Murder by the Creek

Note: This story is available in Black Cat Weekly #225

Driving back from Virginia in the middle of the night, I ran head on into one of central North Carolina’s extremely rare snow storms. At first, it was beautiful. I had the two-lane country road all to myself, and as I passed the farms and wooded stretches, I slowed down to marvel at the way the dusting of bright white snow made everything cleaner. No one else was out, and I felt like I had the entire world to myself.

Then the road began to disappear. Like a kid walking down an unfamiliar hallway in the dark, I gingerly felt out the edges of the road with my tires. Soon, the snowfall was so thick, I was blinded by the reflection of my headlights.

I drove like this for an hour before I found my first gas station. The clerks had the good sense to put up a sign and go home for the night, but at least I had the shelter of the awning and a chance to peel my hands off the steering wheel and relax my concentration for a few minutes.

I checked my phone while I waited out the worst of the storm, and lo and behold, I had a single email waiting for me from some guy named Otto.

The only Otto I could think of outside of Dr. Octavious was Otto Penzler, the very well-known and well-regarded owner of the Mysterious Bookshop and the series editor for the Best Mystery Stories of the Year. Being selected for his annual publication is extremely prestigious for short mystery writers, as previous selections have included Michael Connelly, Sue Grafton, James Lee Burke, Joyce Carol Oats, David Morrell, and Jeffery Deaver.

The email said that I’d be joining them.

Basically, it was the best thing yet to happen to me as a writer. As soon as I read the news that my little mystery, “Murder by the Creek,” had been selected from over 3,000 stories as one of the best mysteries of the year, I let out Han-Solo-Having-Just-Blown-Up-the-Death Star whoop and looked around for someone, anyone, to share the news with. I no longer wanted the empty road or the world to myself.

But was alone at a closed gas station...in the middle of the night...during a snow storm. Cue sad trumbone.

But I get to share it with you, here!

If you are new to my website because of this story, welcome. It is so good to have you here! I hope you enjoy some of the other stories and behind the scenes blog posts. If you've been one of the wonderful few who've been suporting me up until this point, I cannot thank you enough, but if you will leave a message letting me know you're here, I will do my best to try.