Dead Man's Hammer

, the ambulance staff, the mortician, the undertakers – and probably half a dozen bystanders, camera crews and journalists as well – never mind the people who saw it on

ee advertising the news coverage brought her – it was always a plus and helped bring in more business. It augmented the word-of-mouth sid

But this wasn't one of those times. Her brief stint working for assorted government agencies had paid off after all. She now had something really special to look forward

y, and consequently, Deanna. People of all ages, many of them tourists visiting Deanna from off-world, were drawn to the close to a thousand shops within its five tiered le

rather than make witty comments about your weight, the latest model could take one look at you and then scream before you stepped on it). 'It's funny', thought someone who, for the moment, we will name Fred, 'what humans will do when they think nobody's watching them.' It's lik

at would cause jaws to go slack and lamp posts to be walked into. Fred's pot was fairly plain as pots went, but his bore an unusual shiny medal which was riveted to the pot, because – well, he had nothing to pin it to. He didn't place terribly high value on such things, a simple 'thank you' would've sufficed, but

eanna was something of an advantage, which is why this particular shoplifter had thought she was alone in the aisle – when in fact, she wasn't. As she rounded the last of the shelves at t

nd her ankle. Now how did that happen? Had she walked too close to the plant? Was it a creeper?

from under some leaves, and wiggled some leaves that might have been eyebrows – if plants co

r until well after the security me

erial household. The irony visible to Peg was that the visit was only due to take place in the next three months – with the actual date for the parade likely to be confirmed about a week before the time. Aside from that, there were the numerous meetings with committees to