I rested my head on the wall behind me and closed my eyes, wishing my life had a button: Ignore All.

I leveled the gun and fired until it was empty.

The bell seemed to have set off analarm in my brain, and I glimpsed at the mysterious envelope on my desk.There was another item I should’ve gotten from my single-shoe salesman.

I considered my home sanctuary from the judicial arena, far from the Fernoza Family legacy, and I had no intention of sharing it with anyone.

Across the rectory's east lawn, through a blizzard of flying leaves, something long and thin was flapping in the wind. A ragged figure in a white nightgown hanging lifelessly from the trees.