Soul Patch (32 page)

Kinnock was dumbfounded, but managed to ask, “Who? How?”

“I don’t know,” Feherty said, pointing at the words GOBBLE HILL at his feet. “See that? When the judge revoked Horvath’s parole, Tommy said those kids must’ve been gobbled up. Well, maybe he
was right. Maybe they were just gobbled up and now they’ve been spit out. Ever see an owl pellet? Who really knows why anything happens or how? Maybe God was too busy selling real estate that day and only got back around to these dead kids tonight. Who knows anything?”

Jim Feherty patted Kinnock on the shoulder and started back down the hill. The reporter called after him, but Feherty didn’t answer. With the scent of corned beef and mayonnaise filling up the pre-dawn air, he just waved and disappeared into the dark. It was time to finally sleep.

 

The End

Called “a hard-boiled poet” by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan, Reed Farrel Coleman has published twelve novels, including two under his pen name Tony Spinosa, and
Tower
, co-authored with Ken Bruen. He has been twice nominated for the Edgar Award and is a three-time winner of the Shamus Award. Reed is the former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America and was the editor of the anthology
Hard Boiled Brooklyn
. His poems, short stories, and essays have appeared in
Indian Country Noir, Damn Near Dead, Wall Street Noir, The Lineup, Crimespree Magazine
and several other publications. Reed is an adjunct professor in creative writing at Hofstra University and he lives with his family on New York’s Long Island.

Soul Patch
Originally published in 2007 by Bleak House Books.

 

This edition, Busted Flush Press, 2010

Copyright © Reed Farrel Coleman, 2007
Foreword copyright © Craig Johnson, 2010
Afterword copyright © Reed Farrel Coleman, 2010
“Gobble” © Reed Farrel Coleman, 2010

 

 

 

This a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

 

eISBN : 978-1-935-41533-6

First Busted Flush Press paperback printing, October 2010

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