Crime Solvers
When someone in police middle management,
desperate for progress on the serial killer case,
called in a psychic to help solve the mystery,
Katz asked for a demonstration of his powers
before we invested in the media stunt.
“Predict the winner in tomorrow’s NASCAR race,” he suggested.
The psychic closed his eyes in concentration.
He raised his head slightly and sniffed,
a bloodhound catching a scent,
opened his eyes and looked at Katz.
“I see the letters D and G,
the numbers 3 and 5.
I see the color purple.
I see white stripes.”
Katz nodded, looked around at his colleagues,
some skeptical, others impressed.
“There isn’t a NASCAR race tomorrow,”
Katz announced after three beats,
turned to the psychic.
Get the fuck outa here.”
©2022 Charles Rammelkamp All rights reserved.
Charles Rammelkamp is Prose Editor for BrickHouse Books in Baltimore. Two full-length collections were published in 2020, Catastroika, from Apprentice House, and Ugler Lee from Kelsay Books. A poetry chapbook, Mortal Coil, has just been published by Clare Songbirds Publishing.