Rockets shriek overhead. The crimson explosions fight with squealing excitement from the barefoot kids lighting fuses. This celebration by the local people is my cover to cross time-zones, borders, and language barriers, all in sturdy boots. “An easy job, Liz,” Harvey had said, deep in his whiskey. “You’ll be over the border, missing client in … Continue reading Missing Persons Detective Agency →

Early each morning Mary followed her sister Bridget to the river. Together they checked for ice. They were fire-haired waifs, with vowels that would never let them move far from the gutter. Always hungry, but they were alive. Their Ma wasn’t. That’s what Da would tell them anyways. Today, the ice had thickened and they … Continue reading The Thames Frost Fair →

Their identical smiles beamed out of the photo. Abigail and Benjamin, at age three, had been blonde haired angels. The photo hadn’t shown Abi later pushing Ben in the pool - “to see if he floated”. Twenty seven years on, Ben was floating through his dialysis in a fog of despair. Abi was pushing million … Continue reading Who’s the Angel Now? →