Stiffed (29 page)

‘There was a gunshot,’ he replies, slightly breathless, coming to a halt
, waiting for me to descend.

‘She missed.’

‘Mores the pity.  It would have saved us the hassle of a trial.’

I ignore his barbed comment.  I currently have more pressing concerns. 
‘I don’t suppose they’ll be a fresh pair of underpants at the station I could borrow?’

Gerlach smiles slyly.  ‘No, but I have a used garbage bag
that you can use as a diaper.’

I no longer suspect that it’ll be a long night
.  Only tonight I don’t have to worry about getting rid of two stiffs, just being stiffed by the cops.

All characters in this
story are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

STIFFED

Copyright © 2013

Rob
Kitchin

Published by Snubnose Press

Cover design by Eric
Beetner

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Author. Your support of author’s rights is appreciated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to thank my beta-readers for taking the time to read the first draft and for giving useful, constructive advice: Brendan Gleeson,
Mervyn Kitchin, Sean O’Riain, and Bernadette Bean.  Kajsa Andersson did a great job of copyediting the draft manuscript and catching typos.  Brian Lindenmuth and Ron Thomas at Snubnose Press did a fantastic job of shepherding the project through the publication process.  The internet is a wonderful media for authors and I'd like to thank all the writers and bloggers who have given me encouragement and support over the past few years.  As ever, Cora put up with me tapping away at a keyboard for far too many hours.