San Diego Noir

Maggiano shuddered and slumped into quiet sobs. “It was the only way,” he managed to whisper. “The only way.” He peered up at me again. “Don’t you see? They would’ve just woken up.”

Not trusting myself to do or say anything for fear I’d tear the man apart just like he had Donny and the others, I simply walked around behind the desk and with movements borne of long practice, cuffed Maggiano’s wrist to his chair. “Detective Abrams is on his way,” I explained. “You are under arrest for the murder of Donal ap Dylan, Bowen ap Calhoun, and Nolan ap Braden. You will be read your full rights upon processing.” I shoved him into a corner and walked out of his office. I couldn’t stand the cloying scent anymore, nor the sight of this man who’d killed so brutally, snuffed out three fae lives with little remorse.

I strolled out into the San Diego dawn, clearing my lungs of lavender and replacing it with the fresh seaborne air.

“He’s inside,” I said as a squad car pulled up and two officers sprang out, “cuffed to his chair.” The officers pushed past me. I tucked my hands into my pockets and turned south. Six-fifteen. If I judged it right, I could make the three blocks to Richard Walker’s just in time for pancakes.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

GABRIEL R. BARILLAS grew up in Southern California. He began coming to San Diego on vacations, then on business, and finally stayed because of the girl. He divides his time between Los Angeles and one of the most beautiful places in the world, North San Diego County.

ASTRID BEAR had a girlhood crush on Sherlock Holmes and Ellery Queen. She lived in San Diego from 1980 until 1987 and was married to San Diego native Greg Bear in the Jesse Shepard House, the setting for her story here.

LISA BRACKMANN is a native San Diegan who worked her way through college thanks to a summer job at the worldfamous San Diego Zoo. She currently lives in Venice, California, but is still a Padres and Chargers fan, though she’s pretty sure that if either ever wins a championship, it is a sign of the coming Apocalypse. Her debut novel was 2009’s Rock Paper Tiger, and “Don’t Feed the Bums” is her first published short story.

TAFY CANNON has lived in a San Diego beach town for over twenty years and wrote all of her thirteen published mysteries within two miles of the Pacific Ocean. Her work has been nominated for Agatha and Macavity Best Novel awards, and Blood Matters won the San Diego Book Award for Best Mystery/Thriller.

DIANE CLARK’S adopted hometown has been San Diego since 1977, and the military is a big part of it—from North Island in Coronado to Camp Pendleton. Her husband David is a second-generation San Diegan and she has drawn on deep family memories of World War II for this story. She has spent her entire working career as a writer or editor, and is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America.

DEBRA GINSBERG is the author of the novels The Neighbors Are Watching, The Grift, and Blind Submission, as well as three memoirs, including the best-selling Waiting. She has lived in San Diego for half her life, features it prominently in her fiction, and believes strongly that it lives up to its designation as America’s Finest City.

MARYELIZABETH HART is co-owner of Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego’s genre bookstore for readers of stories of “martians, murder, magic, and mayhem.” She works as the store’s events coordinator and newsletter editor, and is also a reviewer for Publishers Weekly.

GAR ANTHONY HAYWOOD is the author of eleven crime novels, including six in the Aaron Gunner series, two in the Joe and Dottie Loudermilk series, and three stand-alone thrillers. His first Gunner short story, “And Pray Nobody Sees You,” won both a Shamus and Anthony award for Best Short Story; the story is included in Lyrics for the Blues. His latest novel is the urban crime drama Cemetery Road.

CAMERON PIERCE HUGHES is a native San Diegan who reviews books for January Magazine, Crimespree Magazine, the pop culture website CHUD.com, the Philadelphia City Paper, and other places. His first piece of fiction, “The War Zone,” can be read in Damn Near Dead 2 from Busted Flush Press. He has been an Internet journalist since 2006. And yes, he worships the sun and talks about the weather a lot. He hates rain.