Bonnie Parker Sings the Blues

by Adele Gardner

About the Author: Cataloging librarian Adele Gardner (www.gardnercastle.com) is a professional member of Sisters in Crime and an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Her Sherlock Holmes mystery, “The Adventure of the Hidden Lane,” appears in A Study in Lavender. With a master's degree in English literature, she's had 44 stories and 241 poems in Deep Magic, Daily Science Fiction, PodCastle, Strange Horizons, Legends of the Pendragon, and more.

Excerpt

Rain drove across the windshield as they passed Gibsland. The wipers of the new 1945 Ford battled to show a tunnel through rain and fog. Bonnie hunched over the wide wheel, straining to see past the long, dark hood, while Clyde curled against the seat. She hated to wake him. It was a long road still to Dallas, and the funeral wouldn’t wait.

“Clyde, Honey, I need your help,” she said. As he groaned and lifted his head, she saw it—crooked, in the ditch. An early 30s Ford V-8—a bulky, gray sedan. As they neared and the headlights struck it, the color lightened: sand.

Clyde gripped the dash. “Honey, look out!”

It filled her vision—a big car punched full of holes; two slumped and bloody figures. The driver’s head lolled out the window—Clyde?

She swerved.

“Baby, don’t!” he screamed.

It all swung past in an instant: Clyde beside her, pale as death, eyes as wide as the bloody-mouthed corpse’s in that ruined car.

The road melted, twisted under slashing rain. Trees, spinning past the headlights—

Bonnie screamed. Their car shuddered to a halt.

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