These three award-winning short stories were written in 2008, 2009, and 2013 as entries for the annual Dead Bird Competition, a short story contest run by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SinC). The theme changes each year: for The Telltale Death we had to use an object around which to revolve the story; for Beef Killington, we had to evoke a sense of the valley; for Hydro-synth the theme was water rights and wrongs. Each of these stories won awards in the competition, from best story from a first-time entrant to the Most Murderous Use of Water award. The first two stories, entered in the Central Valley Writer's Workshop competition a year later (2010), tied for first place. From a ringing telephone to a cooking competition to mummified bodies in the desert, these eerie Central Valley stories are sure to keep you awake at night. Enjoy!