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Out in the hall, Ledbetter debated: wait the few minutes for the elevator, or take the stairs eight flights down and risk a sprained ankle?  Knowing his adversary was making the same decision, he opted for the elevator.  The car arrived, the bell dinged, the doors opened and he got on.
He was nervous.  His fingers twitched involuntarily as the car descended.  This case had gone from one blind alley to a brick wall to a dead end, and the guy with the Chinese bowling shirt  was the dead end.
Wait a minute!  Ledbetter snapped his fingers as he realized the Chinese bowling shirt was the key to it all.  Now he knew where they should be going.  When he got to the ground floor, he would collect his partner and head for Chinatown.  As soon as he took care of the shooter.
At last the elevator car reached the ground floor, and Ledbetter stepped onto the old marble floor of the apartment lobby.  He moved fast, hoping to leave the lighted lobby behind him before the other guy got the drop on him.   Once outside, he found the weather had gotten a lot colder.
Shivering, he made his way around to the back alley, always keeping to the deepest shadows, looking for the shooter who had killed the guy in the Chinese bowling shirt.   The shooter had the advantage--he must have been watching from the roof on the opposite side of the alley.  He almost certainly had seen Ledbetter and Wilson when they were inside the Beauty Queen’s apartment. 
Something moved at the end of the alley.  “Stop, police!” shouted Ledbetter.
A flash from the muzzle of a gun helped Ledbetter pinpoint his target.  He aimed and fired.  The shooter fell.  Ledbetter hurried to check the downed assailant, being careful not to present too wide a target.
He needn’t have bothered—the shooter was dead.  Luz Apagada lay sprawled on the dirty pavement, a weapon not far away.  A trickle of blood reddened her full lips.
Ledbetter heard another shot.

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like some of the things I've written seem to be showing up in other people's work.  A tiny idea here, a turn of phrase there...  I know I'm just beginning, so my stuff's not all that great, which makes it harder to take.  I work long and hard to put just the right words together to mean exactly what I want to say.  Am I paranoid?  Does this mean I don't really have an original idea in my head. and everybody else is saying the same thing?  I have started a couple of reviews and been stung to see exactly my words in someone else's story.  Or am I unconsciously repeating what I've read somewhere else?  Are they?  How can one tell?  Does it even matter?

Ledbetter held his breath, then repeated, “Did you see anything down in the alley tonight?”
Miss Kitty Betty inhaled a lethal dose of cigarette smoke and coughed it out.  She remained standing as she proclaimed, “I have the ten-to-twelve shift of Neighborhood Watch.  I see everything.”
Hmm…I didn’t know they had neighborhood watch out here, thought Ledbetter.  “And what did you see tonight?”
“Not a what.”  Kitty Betty leaned unpleasantly close and exhaled a little smoke that had lingered in her lungs as she said, “A who!”
“And who was it?” pressed Ledbetter.
“Well, I can’t recall his name, at the moment, and I only caught the teeniest glimpse of him tonight, but he’s five ten-and-half, brown hair that curls around his ears, blue eyes, a star-shaped scar on his left eyebrow, weight 170, the tattoo of a spider web on the web of his right hand, small mustache, no beard.  He was wearing an avocado green bowling shirt blazoned with a red dragon on the back with the words Chinese food in mandarin calligraphy, black pants, black socks and black shoes, size ten.  Sorry, that’s all I can tell you.”
“That’s all right, ma’am,” said Ledbetter.  “You did your best.”
There was a knock at the door and Whip R. Wilson, Ledbetter’s partner, appeared.  “We got to get going, Ledbetter,” he said.  “Did you get anything up here?”
Ledbetter looked at his notebook.  “Well, it’s a start.”
“Wait a minute!” cried Miss Betty.  “I just remembered his name!  It’s—”
A shot rang out and Miss Betty was silenced.  Her face registered surprise, her upraised right hand fell, and then Miss Betty herself swayed, and fell over backward.

NEXT?

Thanks, Vern.  I was wondering, too.  See you there.  JP

Are you talking to me?  I'll have you know, a twelve-year-old came to visit just a couple of days ago.  JP

I  DO think this is a good idea and I do think the new year is the perfect time to start.  I'd say 600 word limit, story finished and posted within five days after the prompt is posted.  Topic, theme, use of particular words, etc. to vary with each assignment (for want of a better word).  Do we want to choose a winner?  NO!  But maybe take turns pointing out particularly effective writing, so that we all get something out of it.
I still say all of us can have a part in setting the prompts, by taking turns or turning them in to one person, who posts the prompts.  Is a weekly prompt okay with everybody? 
Amy can start a story thread, so we all know where to look.  JP

I gave her an in-line review, and she couldn't see it.  Does that mean members of the Free group can only receive regular reviews?  I didn't realize that.  JP

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but when I used the Read>Groups content feature, I only saw new postings in my groups, not all groups.  Still unable to find new members' works.  JP

I've been a member for 7 months, and I've read everything I could find--yes, Sycamore Flynn. Skeptikoi, and a bunch more of the experienced writers.  I used to just look at the dailies and read my way down the list.  These days, I'm having a hard time finding new stuff that also ready to read.  Our new members may not be getting the attention they need, and old fogies like me want more!  JP   I forgot to say--a recommended work list would be good, too

You want to discuss writing?  I intend to be courteous and helpful, but I really think someone needs to teach the principles of writing somewhere on the site.  I have just spent an evening trying to find something to read.  The short stories aren't stories--mostly they're editorial opinions, and that's not to say that editorials are bad, it's just that I like to read stories.  How can I be polite and helpful when I can't tell what the author is trying to say?  Okay, that's round one.  Would somebody like to start a group or forum called Writing 101?
P.S. And yes, there were threads on the old site forums that offered instruction--I learned some things there.