Street Music (3 page)

“Thanks, but I have some things to do.”

Jasmine stood on her tiptoes, gave me a wet peck on the cheek. Then she whispered in my ear.

“You could have killed me, kept it all. Why didn’t you?”

She didn’t get it, but that was okay. Most people went through their whole lives without ever realizing how precious life was. Jasmine didn’t understand that.

But someday she might.

“I don’t kill people for money,” I told her instead.

Then I left.

All things considered, I did pretty good. The blood, latex scars, and fake knife cost less than a hundred bucks. Pizza and beer for Jack came out to fifty. The money I gave to Ajax wasn’t mine in the first place, and I already owned the master keys, the badge, and the Polaroid camera.

The cash would keep me in drugs for a while.

It might even take me up until the very end.

As for Artie Collins…word on the street, his bosses weren’t happy about his arrest. Artie wasn’t going to last very long in prison.

I did another line and laid back on my bed, letting the exhilaration wash over me. It took away the pain.

All the pain.

Outside my window, the city sounds invaded. Honking horns. Screeching tires. A man coughing. A woman shouting. The el train rushing past, clackety-clacking down the tracks louder than a thunder clap.

To most people, it was background noise.

But to me, it was music.

Whiskey Sour

Bloody Mary

Rusty Nail

Dirty Martini

Fuzzy Navel

Cherry Bomb

Shaken

Shot of Tequila

Banana Hammock

Jack Daniels Stories (collected stories)

Serial Uncut with Blake Crouch

Killers with Blake Crouch

Suckers with Jeff Strand

Planter’s Punch with Tom Schreck

Floaters with Henry Perez

Truck Stop

Symbios (writing as Joe Kimball)

Jailbait (with Ann Voss Peterson)

Wild Night is Calling (with Ann Voss Peterson)

Shapeshifters Anonymous

The Screaming

With A Twist

Afraid

Endurance

Trapped

Origin

The List

Disturb

65 Proof (short story omnibus)

Crime Stories (collected stories)

Horror Stories (collected stories)

Dumb Jokes & Vulgar Poems

A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

Visit the author at
www.jakonrath.com

STREET MUSIC copyright © 2011 by JA Konrath

STREET MUSIC is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the authors’ imaginations or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, 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, without permission in writing from Joe Konrath.

For more information about JA Konrath, please visit
www.jakonrath.com
.