Part I introductions

Chapter Three: No Joke

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As Charlene rode in Freddy’s car, she still wasn’t sure if she should disrupt her whole life over one of Freddy’s hunches. Freddy worried about everything. He always had. But if they’d been found out, it really was just a matter of time before Frank Jr. did what? ‘Whacked’ them? Would it really go that far? ‘Nahh’, she thought.

They drove well after midnight. It had been a long day. She let the motion of the car occupy her. But Freddy’s unusual silence gave her mind too much room to wander. It fell into the rut that seemed to be it’s habit for years. She counted her money, once more, she thought, to put an end to the business of the day: four private shows, and a bachelor party. Then there was the extras money, Freddy’s cut; a thousand dollars. Enough? Was it enough to stop doing this? Once she had enough she could finally start to live. Her goal had been to raise enough money to pay off Finn’s father, to sell their house and move away. But even if she had enough, was that really what she wanted?

The three lane US Highway that teemed with traffic most of the day felt deserted, almost tranquil at that late hour. Wind whistled as the car gulped warm pollen-filled air. Crickets at the red lights. Invisible giants of high and low air pressure clashed, smelling of ozone. They passed a dreamscape of vignettes; oases draped in the pale light emitted by current passing through mercury vapor and halides and stratified by immeasurable dark.