A light patter of rain began to fall, and Alexei put on the windshield wipers. We took the Alaskan Way Viaduct up past Elliot Bay into Ballard, then turned toward the water and bumped along an older p...
A fine layer of ash had blown into the carport, showing a single set of cat prints going from the side of the house to the cat hatch built into my door. People in Minnesota see things like this with s...
A dog could see your heart in your eyes, Budress told him, and dogs were drawn to our hearts.
A dog barked further inland somewhere in Ghost Town, and Pike heard vehicles on nearby Pacific Boulevard, but here the houses slept. The smell of the sea was strong. The largest canal—Grand Canal—ran...
A black Chevy coupe with acne corrosion passed in the opposite direction, and two aging black pickups.
He believed the window of time through which he could enter was shrinking.
When Pike reached home, he stretched in the parking lot to cool, then peeled off his sweatshirt, deactivated the alarms, and let himself in. His condo was austere and functional with little in the way...
When Pike finally released the pressure, he knew the pain would burn on with the ferocity of ant poison, so he touched another spot, this one in the man’s neck, which reduced the pain. The man sagged,...
What was it Jiminy Cricket said? Little man, you’ve had a busy night. I put some of the chili paste on the squid and some on the rice and mixed it and ate and drank the beer. I’m a big brown mouse, I...
What the fuck are you doing in my house? I could’ve shot your ass. Is someone in Los Angeles selling military munitions? Talk about non sequitur. Jon
We’re not so different. The girl burst out laughing. Ohmigod! Oh my God—dude! Maybe you’re high! Pike put the car in gear, but kept his foot on the brake. Their sameness seemed obvious. You want to be...
We have to look at the people who opened the case, and see how they’re tied with the I-Man. Melon gave me a hint. He told me the I-Man never does anything alone, and only with people he trusts. He was...
We drove slowly, neither of us speaking, and worked our way out of the Marina, up through Venice, and along the beach. It was automatic driving, going through the motions without conscious thought or...
We asked the people at the flower shop if they had seen anything, but they hadn’t. We asked every shopkeeper in the strip mall and most of the employees, but they all said no. I hoped they had seen so...
Waiters and busboys flowed in and out of the kitchen, and walked on tightropes between the tables.
WHEN COLE CUT HIM FREE, Jon amscrayed back to West Hollywood. He hadn’t been home long enough to heat his pool, but Jon stripped as he walked through his house, and hit the water like a naked lawn dar...
WALSH AND FOUR AGENTS from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms arrived at Cole’s house an hour later. Two stayed with their cars, but two male agents came in with Walsh—a tough-looking Latin...
Throughout the meal Lucy would grin with the knowledge of her secret, and I would ask, What? and she would say, You’ll see. Then everyone stopped looking at Johnny Depp and turned toward the door. Luc...
Three men were around an oak desk that had probably been secondhand in the thirties, two of the men in their mid-fifties, the third maybe younger. The
This man took my last son. No one could claim my hurt, or my anger. No one could have a greater claim on this one’s life. Her voice was tight and fierce. She patted Ray’s arm. There’s been enough kill...