James Pyles's Blog, page 185
October 16, 2017
The Lady is Murder
The medina attracted many tourists to Marrakech, but it was also easy to disappear here. Rabah Hadad was born and raised in London’s West Hampstead, his father a banker and his mother a teacher, but he had become something else. He stopped in a small alleyway, the wall painted a garish fuchsia. In October, the […]
October 15, 2017
The Gremlins Will Get You If You Don’t Watch Out
Landon was practicing using his invisibility cloak. Buddy had cast more spells on it to keep the cloak from pulling him too far into the invisible universe the way it once had his sister. She was a lot older now but still a baby, especially when she threw her big tantrums. Buddy was busy talking […]
And The Sea Gave Up The Dead
“Relax, Rachel. This is a cruise ship. We aren’t in the middle of the ocean, we’re docked in Barcelona. Don’t you want to spend two extra days here? It’s beautiful.” “I’m sorry. I’ve always been afraid of the water, Chad.” Then why did you agree on a sea cruise for our honeymoon?” He held her […]
October 14, 2017
High Stakes Roulette
The two men were sitting at a table in the back of a bar in Marrakech. It was hot. It was late. The overhead fans spun in lazy circles casting a march of shadows on the two patrons below. The bartender was cleaning a glass. He got mostly westerners in here, either low life bums down […]
The Journey West of Eden
Hashem planted a garden in Eden, to the east, and placed there the man whom He had formed. And Hashem God caused to sprout from the ground every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food; also the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge […]
Mauritius Intrigue
Everyone at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport supposed Ian Dennis was another British tourist on holiday. Only a few police officials knew the MI6 agent was there to investigate the murder of an accountant from Scotland and the brutalization of her child. The recent string of robberies was unusual for a small island, but this […]
October 13, 2017
What Kind of Hero
“I really want to thank you for coming here today, Mr. Fellows. You don’t know what it means to the children to have their favorite superhero visit them and sign autographs.” Actor Steven Fellows played comic book superhero “The Guardian Angel” in three solo movies plus two “team-up” films and had been a household name […]
October 12, 2017
Gerliliam Sketch #1
Someone was asking the other day about what Gerliliam looked like. It was probably a comment about the short story Mr Covingham’s Secret. The person in question said it was hard to imagine a dragon in a suit. Well I never said he was in a full suit, did I? He’s dressed in a waistcoat […]
Quiet Desperation
My emotions are shot. It didn’t take long, maybe fifteen minutes after she came home. You see, she went on a trip for a few days to visit her sister. I always cherish those times because it means I’m alone. Strangely enough, I do actually get lonely, but that feeling vanishes almost the minute she […]
October 11, 2017
Mr. Covingham’s Secret
Five-year-old Zooey’s eyes fluttered. She felt especially warm and cozy wrapped up in all of these blankets in front of Gerliliam’s fireplace. She opened her eyes just long enough to see that her four siblings were still sleeping all around her and that made her feel safe. The fire was the only light in the […]
