by jeffrey | May 6, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning “Hold it—dreams?” Ringo said. “Better to tell me about them now.” My head was still reeling from the revelation of the sinister figure of Poignard, some kind of global puppet master of the underworld. His name suggested he was French. Was he a...
by jeffrey | Apr 22, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning I slept hard that night. Harder than I had since this whole escapade began, despite the musty canvas of the cots and the echo of the building shaped like a gigantic overturned half-cylinder, and the others sleeping on creaking cots, unseen at...
by jeffrey | Apr 15, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning As interesting and provocative as Ringo’s story was, Dimity and I had come from a long road trip and we were yawning heavily. We tried to go on. Dimity said amid one of those long, full, open-mouthed yawns, “Did y-, y- [YA-A-A-A-A-AWN]…sorry....
by jeffrey | Apr 8, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning Ringo’s Story A shaft of moonlight from the high window mingled with the candlelight and draped the walls in shadows while lacquering our faces in amber. Ringo sat up in the bed and pulled a blanket over his bare shoulders, strangely...
by jeffrey | Mar 31, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning The room was cloaked in shadows when we opened the door. Our journey back across Ohio, north into Michigan, all the way up to a Chippewa Reservation on the Canadian border, had taken the entire day, even at the speeds that a prize-winning...
by jeffrey | Mar 25, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning In a single motion I reached my hand into Dimity’s bag, pulled out her gun and marched toward Lorenzo, lifting the barrel toward his face. His rough treatment of Dimity that first day in the barn, his extorted seizure of the new brew Ringo and...
by jeffrey | Mar 18, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning Just as I had never believed in ghosts, monsters or the bogeyman, neither had I ever believed in guardian angels. That was all the stuff of folktales for little children and old ladies. Ringo and me, we were men of the world—at least I aspired...
by jeffrey | Mar 11, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning I awoke to breakfast smells wafting in from the kitchen, sauteed onions and garlic, fried potatoes, and smoked meats. Outside there were a surprising number of mushrooms that popped up overnight as if they had somehow noticed our visit and...
by jeffrey | Mar 5, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning The letter fell from my hand onto the floor. I gazed at the ceiling for a moment in a state of mild shock. I was already dealing with the enigma of the blue bottle in which the message came with the Saragossa insignia painted on the side. It...
by jeffrey | Feb 26, 2023 | Fiction
Read from the beginning I was at my home back in Ohio where the backyard was lush with new springtime grass and wildflowers. Water still dripped from the tender shoots and tree leaves following a brisk morning downpour. A mild sun was breaking through the blue...
