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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.

I leave him, his legs dangling over the mattress, the tips of his toes barely touching the floor. I grab my pack and return. I pull out the duct tape and set it on the mattress where he can see it.

“Aw, c’mon. What are you going to do? Please.”

I pull him up by the collar and help him turn so he’s sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“Listen to me and you’ll get out of this okay. Like I said, you raise your voice or try to scream, that’s what the duct tape is for. Understood?”

“Yes. Yes.”

I grab him under his arm to stand him up. I pat him down, but he doesn’t have anything. I notice a wallet, a key ring with a couple of keys on it, and an old cell phone on the nightstand. Probably everything he has except for what I’ll try to find in a second.

“Sit over here,” I say as I walk him to the armchair.

He sits, falling back a bit, but then straightens himself out. I pull a chair on rollers out from a small rectangular desk and position it so I can sit to his left. Bathroom is straight ahead, the door behind me.

I look at him for a second and say, “You broke into the wrong house.”

Forty-Six

Forty-Six

Most of them always deny it at first. Some never give it up at all. I’ve also had a few who gave it up right away. Biddy’s not going to give it up right away, but I can already tell it’s not going to take much effort.

He’s not what I imagined. He’s shorter and skinnier than I thought he would be, maybe early thirties, clean-shaven. Keeps his hair tight. It’s not the kind of frailty that comes with an unhealthy lifestyle, which is what I would have thought. I could see this guy on the street and wouldn’t think that at all. No, it’s something tenuous. Pleasant. Somehow not hardened, despite the years of criminality and abuse he’s gotten himself wrapped up in.

I don’t smell alcohol or tobacco on him, either, only the slightly pungent, sweet-smelling scent of smoked crack still lingering in the air. I pick up the duct tape off the mattress and lift my backpack from the floor.

“What are you going to do?” he asks.

“Don’t talk or I’ll tape your mouth shut.”

I kneel on one knee beside his feet.

“Put your feet together.”

“I’m not going to try anything. I swear.”