H e was so focused on how many gold necklaces he could grab from the smashed display case that the distinctive cha-chunk of a pump-action shotgun behind his head almost caused Ziggy to faint. “You made a serious mistake, son.” The booming voice of the wrinkled, pink dude behind the glass counter was unnervingly loud. It reminded Ziggy of his grandfather, who would have tanned his hide if he knew what Ziggy was doing. Gramps had been loud too, though Ziggy never considered why that might be. Maybe old dudes with big ears and bumpy, misshapen noses were always loud to compensate for being ancient. “Drop the pistol, put down the necklaces, and face me,” the too-loud voice commanded. Ziggy did what he was told. Under his ski mask his face and head were soaked with sweat. The droplets trickled down his neck. The old dude came around the counter and collected Ziggy’s gun. “This thing is plastic. Is it a water gun? What the hell were you thinking?” Ziggy bit the inside of his chee...
Nicholas Freeman, county sheriff: The incident began during the opening hour of Elderwood’s 3 rd Annual Juneteenth Festival when 25-year-old Chance Gondry of Elderwood chained himself to the statue of Ambrose Collingwood on the courthouse square. He had gotten a bullhorn from somewhere, and he started shouting about “principles” and “Galveston” and “the real Juneteenth” and about how people would tear down that statue over his dead body, which didn’t make any sense because nobody had said anything about tearing down the statue. Everybody was just trying to enjoy the festival, and Chance was definitely making that hard to do. Will Prescott, the accused: Chance Gondry was an asshole, and he was being too loud. I just wanted to shut him up, and next thing I knew he was dead. Thank god I had a lawyer who knows all about science. Ephraim Foster, mayor: It was a terrible, terrible tragedy, really, really terrible. He was such a fine young man, and in the prime of his life, too. Th...
F rank bent Mandy over the counter, one hand clamped over her mouth and his other groping under her skirt. I came in the back door, the key in one hand and the trash barrel in the other, and saw the fluorescent light reflecting off the tears on Mandy’s cheeks and casting jagged shadows on Frank’s face. Before they could see me, I pushed the door open again so it slammed behind me. By the time I mounted the stairs to the store proper, Mandy was gone and Frank held the day’s receipts. He nodded at me, his eyes like cinders. “All the registers are cashed out, Jerry, so you can take off.” I dropped the keys on the counter and went back downstairs for my jacket. I waited until Mandy appeared from the restroom, her face a frozen mask except for her eyes. “I saw,” I whispered. “Are you all right?” “Compared to what?” She was a year older than me, and a few inches shorter. Even in the flats the store made all the women wear, she had beautiful brown legs. I smelled fear...
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