"As the Number 18 bus pulled up, Terrence stuck his weather-beaten hands back into his pockets to warm them for a brief moment. He hated panhandling, but with a bum back and bum eye, there wasn't much work he could get."
In this story, "For Want of Some Gloves," I tackle the layers of honesty, thievery, and assumptions that so easily can creep into our lives. The story appears in Why Did Santa Leave a Body, a collection of holiday season mysteries now available from North Star Press. Edited by Brian Landon, the book also features stories by Jessie Chandler, Michael Allan Mallory, Brian Landon, Camille Hyytinen, Joan Murphy Pride, Dennis Anderson, Kathleen Lindstrom, J. Henry, T.J. Roth, and Marlene Chabot. ---Barbara DaCosta