I believe this is the first story from Mystery Weekly to make my weekly best. It was also their free sample of the week, which you can get sent to your email.
The story is a little thing, flash fiction or close to it, more anecdote than full-blown story. But it's interesting. containing a character sketch (the narrator), nice language use, and something to think about.
Here's how it starts:
I only know three ways people ever get eaten by bears. There could be others, but I haven’t run across them.
The gentleman meditating here is a small-town coroner in West Texas, and as you may have guessed, he is dealing with the results of one of those three methods. The victim is a meth cooker who apparently lost a fight with a colleague, which led to him starting a new career as bear chow.
Our coroner explains what he can tell from the partial remains that have been brought in by the violently ill deputies. Then he ponders the unfairness of the future that is sure to be waiting for the bear.
And that's about it. Like I said, it's slight, but it hangs together, and is definitely worth a read.
