Cold Cases

Snohomish country, sandwiched between Skagit and King county in evergreen Washington state, has over sixty pending cold cases. Some stretch all the way back to the sixties while others are less than a year old. Improvements in forensic analysis as well as unique approaches in building awareness have shed light on a handful of these …

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Two of a Kind: The Murders of Tracey Brazzel and Patti Berry

Tracey Brazzel She was going to stay late to play an arcade game. In the early hours of May 27, 1995, Tracey Brazzel was in Everett at Kodiak Ron’s Pub. The 22 year old had reason to celebrate: she'd gotten back together with her ex-boyfriend and just two days prior she’d walked out on her …

Wave Hello to my Inner Impostor

If you're anything like me (and I'm going to generalize and say you're exactly like me), you've probably struggled with impostor syndrome. It's this great feeling that others overestimate your ability and all of your accomplishments are unearned, even accidental. Three days ago in an interview with The Sunday Times, David Tennant, who has starred …

Begonia

The peonies were a hand’s turn past perfection. Instead of the tight, round folds Holly had expected, the flowers flared outward like grandparent arms open for a hug. The petals had become papery as their veins dried out in the sun, and as they curled back, the canary pollen rods below were exposed. Even if …

An Open Letter to the Impostor in Me

I’m staring at a blank page and it’s staring back. The black cursor is blinking. Binary signals switching on and off like the waving of a traffic cop. Proceed. Move Forward. Do something. But the cursor doesn’t move and the blank page is open, oppressive in its potential. I should be writing. I should be …

Playing with a Full Deck: A Unique Approach to Solving Cold Cases

In 2006, more than sixty Snohomish county cold cases were filed away waiting to be solved. Some of these cases were only a few years old, but others stretched all the way back to the sixties (Hefley, 2009). Even with breakthroughs in forensic technology, the sheer workload was too much for the cold case unit. …

Why I’m Obsessed with True Crime

I didn't have a chance, really. When my mother was pregnant with me, she, along with the majority of the nation, watched a grainy white bronco speed across Interstate 405 in the now infamous OJ Simpson chase. My own interest in whodunits started young. As a kid, I'd creep downstairs and sneak-watch Law and Order …

The Park Worker

You stood under the covered area listening for frogs. For all the fit winter had thrown, summer had come fast and summer had come hard. The frogs croaked in lulling hush tones having their own renaissance in the honeysuckle marsh. The dragonflies hovered sleepily over the fishing pond and every so often, one dipped into …

The Unlikely Relationship Between Perfectionism and Procrastination

If I ignore a work in progress too long, I start to catch myself avoiding it completely. Perhaps the best strategy I've used to fight this is self-imposing deadlines. Of course, as the deadline looms, I conveniently push off each short story until the week of. I know procrastinating is self sabotage. I know my …

The Dive

Freya’s silhouette was barely distinguishable from the dark line of the sea shore, but that didn’t bother Catherine; not when she could hear her voice over the soft waves. “So tell me about this boyfriend you’ve been so caught up with.” Catherine smiled and shook her head without regard for sand tangling up in her …