Harry and the Bird by Frank Zafiro

Holy crap!

Two cops are coming on shift when they notice Harry, standing outside on the grass, staring at a bird feeding there. 

You better be sitting down when you read this short but intense story about Harry, a cop who's gone through a bit more than he can handle.

This is really good stuff.

Frank Zafiro

Burning My Masterpiece by Frank Zafiro

Wow.

This one kept me guessing. Brian is in the middle of getting a divorce. He's suffering from the terrible emotions that come with it.

Through out the story we kept riding the emotional tides that were controlling Brian's thoughts and actions. We know nothing about Brian that would give us a clue as to how he'd react to his circumstances. I kept hoping he'd handle it better than he does.

I'm not going to lie, my heart skipped a beat and I had to re-read the last few paragraphs to make sure I'd read it right.

Zafiro has a wonderful way of letting you get inside the head of his character that understanding him is natural.

Wonderful, desperate, lonely, ...

Frank Zafiro

Baker-124 by Frank Zafiro

Officer Zack is called to a run-down apartment building to assess the safety of a child.

It's a heart breaking situation for him. The story is well told and shows how frustrating it can be to be a cop.

This has the definite feeling of being a personal experience of Zafiro's.

Frank Zafiro

The Cleaner by Frank Zafiro

This is the story that gives this collection it's title.

There's been a murder in a suburban home.  Gary Oster, the victims' husband, hired the cleaner.  The cleaner is a specialist - he cleans murder scenes.  Somebody has to.

There's some nice dark humor in the opening paragraphs like when the cleaner describes his neighborhood and gives it a name; Felony Flats.

While doing his job the cleaner finds the murder weapon the cops missed.  But he does not turn the knife in.

I kept wondering what the hell he was up to.  The moment you hang on to something like that you can be charged for obstruction of justice.

This was a tidy little story with just enough at the end to make you wonder if the character wouldn't do something stupid.

I really liked this one.

Frank Zafiro

Helping Out by Frank Zafiro

Stan, first introduced as "Sean's Dad" ask the narrator, Aaron, a cop, about some trouble he's having with his ex wife. She never sees the kid and when she does she exposes him to her partying and drug use.

Stan asks Aaron to check out his ex wife, just to get a cops-eye-view on things and to asses the safety to his boy.

Aaron knocks on her door and is invited in. A little while into the conversation the boyfriend comes home and, well, things get a bit complicated after that.

A fantastic story to kick off this collection from one of my favorite mystery authors.

Frank Zafiro