It’s often been theorized that violent crime goes up in the summer due to higher temperatures. The murders of Andrew and Abby Borden are among the most notorious crimes committed on a hot summer day—on August 4, 1892.  Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter and Abby’s stepdaughter, was arrested for the ax killings, tried, and acquitted. Despite her acquittal, many continued to believe her guilty of the brutal murders. Many writers have taken up the subject of the Borden murders, but few have turned a fictional eye to alternative courses Lizzie’s life might have taken after her release. Patricia Hoch, the widow of MWA Grand Master Edward D. Hoch, has kindly given us permission to post this story from Ed’s Ben Snow series, in which Lizzie’s story is imaginatively continued in a way other than it did in reality. The story first appeared in the September 1993 EQMM, and it is copyrighted by the estate of Edward D. Hoch.—Janet Hutchings