The Lights Of The City

[Christopher Grant]

At a certain angle, the lights of the city reflect themselves in the gathering puddle of blood beneath the young man, head turned to the side, as if he's listening to the earth rotate, his eyes wide and unblinking.

It is half-past midnight, extremely early morning.

The ambulance is far too late, though someone was thoughtful enough to call Homicide; the detectives stand around, cups of coffee in their hands, waiting for the ME to arrive.

It's the forty-fourth murder in a city that easily clears three-hundred a year.

The killer left few clues, the detectives can tell from here, while the victim has little left to clue them into what his life was like before the bullet or bullets caught him unaware; someone has stripped the body of shirt, shoes and socks.

Who would take a dead man's socks?

[Christopher Grant]

Thank you, Richard. Glad you enjoyed this.

Grey, I don't know when or even if there'll be a next installment. There'll definitely be a next story, just don't know if it'll connect to this one or not. Happy you loved the "listening to the earth rotate" line.

[Angela]

I loved "as if he's listening to the earth rotate", and the question teases me fiercely. So, when is the next installment?

[Christopher Grant]

Cath, as I said below, that's why I had the socks stolen line in there because who indeed would want another person's socks and, as I said below, we can justify the taking of someone's shirt and their shoes for whatever reason. Glad you dug that little piece of goodnight.

Michael, glad you dug it, too, finding it "evil and devily coo." I can only hope it's the start of something big. I have something big planned for NOT, though I can't say what just yet. I think you'll love it lots.

[Michael Solender]

evil and devily coo, the start of something big..

[Cath Barton]

I like the punch line - who indeed would want anyone else's socks, never mind a dead man's?

[Christopher Grant]

Thanks, Brittany. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Brittany]

Stuck in the magic of your first sentence... vivid, I am captured.

[Christopher Grant]

Suppose it could have been the midnight coffee giver that follows shortly on the heels of the midnight sock thief of Ian's.

Really happy that you loved all of the manipulation that I attempted.

[Sandra Davies]

It's the word 'puddle' that sets up the expectation of rain, then 'blood' corrects but may not entirely remove the mental image. I had them high on a hill overlooking the city, but don't think that's correct because the lights wouldn't reflect either... I love the 'listening to the earth rotate' and 'extremely early morning' and the way your fourth sentence manipulated my ... damn, can't think of the word, but I mean the way I placed it in an order of meaningfulness - it was relegated from A Murder into jusy another murder, reducing the event.
And of course I wondered where the detectives got coffee from, stood on the top of a hill ...;)

[Christopher Grant]

Ian,

See? This is what I was saying when I said I love that Rob put the rain in his visual of the story. The interactivity of a story is not always paramount in my mind when I'm writing something but something that drops in almost on a subconscious level.

I happen to agree with you, Ian, that the rain would mess up the reflection and that's why it's not there but drizzle might not have any effect. Who's to say?

Glad you enjoyed it.