61 No one was talking, and that pissed Jefferson off. Torture was needed. He was already being tortured, torn asunder by love and duty. He dialed O’Grady, to pass it on. “You wanted to dust those bills? Where do I go?” “Forget that. Something’s happened. Hang on,” O’Grady said. She put the phone…

54 Sunrise. Toby rolled out of his bed and walked to the front door. He opened it and looked down, expecting to see his pile of papers, delivered to him by one of the nicest guys on the planet, Jake Adler, his circulation boss for the Bugle. Mr. Adler took care of his few carriers. Most had been…

41 Lynette O’Grady had a habit of quickly and succinctly identifying a solution to a particular problem, part of what made her a good editor, and who she is. This day, she indulged another habit: looking at a pair of shoes, in the House of Guillermo, served by Cesar. “Yes, miss, how may I help you…

36 Ablock later, the bus stopped again, and Anton stepped on, fumbling for change. “Oh, man,” Anton said, counting out what he had. “How much you need?” Jim said. “I don’t know. A buck?” “Here,” and Jim peeled off a dollar bill. “Thank you, sir.” “You owe the next guy.” “I got that,” Anton said,…