Even as his brother’s HDTV boomed from the basement, Darren Wang felt alone. His own room was modest: a bed, a computer, a shelf full of books. Since high school, he dreamed of breaking in as a crime writer but had more success with poetry. His brother David, meanwhile, made $140 an hour as a computer programmer, which was the reason Darren had a place to live while “honing his craft.”
“Miss Weiss,” the judge said, “are you ready to proceed?”
Laura Weiss—youngest member and granddaughter of the founder of Weiss, Cashman, and Snow—stood and smoothed her gray business suit. “Yes, Your Honor. I call Mack Jacobs to the stand.”
I don’t slit Phil’s throat until he says, “I know you love me, too.”
“If you gotta be down,” I said, “might as well be in a place like this.”
My voice seemed to come from far away. The guy on my right raised a shot glass. Flip the barkeep said, “Claro que si.”
Gerald So is Fiction Editor for The Thrilling Detective Web Site. Read more about his life at http://geraldso.blogspot.com.