Sunset Ride (Dire Calls 3‪)‬

This story is now available in the first Dire Calls bundle: The Partners.

The end of an era draws to a close as Detective Sergeant Hargold Thief greets his last Monday in the NDPD Homicide Unit. He may be ready to retire, but his partner of six years, Detective Second Class Griffon Dire, is far from happy to see the veteran go. Griffon is desperate for one last chance to close a case with his mentor.


Despite being a short-timer, Thief grabs the call for a homicide in Seaward. Dire's elation at getting a last ride with his partner is short-lived as sober reality dawns. At the scene the pair are confronted with the body of Thief's oldest friend in the Thousand Kingdoms, executed in his own apartment.


With the week slipping away, Thief is running out of time to solve his boyhood friend's murder. Dire finds himself increasingly determined to do whatever it takes to back his partner up. Even if it means stepping outside the law to do it...

(Story length: 30,200 words; SFWA Class: Novella)