These opening sentences begin a few of the stories within; stories of intrigue, fascination, and suspense. It was just an old cloak-the kind you see people wearing in those movies. You know, the kind of cloak people wore to escape from Paris and the guillotine during the French revolution… Steven Tyler was wailing about love in an elevator as John eased the blue Civic off the interstate, down the exit and into the Burger King parking lot… My new husband had warned me about his mother… Carl slumped nonchalantly in his desk, more in the manner of a stylish, bored executive than in the manner of a rebellious student… My friend Kevin, who knows me well, asked me to accompany him to see something he found deep in the forest… It had started at breakfast, when she realized she was out of coffee… Returning home one evening, Paxton thought he heard a sound when he walked through the door… Detective Sanchez thought that I wasn't listening to him. He couldn't see that I was in shock!... Stories from the past, about the future, and stories to heed in these contemporary times for you to exercise your imagination; let it run wild, read!