Chester “Chatterbox” Paolo struggled against his bonds. “Let me go! I swear I didn’t say nothin’ to nobody!”

“Tell it to the fishes, rat!” said his assailant, pushing him off the bridge.

Chatterbox plunged. As the icy water filled his lungs, he began to regret his choice of gangster nickname.

Matthew Holman is a student of English Literature who finds it easier to write fifty-word stories than to finish his dissertation.