Wincing at Light

<– Chapter 9 On their last day together, Hank had looked him over, grunted his approval as one would over a steak on the grill. “You’re done,” he said. “I’m going home.” And he had collected his coat, the book he was reading, and made for the door. Ray, justifiably or not, panicked. At the [...]

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<– Chapter 8 / Chapter 10 –> The day shift arrived promptly at 8:00a.m. Ray told them everything they needed to know about the disposition of the clients in the house, which did not include the visit from the police detective, the arrival and departure of Jennifer Ackerman, or the call from Sam Boler. He [...]

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<– Chapter 7 / Chapter 9 –> The doorbell did not ring. Ray was only aware that facility security had been breached because the front door made an unmistakable thunking noise when it closed. He shot out of his chair and threw open the office door to the receptionist’s pod. The man who stood in [...]

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<– Chapter 6 / Chapter 8 –> “Did I tell you about my dream?” she said. Ray glanced out the window, figuring to view gold rimed clouds of dawn (or maybe the muggy, bruised purple thunderheads of dawn, either one was good enough). “Did I tell you that you have to be at work this [...]

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<– Chapter 5 / Chapter 7 –> “Hey, guy.” “No, this is Ray.” He smiled, leaned back in his chair. It was, of course, Pete. Pete was the night shift guy at Crossroads Detox across town. Ray called it the Jesus Shop because it was wholly supported by a contingent of local churches who saw [...]

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<– Chapter 4 / Chapter 6 –> Shortly after five, the hospital called. More precisely, the emergency room phoned to ask if Ray had a bed. Ray pretended to consult his admission log, just as he always did. The nightly hospital call meant one of three things: the chemical dependency floor was full (highly unlikely), [...]

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<– Chapter 3 / Chapter 5 –> Another phone call at just after three. He answered on the third ring. “Is this Mr. Ray–uh. . .” The sound of shuffling papers. “Yes.” The voice brightened perceptibly, strapped on a mask of friendliness. “My name is John Donovan. I’m an attorney representing the family of Donald [...]

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<– Chapter 2 / Chapter 4 –> The parking lot for the Center for Addictions Treatment was in the back of the building, as was the front door. The entrance opened on the only addition to the original farmhouse, a smallish room where the receptionist sat at one of two desks. The area was called [...]

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<– Chapter 1 / Chapter 3 –> “My personal life is a mess, Ray,” she began. She sounded as though she was confiding a secret. He said, “Okay.” “No, really. Do you have time to talk?” Like he had anything else. “You haven’t told him yet.” “It’s the middle of the night, Ray! I don’t [...]

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<– Prologue / Chapter 2 –> In his lifetime, Ray had done a number of things for which he was not proud, things he’d like to see just as well stuffed down a dark hole. Everybody had things of which they were ashamed. Everybody has committed their share of sins that they wish they could [...]

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