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Back Crime Song Save as PDF
Chapters (95)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. Fifty-Five
  60. Fifty-Six
  61. Fifty-Seven
  62. Fifty-Eight
  63. Fifty-Nine
  64. Sixty
  65. Sixty-One
  66. Sixty-Two
  67. Sixty-Three
  68. Sixty-Four
  69. Sixty-Five
  70. Sixty-Six
  71. Sixty-Seven
  72. Sixty-Eight
  73. Sixty-Nine
  74. Seventy
  75. Seventy-One
  76. Seventy-Two
  77. Seventy-Three
  78. Seventy-Four
  79. Seventy-Five
  80. Seventy-Six
  81. Seventy-Seven
  82. Seventy-Eight
  83. Seventy-Nine
  84. Eighty
  85. Eighty-One
  86. Eighty-Two
  87. Eighty-Three
  88. Eighty-Four
  89. Eighty-Five
  90. Eighty-Six
  91. Eighty-Seven
  92. Acknowledgements
  93. About the Author
  94. Also by David Swinson
  95. Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Hachette Digital.

At the bar, they share some kind of special handshake. They talk for a second, then Jeffrey gets the attention of the male tender and orders something. The tender draws a glass of beer from the tap, slides it to Dreadlocks. Jeffrey pays the tab, and the two walk to a corner booth in a quieter area of the club.

For an experienced guy like me, the exchange is obvious and quick. Jeffrey stuffs something into the left inner pocket of his sport coat—something that seems too large to fit there. He stands afterward and walks to the men’s room.

Dreadlocks picks up his beer and walks toward a group of girls near the DJ booth. A couple of them smile as he approaches.

I could follow him into the restroom. It’d be easy. So easy I even find myself giving it serious thought. He’d know who I am. That’d make taking the shit off of him easier. What’s he gonna do? It’d scare the shit outta him, but then maybe we’d hug after. Fuck me. I know what he’s got, and I know he’s going into the restroom to check it out. At most he’ll share a half a gram with a couple of cute girls, but that’s about it. He’ll go home, probably shove what he got in a shoe box, and hide it somewhere close to his bed. I’ll snatch it up after he goes to his morning classes. After I give his mom everything I know, she’ll kick his ass into the military or some shit like that—I hope.

I down the rest of my drink, then signal the bra queen for the tab.

“It’s taken care of,” she says kindly.

“Thank Willy for me, then.”

I drop a twenty on the counter. She smiles.

I go home, see if I can find some sleep.

Three

Three

First thing I do when I get home is go check my stash wall. I admit I’m getting increasingly paranoid, but for some reason being aware of it makes it feel less like a weakness. It’s become obsessive, I guess, a stupid little ritual. Otherwise I don’t feel safe. Seeing the neat little wall in its place, I feel my heart lift. It’s like magical thinking in reverse.

There’s a small room just before the entrance to my kitchen. Inside is the HVAC system for the house as well as a washer and dryer. I unlatch a phantom hinge that allows me to open the molding along the outer edge of the drywall. It’s like a tall, thin secret door. I slide the drywall that’s against the right side of the washer out along its hinges to open the enclosed area.

Inside there are several shelves affixed to two-by-fours.