Eddie Sartain was at my shop door within twenty minutes, in his fishing hat and a rain jacket, carrying a thick accordion folder under his arm. He locked the door …

The Purple Heart Pawn Read More

Mr. Kunkel and I went down to the basement of Albrecht Hardware on Sunday afternoon, when the store was closed and the shades were pulled. I carried a flashlight and …

The Cellar Under Main Read More

The general manager of the Tidewater Hall Country Club held the door of his office open, and Meredith walked in ahead of me with her chin in the air and …

The Brunch Bill Read More

I knelt by the wheelchair in Room Thirty One with my hand on the pink afghan, and Rose Albright took my face in both of her cold, papery hands, and …

Room Thirty One Read More

Mr. Fontenot unfolded the sheet of shredded paper with his old shaking hands, and the whole ballroom held its breath. “I will read just one line,” he said into the …

The Oldest Mop Read More

I did not drive to the house on West Twenty Sixth Street. I drove to the Erie Police Department, with the compact disc in a padded envelope on the passenger …

The Steno Tape Read More

The deputy in Meridian wrote the name of the insurance agent on a yellow pad and turned the pad toward me. Roy Vickery. Sixty one. A gold ring on his …

The Truck Stop Smock Read More

I sat in the bank back room with Mr. Novak, and I read the betting slip over and over until the numbers stopped being numbers. A sports book in Milwaukee. …

The Fishhook Signature Read More

Mr. Whitfield held the photograph up to my kitchen window with the light behind it, and his hand did not shake, which is how I knew he had seen worse. …

The Cardinal Tin Read More

I carried my mother out of that garage in my arms, still in her housecoat, with her Rosary wound around her fingers, while the music thumped through the wall and …

Peanut Comes Home Read More