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Tricia Shulist

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2021

Stories

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128 Followers

17 Following

150 Stories

1747 karma pts

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He Said, He Said

HE SAID, HE SAID Detective Terry Waits stood in front of the two monitors. Jordan Vance was in interview room one, and Zane McAllister was in interview room two. They’d both been found covered in blood, laying in an alley, dazed and bruised. EMTs had transported them—separately—to the hospital. After a few stitches, one head lac that had to be stapled together, and a couple of bruised ribs, they had been discharged and brought to the station by the cops who were first on the scene. Now they were sitting in her interv...

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What a B—

WHAT A B— “God! What a bitch! How can you stand working for her. She’s horrible! I’d quit!” I looked at my co-worker Kara. We weren’t actually friends, more like friend-adjacent. We both worked at the same law firm—I was in family law, on the marriage dissolution team, and Kara was in finance. We had met at one of the all-hands meetings, and had attended a couple of the same in-house training sessions. Today, we both happened to be eating lunch outside on a bench in the shade. I looked at Kara. I really did not like any woman being ...

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I Know What You Did

KNOW WHAT YOU DID“I know what you did.” I looked at my best friend—my ride or die, Bizzy. How could she know? I'd been so careful.“What do you know?” I asked.“I know about the—” she started.I looked at her, holding her gaze, and changed me mind. I was not going to talk about it. “No, you don’t know anything,” I interrupted. “Nothing at all.”“I do—” she stated again.“I don’t know what you think you know, but I don’t want to talk about it. Ever. End of conversation.”I turned on my heel and walked away. Well, maybe more like stomped away.Bizzy...

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Whodunit?

WHODUNIT? Detective Terry Waits looked at the man sitting across the table from her. She was pretty sure this was bullshit—no one was going to confess— but she’d do her job and follow through to whatever conclusion the evidence led her. She set out her notebook and pen. Yes, the interview was being recorded but the notebook’s benefit was two-fold. First, it allowed her to write down and remember points that she could circle back during the interview. And secondly, she found that some suspects were intimidated by the fact that she was w...

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Buried Alive

BURIED ALIVE I heard the timbers crack. Then the windows imploded. Then the house began to shift and splinter around me. I was a dead woman. ***** I’d arrived home late last night—no, actually really early this morning. It was around four a.m. when I pulled into my long driveway. I’d been driving for hours, and all I wanted to do was get home and fall into bed and sleep. I’d been back country camping for a week—just me and nature, sleeping under the stars. That was actually the reason I came home. It had started to rain early last n...

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The Day My Life Imploed.

Reedsy #511, food for Thought, 2026 Jul 3Prompt #2: Include a scene in which someone is cooking, eating, or drinking. THE DAY MY LIFE IMPLODED It was just supposed to be a regular dinner out. No big deal. Just Owen and I getting together with our friends, Carla and Ben. Something we’ve done a hundred times before. No celebration, just friends getting together for a meal. Or so I thought. Earlier in the week—Tuesday, I think—Carla called me to see if Owen and I wanted to get together Bellamy’s for dinner on Friday night. “How about seven...

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I Object!

I OBJECT I thought about the summer I killed my parents. Not literally, but figuratively—emotionally. Jeez! I’m not a monster! It was the summer between high school and the rest of my life. We’d been on pins and needles all spring, waiting for the university acceptance letters. If it was a big package, then it was an acceptance package. If it was lettersized, then it was a rejection letter. So, we waited by the mailbox every day, fingers crossed. And, yahoo, I got acceptance packages from each of the three schools I’d chosen—well, ...

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KABOOM!

Reedsy #509, the Big Break with London Writers Centres, 2026 Jun 19Prompt #2: Start your story moments before everything changes. KABOOM! I was so angry I could spit. No, take that back. I don’t spit. It’s gross. I was so angry that I could swear like I was raised by Osbournes. That’s better. I’d stomped out of the house, leaving Trent sitting on the couch, smugly smiling, like he won something. He’d been so condescending, so arrogant, so supercilious, that I wanted to kill him—literally strangle the life out of him. So instead of do...

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The Man With the Gold Earring

THE MAN WITH THE GOLD EARRING Everywhere Tally looked, he was there. Home, school, library, at her part-time job. At least she was pretty sure he was a he. There was no way to tell without getting closer, but there was no way she was going to do that! Stranger Danger! So, she set out to ignore him. Pretend he wasn’t there. But it was hard. She never saw him in her house—he wasn’t that bold, but she only saw him outside—across the street, walking by her house, parked in a creepy van around the corner from her house. Once, she was sur...

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Chemical Bonds

CHEMICAL BONDS Some people tell me that I shouldn’t have made it out. But I did. It took everything that I had, but I was successful. I made it out. ***** “Okay, class, today we are going to learn ... ” Every time Mrs. Carter started with “today we are going to learn …,” I blanked out. Not literally. That would have been weird—sitting there, paying attention-ish. Then she says “today we are going to learn” and I’d be passed out at my desk. Like the words made me faint. No, it wasn’t like that. It was just that Mrs. Carter’s classes...

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Second Banana

SECOND BANANA It’s really hard being the second banana. You know, where they tell you how great your best friend is, even though the two of you do everything together—cuz you’re partners. Ray really is amazing. He’s the best. He deserves the recognition and platitudes. Honest. ***** “Unit K-9—Dispatch. 10-76 reported at 2459 Keeler Street. Suspect is a male, dark clothing. Code 2. Advise when 10-23.” “10-4. Code 2. Unit K-9 is 10-17.” Ray looked at me. “Looks like we’ve got ourselves a prowler.” I kinda like prowler calls. The s...

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Kindred Spirits

KINDRED SPIRITS “Next!” I glared at the guy standing beside me. He shouldn’t have been beside me, he should have been behind me. I knew it, he knew it. I squinted my eyes, took my two fingers, pointed them at my eyes, then at him—I’m watching you—and walked forward to the check-in counter. Flying was enough of a pain in the butt without having line jumpers to contend with. Jerk. Check-in went smoothly. I only had carry-on luggage, and it wasn’t too big, wasn’t too heavy, wasn’t a roller bag that could be commandeered into checked lugga...

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Poor Tony Bassinet

POOR TONY BASSINET The forest was quiet. Wonderfully quiet. The light filtered through the trees, creating dancing patterns of light and dark. The air was filled with that intoxicating smell of damp earth and new growth. It was an idyllic place. A place a person visited to calm their soul, and settle their brain. But it was not where I needed to be right now. I needed to be on the road headed into the city. I had a deposition that I needed to conduct, and a boat-load of pre-trial preparation that needed to be finished in time for op...

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R.I.P. Janelle Chalmers

R.I.P. JANELLE CHALMERS To look at the people assembled for the funeral, you would have thought that Janelle Chalmers was a well-loved pillar of her community. There were mourners from all walks of life—people of stature from the local government and civic groups, people from the various charities she volunteered her time for, her employees, as well as her friends and family. Every person attending the service looked heartbroken. Tears were shed, sniffles were heard, tissues appeared out of handbags and pockets to sop up the grief. A few ...

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The Fixers

THE FIXERS “So, you can fix it?” asked the kid. The old man nodded his head. “I can.” “Wow! That’s amazing.” The old man shrugged. “I don’t know about amazing, but it’s not that complicated. The hardest thing is finding parts.” The kid looked from the machine to the man. “How did you learn how to fix it?” The old man’s eyes glazed over, just a bit, as he remembered. “Well, it’s been a really long time. Our family has always been in the business. I repair them. My mother repaired them, and her father before her repaired them. Our ...

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