My short story collection, People Skins, Volume I is out now. To celebrate, I’ve teamed up with 23 other writers to bring you the Flashes of Fear book bundle. Get TWO DOZEN free books, including People Skins by clicking on the picture above or here!
If that sounds like it’s just too many books, then stick around for this week’s piece of thrilling flash fiction, instead. Enjoy!
He didn’t want me to kill the main character, a rising criminal lawyer called Kate Field, who was clearly an idealised version of myself.
“There’s been too much killing already,” he said. “And no one seems to have profited from it.”
There it was. He knew how much of the story was real, and how much was fictional. And how much I’d have to pay to keep him quiet. His own story for the creative writing class featured a superficially charming Talented Mr Ripley type who knew how to get away with anything.
The rest of the class liked my story, however: Kate kills her abusive spouse, and hangs the murder on the suspect of another crime. He accepts the punishment as there isn’t enough proof to convict him for the crime he did commit, which he regrets.
“Let’s move on to your piece, Brian,” said the teacher. “Have you made any changes since the last feedback round?”
“I’ve polished the language, and considered the rest of the points,” said Brian, which meant *no.*
He’d been bringing the same story to class for months: a man blackmails another writer with a story about what that writer has done with her husband’s body.
“He still gets away with it, at the end?” asked the teacher.
“Oh, yes,” said Brian. “It’s the perfect crime.”
“Famous last words,” I murmured.
“Brian has dropped out of class,” said the teacher the following week. There was a half-hearted mumble from the students. I joined in, then pulled out a brand-new story to be critiqued.
