Delbert Griffith

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Apr, 2021

Stories (76)

76 Stories

4460 karma pts

?

“A Passing Acquaintance with Grace” by Delbert Griffith

My good deed got two people killed. And it all started with a dame. Ain’t that always the way?****************************“You did the right thing, Booker. Can’t blame yourself for what happened,” Stella told me. I had just knocked back a fistful of gin and tonics and was feeling the effects of a lot of booze on an empty stomach.“You bein’ right don’t make it any easier to take, Stell. Raymond and Ophelia Murtaugh are still on slabs downtown. Just as sure as eggs is eggs, that rat bastard Kenn...

11 comments 11
Read story

“The Lightness of Heavy Objects” by Delbert Griffith

“If it weren’t for cilantro, I’d be completely happy,” Lenny said.The other members of the HOOD (Helping Others Overcome Depression) therapy group stared at Lenny. Some had looks of amazement on their faces, some nodded knowingly. Dr. Angstrom cleared his throat and popped an Altoids into his mouth.“That’s some bullshit, Lenny. Nothin’ wrong with cilantro,” Rudy stated.“Shut up, Rudy.” Belinda glared at Rudy after she spoke. She didn’t like Rudy; he was a pudgy, sweaty splodge of a man who always arrived at the HOOD m...

53 comments 53
Read story

“A Dollar for God” by Delbert Griffith

Rance Jenkins arrived in Muleshoe, Texas around 1:00 P.M. He was hoping to kill a man before the sun hit the horizon.Sweat and tobacco juice stained his dusty clothes, his blue eyes narrowed and searching. He spotted a pump handle by the horse trough and immediately took himself there. With a little effort, Rance had clear, cold water gushing out, splattering the dry street. He doused his head under the water before slaking his thirst. The July heat had settled in and was going to stick around for the duration of the summer....

45 comments 45
Read story

“The Texture of Love” by Delbert Griffith

The Texture of Love3:37 A.M.ur sexy11:57 A.M.Reno. WTF?3:22 P.M.Wantd to cum ovr4 sum lola luv

34 comments 34
Read story

“The Ineffable Silence of Blood” by Delbert Griffith

In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers, commonly denoted Fn , form a sequence, the Fibonacci sequence, in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones. The sequence commonly starts from 0 and 1, although some authors start the sequence from 1 and 1 or sometimes (as did Fibonacci) from 1 and...

26 comments 26
Read story

“Fortunately, They Suck at Quick Service” by Delbert Griffith

Detective Jordan (GQ) Williams gazed at the body on the floor. Two shots to the chest. Quick, clean, efficient. He turned to his partner and asked, “Wanna help me out here?” Detective Harry Barnes did not want to help him out. He was sitting in a chair with a drooping frame and seemingly in pain. His strong and rugged physique looked frail, bent over with bowed head. “You hung over?” ...

30 comments 30
Read story

“The Assassins' Adagio” by Delbert Griffith

December 23, 2022 Anna tossed a photograph onto Simon’s desk. The face in the photograph was lifeless and bloody, blank eyes staring into a camera they could not see. “It’s done,” Anna said, slumping into a chair and yawning. Simon stared at the photograph for a long time, his impassive features giving away nothing. After fully five minutes, Simon put the pho...

26 comments 26
Read story

“The Last of the Dandelion Wine” by Delbert Griffith

Gail chewed on her pencil, shifted in her seat, and then quickly wrote down her first resolution. #1: I will stop smoking. She looked at the words, laughed out loud, and crossed them out. New words appeared. #1: I will stop smoking. I will smoke less, but I will smoke thoughtfully. I will enjoy the deep inhalation of smoke. I will savor the feeling of calmness that...

17 comments 17
Read story

“Whispers from Pygmalion” by Delbert Griffith

Cyrus looked out of his window and rubbed his eyes. The marble statue of his dead wife had, amazingly, grown a recumbent child at her feet. He rubbed his eyes again. Still there. Either a miracle had occurred or he had drunk an inordinate amount of cheap wine last night. He hastily threw on a coat and some shoes, tramping outside to determine which hypothesis was correct. Neither, as it turned out. Cyrus be...

48 comments 48
Read story

“Girl in Shadow” by Delbert Griffith

Anna Bailey looked up at the towering office building briefly before entering. The afternoon sunlight glinted off of windows that didn’t open, warming the indifferent glass-and-steel exterior just enough to make anyone passing by feel uncomfortably warm. Anna wasn’t passing by, but she still felt uncomfortable, and it wasn’t because of the heat. The elevator ride to the seventeenth floor was a trial; it would inva...

19 comments 19
Read story

“A PERECT WEEK IN ÇÀÝÁÇ” by Delbert Griffith

ÇÀÝÁÇ was the perfect place to vacation, and to forget about one’s troubles back home. Parker Goldring booked his flight to this tropical paradise, as much to relax as to evade his psychotic ex-wife. He understood her acrimony towards him because he was a slob, but he didn’t understand why she wanted him dead. He didn’t think he was that much of a slob. Parker tried to learn as much as he could about the ÇÀÝÁÇ lan...

28 comments 28
Read story

“Look Homeward, Witch” by Delbert Griffith

“Good evening, sister. And where is our little Ravelil?” Luella sipped more tea and looked around for their niece. Hmph. Just like her to miss the evening restorative. The girl has become a leetle self-centered. “The devil only knows. Her car is here. Maybe she’s sleeping,” Jeruda said. She went to the window and pulled the thick curtains closed. The sun was still up and it didn’t do to let too m...

28 comments 28
Read story

“An Object of Surpassing Beauty” by Delbert Griffith

2018“Keep on digging, son. You’re almost there,” Jax Gershon said. He watched as Jeremy dug out a spacious hole near the creek behind the house. He looked at the other seven crepe myrtle trees that dotted the landscape in the area, all planted in the last five years.Jeremy wiped the sweat from his brow and kept on digging, though he was less than happy about it. Why can’t the fools just ground me instead of this shit?The sun was already making life miserable for Jeremy...

27 comments 27
Read story

“A Slow Dance with Entropy” by Delbert Griffith

Dolores looked dispassionately at the man she was about to kill. It would not be a pretty kill, but none of them were. This one would be particularly gruesome, and she would quietly love every second of it. Randall McTavish, the man who had been dubbed ‘The Screwdriver Killer’ by the more sensational printed media rags, was lying on Dolores’ kitchen floor. He wasn’t restrained but he couldn’t move. He didn’t know ...

34 comments 34
Read story

“The King of Xanadu” by Delbert Griffith

Grit and Balloon made their way back to the camp after a morning of panhandling at the corner of the service road of I-10 and Huebner. Grit, especially, liked this corner and often fought to defend his territory. It was a prime area for panhandling; the motorists were good for about $30 before 2:00 P.M. This was quitting time and Grit never deviated from his God-given right to panhandle until 2:00 and then drink himself ...

7 comments 7
Read story

Author bio

Will be away for a bit, doing NaNoWriMo. Like Arnold, I'll be back. Cheers!

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #196
The Bullet that Esther Stopped – read story

Shortlisted 5 stories ⭐️

Contest #208
Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters – read story
Contest #204
Gordita – read story
Contest #191
The Girl Who Played the Giuoco Pianissimo – read story
Contest #171
The Rules of Arithmetic – read story
Contest #165
It's Murder, Sir – read story