Fine Art of Murder Read online

  “Jesus,” I said under my breath.

  “He won't help you,” the man said, shaking with rage. “He didn't help me. I called his name every night, but he didn't help. And all the guards ever did was laugh and ask how I liked it.”

  In his distracted rage, I saw my chance. I swung my arm up hard. The alcohol slowed my reflexes, but my movement caught him off guard. My forearm hit him hard on the wrist just behind the gun. I saw the light glint off metal as the 9mm went flying out into the darkness.

  I never saw the blade.

  I felt the steel edge drive hard into my back, penetrating under my rib cage and driving upward. I didn't feel pain. Instead I felt the force of the steel as it ripped through muscle, arteries and organs. I tried to gasp for breath, but my lungs wouldn't expand. Then I felt the knife drive home again. And again. I did not feel myself falling, but my knees hit hard on the pavement.

  “Oh, God. No.” In the distance I heard the faint sound of an approaching siren. Then nothing.

  About the Authors

  Joan Bruce: Joan has written several cozy short stories featuring Candi and Mandy and is currently working on a novel about these wacky friends. Joan resides in Morgan County, Indiana as her alter ego, D. B. Reddick, a former newspaper reporter and retiree from a national insurance trade association who has about a dozen short story credits in anthologies with Pill Hill Press, Blue River Press, Red Coyote Press, and Whortleberry Press.

  N. W. Campbell: Norm has been a writer his entire adult professional life. He was first a technical writer, then a United Methodist pastor, an adjunct instructor of English at the University of Florida, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the University of Indianapolis, and Ivy Tech Community College-Indianapolis. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Northeastern University and holds graduate degrees in English studies, divinity and leadership development.

  Sherita Saffer Campbell: Sherita practices and teaches a form of guided meditation that she engages in before writing or while searching for new ideas. She was a feature writer for both the former Muncie Star and for a weekly paper. Sherita writes mysteries and has been published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Fate Magazine, Branches, SageWoman, and poetry books from the Humpback Barn Festival. She has had stories published in five Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime chapter anthologies.

  Diana Catt: Diana has fifteen short stories in multiple genres in anthologies published by Blue River Press, Red Coyote Press, Pill Hill Press, Wolfmont Press, The Four Horseman Press, and SpeedCity Press. Her collection, Below the Line, is available on Amazon. She's an environmental microbiologist living and working in Morgan County, Indiana.

  S. Ashley Couts: Ashley holds a BFA in painting from Indiana University and Herron School of Art and Design. She is a fellow of the Indiana Writing Project. She has worn many hats, from grocery clerk to police dispatcher to middle school art teacher. Her writings in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry have appeared in local, regional and national publications.

  MB Dabney: Michael is an award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in numerous local and national publications. He spent two decades as a reporter in Philadelphia, working first for Business Week magazine as a business correspondent and later for United Press International and the Associated Press. As an editor at The Philadelphia Tribune, the nation's oldest continuously published African -American newspaper, Michael earned national and state awards for his editorial writing. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, two daughters and dog, Pluto.

  Marianne Halbert: Marianne is an attorney and author of dark fiction. She has had over thirty short stories published in magazines such as Necrotic Tissue, ThugLit, and Midnight Screaming, as well as in anthologies by Blue River Press, The Four Horsemen, Great Old Ones Publishing, Grinning Skull Press, Evil Jester Press, Pill Hill Press, Wicked East Press, and more. Her collection, Wake Up and Smell the Creepy, is available on Amazon. Follow her at Halbert Fiction on Facebook.

  Shari Held: Shari is a lifelong reader and a freelance writer from Indianapolis. She loves reading, movies, fine food and fashion. She is a member of Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime. Pride and Patience is her first published mystery short story.

  B. K. Hart: B. K. is an avid reader and gatherer of facts which serve as compliments to the writing skill set. B. K. has previously published short stories in three separate horror anthologies and in two Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime anthologies.

  Barbara Swander Miller: Barbara joined Sisters in Crime a few years ago to benefit from the wisdom and experience of more experienced fiction writers. She teaches high school English and also works for the Indiana Writing Project helping teachers implement Writing Workshop practices in their classrooms. How to Throw a Pot is based on her experiences in Peru during a Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant project…. Well, except for the criminal parts.

  C. A. Paddock: Carol wrote her first mystery, Mystery Adventure of Jimmy Hashburger, as a first grader. Although it was never published, the story was featured during the classroom reading hour. Carol earned a BA in Speech and Spanish from Butler University and a certificate in Translation Studies from Indiana University. She holds a CMP (certified meeting professional) designation from the Convention Industry Council. She has worked in advertising, communications, meetings, event management, and leadership development for corporations and nonprofits. The Making of a Masterpiece is her first published fiction story.

  Claudia Pfeiffer: Claudia wrote in her youth and teens, then quit for nearly fifty years to work in her husband's law office. Now a widow, she bought a computer and began to write mystery, romance, and juvenile fiction. She has been published in two Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime anthologies.

  C. L. Shore: Cheryl has a Bachelor's Degree and a PhD from Indiana University. In between, she earned her Master's Degree in Nursing from the University of Iowa. She is a Nurse Practitioner and practices in a rural clinic for the underserved. She has authored multiple academic articles about family coping with epilepsy. Her mystery novel, Seeker of Truth, was published in 2011, and Titania's Suitor was published in 2014. Cheryl is published in two Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime anthologies.

  Andrea Smith: Andrea holds a Bachelor's Degree in journalism from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Arts in novel writing and publishing from DePaul University in Chicago. She managed corporate communications for companies such as Eli Lilly and Co., Kraft Foods, and Ameritech. She owned two Subway restaurants and was an adjunct professor of English. Andrea has published four short stories featuring Chicago Police detective Ariel Lawrence. She has been published in the Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and has short stories in five Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime anthologies.

  Brenda Robertson Stewart: Brenda has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University. She is an editor, mystery author, painter and sculptor. She raised horses for many years and was an accomplished original doll artist. Her forensic mystery series features Lettie Sue Wolfe, a forensic sculptor. She has many published short stories and has co-edited four anthologies. Brenda is also a forensic artist specializing in clay facial reconstruction on skulls and has been known to work on Egyptian mummies.

  Stephen Terrell: Steve is an attorney and member of Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime. He is the author of Stars Fall, a legal thriller; There and Back, Journal of a Last Motorcycle Ride; and Visiting Hours and Other Stories from the Heart. Steve contributed two short stories and multiple factual inserts to this anthology.

  Janet Williams: Janet has been writing her entire life, first as a child making her own books and later as a journalist for newspapers in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. She has always believed that journalism is, at its heart, strong storytelling. Today, she uses her experiences covering courts, crime and politics to create her fiction. Since retiring from a corporate job in 2015, Janet has been writing and hanging out with her dog, Roxy.

  Other Publications by Speed City Indiana Sisters in Crime, In
c.

  Racing Can Be Murder, Blue River Press (2007)—a collection of nineteen stories written by some of today's best mystery writers. It revolves around the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and the festivities that take place in Indianapolis each merry month of May.

  Bedlam at the Brickyard, Blue River Press, (2010)—a collection of fifteen stories written by some of todays best emerging mystery writers. This delightful collection revolves around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 400 Mile stock car race and the festivities that surround it. Each story is separated by a historical narrative or statistical chart to enlighten as well as entertain the reader.

  Hoosier Hoops and Hijinks, Blue River Press (2013)—It's only a game, you say? Don't you believe it. After that final buzzer, these stories reveal, it may be the games are only beginning. When it comes to Hoosier Hijinks, not everyone plays by the rules. And that's what makes it irresistible—From the Introduction by Hank Phillippi Ryan.

  Decades of Dirt, SpeedCity Press (2015)—Take a journey back in time with this collection of fifteen mysterious tales of historical fiction. Experience a Native American mystic solving a murder, a foiled presidential assassination attempt, a violent case of mistaken identity, the evils of racial discrimination, strife on the Indiana frontier, a killing during the heyday of the jazz era, and nine other compelling short stories.

  M. Travis DiNicola has been the executive director of Indy Reads for ten years. Indy Reads is an Indianapolis organization that provides free, basic tutoring for adults who are struggling with reading and writing and adults whose second language is English. Travis has been responsible for the overall management of the organization, has written columns about authors for NUVO newsweekly, and has co-hosted and produced The Art of the Matter on public radio and television. He served as president of the Indianapolis Museum of Art's Contemporary Art Society and vice president of the Indianapolis School of Ballet's board. Travis has a background in theatre, dance, and art.