Soon there would be sunlight. The first rays of the early morning would stretch across the horizon like fingers unfolding from a tightly clamped fist. Birds would sing, coffee would brew and the chill in the air would surrender to warmth. And so would begin another day. But now it was dark and dank in the windowless room where he stood staring at the crime scene in the hotel room before him. Marlo struck a match, he hated lighters, and held the blazing tip against the end of a menthol light cigarette. The irony didn’t escape him. He thought about something that would eventually kill him being “light” as he inhaled deeply, allowing the smoke to settle in his lungs before releasing his breath with an exhale that did nothing to improve the way the tight, close space smelled. He had been here since a little after midnight when his phone rang, startling him out of an uneasy sleep. “We got a homicide,” the voice on the other end had said dispassionately. Get over to Keen Street, South. Pronto.” 2008-04-15T00:33:31Z http://ficlets.com/feed/story/27550 <p>Off with the mature label! wasn’t quite sure… :) Thx for the feedback!</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/27550?basename=56468 2008-04-15T00:33:31Z A. Muse Morrington http://ficlets.com/authors/a_muse <p>Great descriptions and a strong hook. Very noir. Although I don&#8217;t see anything here that really requires you to slap a mature label on the ficlet.</p> http://ficlets.com/stories/27550?basename=56283 2008-04-14T16:05:47Z BARomero http://ficlets.com/authors/baromero