Short Stories – 2021
December 2021
The Finger Snatcher and a One-Armed Man
Holly Day, a long-time prostitute, was murdered and her index finger was taken by the killer. Another victim of the Finger Snatcher? This serial killer is running amok in St. Louis, killing prostitutes and taking a finger souvenir.
Having recently lost his right arm on a case with the St. Louis County Police, George Bruder, not yet known to his friends as Lefty, is mourning the loss of his arm, his job, his wife, and Holly, in that order. Holly Day was a close friend of his since they were children. But what can a one-armed ex-cop do to find the killer?
Bruder’s Lieutenant, Seymour Pratt, thinks the one-armed man can do a lot. For Christmas he gives Bruder a Missouri PI license and kicks his former detective into gear.
George Bruder uses his contacts in the St. Louis sex trade to try to track down the killer of his friend. But was Holly killed by the Finger Snatcher? Or was it something more personal?
(Now bundled with “A Vigilante and a Two-Armed Man” on Amazon)
November 2021
A Vigilante and a Two-Armed Man
The Lefty Bruder Origin Story
The press has dubbed him the Dirty Harry Pimp Killer.
The killer’s first five victims were pimps. But now the stakes are raised as this serial killer shoots an innocent man. St. Louis County Police Detective George Bruder, along with his partner Louis Gaines, must find the pimp killer before he murders another innocent person.
The two detectives have a witness, a prostitute who saw the victim get shot through the back. But she’s not talking, fearful of her pimp. Bruder isn’t convinced that’s her only reason for silence. There’s something else at play and he believes that reason will help lead to the killer.
Bruder and Gaines navigate through the St. Louis sex trade trying to determine who this killer is, why he’s killing pimps, and why the latest victim was outside a seedy motel known for prostitution. It’s not Bruder’s first case, but will it be his last? This case will change his life forever and lead him down a path he never would have anticipated.
October 2021
Life Debt
Someone is killing poachers in Rathambhore Tiger Reserve. Safari host Jeffrey Wilson is concerned about his clientele, especially the ones who pay him under the table to hunt in the reserve. He enlists Shekhar Singh, an Indian Forest Service officer, to help stop the killer. After all, Wilson is paying Shekhar handsomely to look the other way. But for the scheme to work, Shekhar will have to renege on his life debt and he’s not sure he can do that.
Footsteps in the Snow
Sandy Harper needed a change. She was tired of her husband. And she thought she had the perfect plan on how to get rid of him. But what are those footsteps in the snow approaching her house?
September 2021
Attics
A patient goes missing from the St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center. A psychiatrist and his wife are murdered. Detective Michael Ray must solve the murder and find the escaped patient, while battling demons of his own housed inside the facility.
August 2021
Just a Brief Encounter
It’s his job, to kill people. What he can’t figure out is why this woman is his next target. And what a woman. Will he follow through?
