Chapters (95)
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Also by David Swinson
- Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.
It takes a lot to surprise me, even a burglar who has a cab pick him up and lets him pack stolen goods into the trunk, then transports him to a fence. It’s only one more story to add to the list of heartbreak and terror and betrayal. Now the question is, do I tell Hurley? It is my life on the line, after all.
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Three
I have a plan.
Wendland gave me good information after all that. What I need to do now is sit on Thrift World and wait for a cab that fits Wendland’s description to drop off Biddy or some other burglar. According to Wendland, they come by on a fairly regular basis, but not always on the same days. If Hurley and Millhoff find out I’m holding on to this info for myself, I don’t know what they’ll do. But I’m not going to just sit back. Besides, if they start working it, who knows how long it’ll take? Like I said, and will probably keep saying, it’s my life in the fucking grinder here.
Jeffrey again.
His, too. I can’t forget that.
I can get away with a lot more than the police can. Plain and simple. At least this is what I tell myself. I’ll start tomorrow when the store opens, at 10:00 a.m.
I wonder, too, if Wendland does a little more than just weed. Based on the odor radiating from his body, the weed’s gotta be good. I’m thinking, even hoping, he might be into blow, but I doubt it. His type usually smokes morning, noon, and night.
I stay parked for a while, keeping an eye on the store. I pull out a capsule from a vial in my pants pocket, twist the capsule open, and squeeze the contents onto the back of my left hand. I scan the area, then snort it up.
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Four
More coffee, with a couple of grapefruit, a scalding shower, and then dressing down for surveillance. I grab my backpack and stuff a large plastic bottle of water in the pouch on the side.
I drive back to Thrift World and find a good spot on a side street that faces west and most of the block the store is on. I’m far enough away not to be made. That’s why I have palm-size binos. I got about twenty minutes before he opens.