Shot down during a bombing raid on Germany, Flying Officer Robbie Ticknall soon finds himself an unwilling guest of the Third Reich. He comes face to face with victims of the attack and begins to question the morality of his actions. He finds himself seemingly haunted by the apparitions of two children. Has he killed them? And if so, do they want revenge? If not, why are they appearing to him? The apparitions follow him into captivity, a constant reminder of the consequences of carrying out his duty.

War Crime deals with the personal moral dilemma faced by many bomber aircrew. The killing of civilians during bombing raids was thrown back at Bomber Command veterans by critics when the war was over and the Nazis had been defeated. Bomber Command aircrew were not monsters; they were, for the most part, very young men doing an extremely hazardous job, and more than 55,000 lost their lives. They were often the victims of atrocities when bailing out of downed aircraft. Above all they were men with consciences.

Simon Hepworth's short story (15,000 words) is the second in his series The Dark Part of the Sky, paranormal stories exploring the reality of taking part in bombing operations. Simon Hepworth is a Bomber Command researcher and author. He has written a series of histories of 514 Squadron RAF as well as Late Shift, a full-length paranormal crime comedy drama, a genre guaranteed to confuse librarians. All his books are available through Amazon in print and through Kindle. Late Shift is in production as an audiobook.