EQMM, May 2012 (17 page)

Martha's face was covered in sweat. She held on to the tree with all her strength. She knew the marsh wouldn't let her out of its clutch, but she had planned on it. Something else was going to give way: her father's boots. She yanked herself up again—one last furious desperate pull—and her feet moved inside her tall boots, slowly slipping out and up. The marsh still sucked the rubber down with vicious hunger, but it no longer had Martha in its grasp. Martha kept pulling upwards, slowly lifting herself out of the boots, until her legs were free and high enough to climb up onto the tree branch. The wood creaked under her weight and for a second Martha's heart dropped in fear that the branch was going to break, but it didn't. Drenched in sweat, she watched the black mush swallow her father's boots as she crawled along the tilted tree trunk all the way back to the solid ground—dirty, barefoot, and a winner.

"May you burn in hell,” Richard cursed her from behind, wheezing. He was now in up to his chest, and the marsh hugged him tight, cutting his air flow and crushing his lungs. “May . . . you . . . burn . . . forever. . . ."

"You came to kill me, Richard, what was I supposed to do?” she asked as she sat down at the foot of the tree. The streams of water on her face were back and no matter how quickly she wiped them, they wouldn't dry out. “I loved you so much that summer. I loved you so much I never looked at another man for the rest of my life. But you killed my little sister and I wanted justice for her. I couldn't let you walk away unpunished."

She watched him scream and wail as the marsh took him. When the black mud filled his mouth and his last scream died abruptly in the damp air, she got up and walked away, leaving soft imprints on the moist soil with her bare feet. She didn't feel the cold. Her job was done, she didn't have to worry about Richard anymore. She didn't have to listen to strange sounds at night or wonder about every boat on the horizon. Richard was now safely planted in the deep mud only inches away from where Lauren had jumped off the path, so scared she'd rather give herself to the marsh than to her father's wrath.

Martha could now go home, make herself some tea, and take a candle to the small handwritten note that sent Richard to jail twenty-five years ago. And while it would char and crumble from the flame, she'd think of Richard's soul burning in hell for all eternity, and of her own soul joining his one day—for she was a sinner too. She had written that note herself, but swore to the judge it was her sister's hand. There was no other way to make Richard pay for what he did. There was no other way to avenge Lauren's death. And since Martha wasn't destined to be with Richard in life, perhaps they could join each other after death to burn in hell side by side, hand in hand and forever.

Copyright © 2012 by Lina Zeldovich

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A newcomer to
EQMM
shot to the top in this year's voting. Although she'd wanted to contribute a story to this magazine ever since she picked up her first copy at the age of fourteen, P.N. Elrod's writing career took off with the very successful urban fantasy series
The Vampire Files
. She has made forays into mystery before—the series character in her vampire series, Jack Fleming, is a P.I.!—but her debut
EQMM
story, “Beach Girl” (November 2011), is one of her rare pure suspense tales. Set in the early and mid twentieth century, it won your votes with vivid evocation of time and place, subtle depiction of character, and a stunning final twist.

Second place this year was taken by another story with a strong sense of place, Doug Allyn's “A Penny for the Boatman” (March/April 2011), set in the north country of the author's native Michigan. The annual Mackinac Regatta features in the heart-pumping action woven into this story of a meeting of cultures. The multiple Readers Award- and Edgar-winning author's ability to make readers care about his convincingly drawn characters is nowhere more strongly apparent than here.

Third place goes to another perennial favorite of
EQMM
readers, Edgar winner Clark Howard, for the thought-provoking “Hangman's Rhapsody.” The author of both fiction and award-winning true crime books, Clark Howard has a unique way of blending realism of setting and situation with a compelling human dilemma. His knowledge of the subjects he takes up is always apparent, especially in a story like “Hangman's Rhapsody,” which we're willing to bet will long linger in readers’ minds.

Fourth: “Jim Limey's Confession” by Scott Loring Sanders

Fifth: “Who I Am” by Michael Z. Lewin

Sixth: “Bloodlines” by Doug Allyn; “Work Experience” by Simon Brett; “Tomorrow's Dead” by David Dean

Seventh: “A Wolfe in Chic Clothing” by Loren D. Estleman; “When I Drink Alone” by Jonathon King

Eighth: “Crystal Death” by Clark Howard; “The Invisible Gunman” by Keith McCarthy; “The Teapot Mountie Ball” by James Powell

Ninth: “Tap-Tap” by David Dean

Tenth: “Hedge Hog” by Hilary Davidson; “Murder of a Muffin Man” by Amy Myers; “Last Laugh in Floogle Park” by James Powell

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The annual roundup of short-story collections, some traditionally published and others available only as e-books, starts with two Hollywood detectives familiar to
EQMM
readers.

**** Loren D. Estleman:
Valentino: Film Detective
, Crippen & Landru, $17 trade paper, $43 limited hardcover. Any lover of old movies will be captivated by Valentino, the silent sheik lookalike who hunts lost films while solving incidental mysteries. Of the fourteen stories, my favorite is “The Profane Angel,” about a ninety-six-year-old woman who claims she's Carole Lombard.

*** Terence Faherty:
The Hollywood Op
, Perfect Crime, $14.95. Pre-World War II movie actor turned post-war private eye Scott Elliott investigates seven cases dated between the late 1940s and mid-1960s, and in a previously unpublished story set in his acting days enters the world of Raymond Chandler's
The Big Sleep
for a new answer to who killed the chauffeur. Good writing and plotting showcase the movie lore.

**** James Lincoln Warren:
Treviscoe of Lloyd's
, Kindle e-book, 2 volumes, $2.99 each. Eight long short stories from
AHMM
feature Alan Treviscoe, Indagator of Crimes (volume 1) and maker of Discreet Enquirations (volume 2) for the underwriters of Lloyd's of London in the 1770s. This is one of the best historical detective series in short form, rivaling Lillian de la Torre's stories about Dr. Sam: Johnson. Clues are fairly provided, including some you don't have to be a seafarer or classical scholar to spot, and the period language, attitudes, and details of everyday living breathe authenticity.

**** Margaret Coel:
Watching Eagles Soar: Stories from the Wind River and Beyond
, A.S.A.P., $45. Good writing and a deep knowledge of Arapaho culture and the history of the American West distinguish these twenty stories, most featuring lawyer Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley, from Coel's novels. Two nonfiction essays, illustrations by Phil Parks, encomia by Craig Johnson and William Kent Krueger, and publisher Jim Seels's customary devotion to excellent design and materials add collectible value. Most of the stories, including the Arapaho Ten Commandments series, have previously appeared only in small limited editions, and two, including the fine Denver-based historical novella “Molly Brown and Cleopatra's Diamond,” are new to print.

**** Steve Hockensmith:
Naughty
, Kindle e-book, $2.99. Nine Christmas stories from
EQMM
or
AHMM
address risible seasonal subjects like fruitcake, mall Santa Clauses, strolling carolers, and office parties, plus the murder of Ebenezer Scrooge as investigated by Inspector Bucket. Ironically, the best story, “Hidden Gifts,” is the least comic. (Also recommended by this author:
Dear Mr. Holmes: Seven Holmes on the Range Mysteries
, CreateSpace, $9.99 paperback; Kindle e-book, $2.99.)

**** Brendan DuBois:
Death of a Gemini and Other Military Mysteries
, Kindle e-book, $2.99. Ten stories, two each from
EQMM
and
AHMM
, are highly varied apart from the common military connection, some bordering on science fiction, treating various periods, wars, and branches of service. One of the best short-story writers around, DuBois has a faultless touch.

*** Twist Phelan:
A Stab in the Heart
, Kindle e-book, $1.99. Nine stories, three from
EQMM
, present a variety of moods and backgrounds, including the New York Mercantile Exchange, the San Francisco antiques business, and a high-pressure sports event. The ambitious title story stars a Manhattan homicide detective from Rwanda.

*** Chris F. Holm:
8 Pounds
, Kindle e-book, $.99. The best of these eight tales, one from
EQMM
and the others from a variety of online magazines, are “A Better Life,” an unforgettable gem of non-supernatural horror, and two stories of grim childhood experiences recalled years later, “Seven Days of Rain” and “The World Behind."

*** Simon Wood:
Asking for Trouble
, CreateSpace, $12.95 paperback, Kindle e-book, $1.99. Ten stories, with backgrounds ranging from snowy Canada to San Quentin prison, a college campus, and an ill-fated bachelor party, have a unifying theme of bad decisions with deadly consequences. Compulsive readability and suspense overcome the occasional over-the-top conclusion or prematurely tele-graphed surprise twist.

*** Marcus Sakey:
Scar Tissue: Seven Stories of Love and Wounds
, Kindle e-book, $2.99. This doesn't really amount to a book-length collection, but Sakey is a strong stylist and subtle plotter in the noir vein with a distinctive narrative method of time-shifting vignettes that add up to a coherent whole. The one previously unpublished story, “Cobalt,” is the least typical, a dotcom-era satire.