha had expected. Tormentino was on the spot within fifteen minutes, studied the floating corpse for a few seconds, and turned to Marsha, who already had her orders. Not that it mattered; Tormentino knew who she was.

What now? Tormentino asked.

Pull her out, dry her off, and try for an ID. I’ve already photographed the scene.