Partnerships are key in crime, and in our May/June issue. “The Third Lady” by Robert Edward Eckels welcomes back two con men who have gone straight, and in “Down the Fire Road” a deputy attempts to help his long-suffering sheriff while they deal with twin sisters. Charles Hewitt and his mother-in-law Magdalene solve a crime on vacation in G.M. Malliet’s “The Pact,” and in “A Cruise to Eternity” by John Lantigua, several former MPD partners reunite on an action-packed ride. A P.I. partnership works like clockwork in “What’s the Holdup?” by Sandra Murphy.

Down the Fire Road
by Doug Crandell

Deputy Jeff Spickle wasn’t taken seriously. Sheriff Dresser was to blame for Spickle’s reputation, because the sheriff was compromised. His love of drink left Spickle in the no-man’s-land of informally being in charge, which meant undeserved blame. Deputy Spickle had reached what he believed was his breaking point and was ready to do something about it.

In high school, Jeff needed protecting, but Samuel Dresser needed someone to sober him up before football games. It seemed like a neatly arranged exchange, at least back then, twenty years ago.  READ MORE

Judge Not
by Twist Phelan

Albert Kastner has been a judge for twenty-five years and a new husband for ten months, and he is tired.

Lately, he’s been dragging himself to the courthouse, where the telephone has become his enemy. Nearly every morning when he arrives in chambers, his secretary hands him a message slip. A little urgent note from Tetyana, usually in the form of a Ukrainian proverb. A hungry wolf is stronger than a satisfied dog. Sometimes she sends more than one. Luck is against the man who depends on it.

Then there is when he gets home. Tetyana has plans for him; over dinner is when she lays them out. Promotion to a better court . . . run for local office . . . join a downtown law firm . . . While the strategies and directions are endless, they unfortunately fall short of distracting him from the food. READ MORE