As they descended towards the rows of cells, Keegan’s heart beat faster. He thought of Marilyn, sunlit and beautiful, as she slipped into the Formosa Café. He thought of his mother’s last, lonely years—with only a dog for company—while he frittered away his days not ten miles away. He thought, then, of the flavor of Ormsby’s wine on his tongue and of Eve turning away from him on his dark bed.

Down the last few steps, he could hear the raucous, echoing voices from the other cells. He understood he had descended into a frozen hell of his own devising—and he wondered if he would ever find his way back to sunlight.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A heartfelt thanks to all those friends and family who were so generous with their time, patience and story-sense: Mel; Hedgie; Ryan; Jim Blaylock; Lyle Wiedeman, Katie Caffrey and Heidi Lup, the Thursday-night regulars; Janette Holm; Austin Holm; Steve Buchanan; Shelley Garcia; Kent Dunnington; Paige and Hannah, the fabulous Dinneny sisters; Santa-Victoria Pérez; Cameron David Quinn, Esq; and the intrepid team at Legend Press, especially my editor Lauren Parsons.