SUNDAY REVIEW / “SHEET MUSIC,” A CHAPTER EXCERPT FROM CANTINA PSALMS

Wikicommons

A NEW SAN FRANCISCO NOIR BY THOMAS SHESS

Annee Kinder in her borrowed sweats sat cross-legged at his kitchen’s dinette table. If she gave a crap, she would have seen the world outside his upstairs flat window turn from black to gray. She was credit card chopping and shaping fat lines of cocaine on a green jadeite plate. 

Using a rolled C-note, she noisily sucked the illicit powder into her nose. “Wow,” she asked blinking her eyes. “Where did you get this?” 

“I found it.” Tom Gresham said. 

“I thought that’s what you said last night, but I didn’t believe you.” 

He shrugged and repeated last summer across the street in the park there was a fight between two teenagers. "Lots of screaming, clawing, and spitting. They were both teen girls in green and gray parochial school uniforms. I went downstairs into Washington Square and broke up the fight by walking toward them. They took off in opposite directions and left behind a brown bag with the coke inside. I ended up putting it in the pantry expecting I’d be contacted by someone from the precinct asking if I had seen a drug deal go down in the park. No one has called me to his day.” 

 “And you never have been tempted to try it.” 

 “Yes and no. I know what coke tastes like and what it does. It gives me a headache and I feel like crap for a couple of days. To be honest, I figured I’d sell it and keep the cash.” 

 “You’re a cop. You should have turned it in.” 

“Ex-cop.” 

“From where I come, an ounce of coke goes for $6,000. For this, you could get $300 a gram. Why would they leave it behind?” 

“Because one girl figured the other girl had the dope. And they probably blamed each other to their dealer.” 

“People have died for less.” 

“That’s life,” he said. 

She sucked in another long line. “What about last night?” 

"What?" He feigned innocence.

She gave him a knowing nod. 

“I’m a lucky man.” 

“Two women in your bed all night,” she stared into his green eyes, “I’d say it was a pretty good night. Where is Carly?” 

“Dead to the world. Still in bed.” 

“You do that often?” 

“First time,” he yawned, “How about you?” 

“Maybe.  Is she really a DA?"

"Don’t ask. Ever." He frowned.

"Got it!"

 

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