The Daily Novel

Chapter 25
Cathy tried to walk, fell, then dragged herself across the lawn. “Jennifer!”
The young officer ran to her side. “What’s wrong?”
“My daughter . . . she went back inside!”
“I’ll get her,” he said. “Stay here.” Holding his hand over his nose and mouth, he rushed into the inferno.
Long moments passed before he carried Jennifer’s limp [...]

Chapter 24
Thanks to an overabundance of beer the previous night, the man arrived later than usual to Lauren’s street. His throat grated, raw from cigarettes. He lit another.
Lauren and Cathy would already be on their way to work, he knew—never suspecting what lay ahead for Jennifer. The girl would still be preparing for school. He [...]

Willis Heights
Marybelle Sullivan and John Coe were married by a justice of the peace in a chapel in the justice’s home. They rented a one-bedroom, furnished cottage in Willis Heights, across the street from the war memorial. Their wedding bed was old. It sagged in the middle, and the mattress felt as if it were [...]