It Doesn’t Take Much

“This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen.”
Detective Roy Winder investigates the murder of a young woman at the Carnival of Souls haunted house.

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When Trust Goes Bust

Public trust. Is it engendered or eroded when elites, experts, and egos generate and double down on “dead right” narratives that distort and even deny reality leading to deception, disorder, dysfunction, and even destruction of life and do so for dubious and decidedly power-hungry and vainglorious ends?

Detective Story / Short Story

The Tomorrow No One Thought Of

At this point, there are at least four lines of inquiry into a dead man with no say in the matter, a mother and a boy who don’t know who the father is, and a tomorrow no one thought of.

Authoritarianism / Christianity / Communism / current events 2026 / Democracy / Democrats / immigration

Discernment Knows Better

History and current events reveal that anything can be rationalized when politics is everything and power its ultimate goal. The same holds true when empathy is everything and the pursuit of inclusion its ultimate goal – anything can be rationalized.

Detective Story / Fourth of July / Short Story

The Last Wound

Detective Roy Winder goes to college on the Fourth of July to investigate the arson death of a professor of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies.

Transit

I experienced my first water crossing at the age of eight. My father made it happen.

Musical Chairs

Detective Roy Winder investigates a case of musical chairs that benches his brother.

No Country for Old Men Without Borders

In the past six months I’ve come across two pastoral letters imploring Christians to think kindly toward the millions of foreign invaders that crossed our borders illegally.

Left to Our Own Devices?

Those enchanted by a dystopian existence are apparently OK with living in a pathological environment, one that has “almost no qualities of a sane, wise, productive, creative environment that we would wish for ourselves” (Iain McGilchrist).

And the Beat Down Goes On

You wake up in a news cycle that never sleeps. With a cup of coffee, you read what ‘doomcasters’ are saying about end-of-life scenarios appearing on the horizon. Now you are fully awake and wondering what to do with these high alert headlines? Do you let existential crisis into your life?

Self-Central Casting

For those with main character syndrome, what occurs is not a lack of feeling, but a lack of understanding. Hindsight, foresight and insight are banished for the sake of a romanticized fantasy that places them at its center.

Now I Lay Me Down

My name is Roy Winder. I’m a homicide detective. I investigate suspicious deaths, collect evidence, and work to solve cases. But, putting two and two together doesn’t always add up to a solve a mystery, as in my last case. . . a short story.