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As it happened, I wasn’t there for asshole Jim

The place was hazy and stank like whiskey and stale beer The floors were vinyl and sticky, and the bar was slashed across with scuffs and dings Half the bottles were covered in dust

I didn’t knohat a girl like Fiona was doing working in a dive like this She belonged somewhere better

Not that it mattered I had to kill her

Hours passed and the regulars finished their drinks at last call I left a healthy tip for Fiona—not that she’d use it, since she was going to die soon, but it was polite—and she smiled uncertainly when I dropped it down in front of her

Two hundred dollars for two drinks I didn’t knohy I drew attention to myself like that Maybe I wanted to impress her

Outside, the night was chilly, an unseasonably cool breeze co up off the river I waited nearby in the shadow of a couple of parked cars, leaning up against the front bumper of a beat-up Ford truck, until the bar eer locked up while Fiona walked off alone, taking big fuck-off strides

City girl, through and through

I followed her I knehere she was going, of course—I did my homework, after all She cut down South Street then found her way to Passyunk and to a quiet little baseal She shouldered her big, black bag and headed inside, the sound of laughter and softout the door

For a second, I hesitated at the top of the steps I could turn back and call it a night—I’d cos watching her before finally pulling the trigger,was perfect

Or I could head down there and make a mistake

I was a controlled ht and narrow, and in this case, the straight and narroas the path that keptas I wanted

But this girl , and that was new

I craved so new

Turned out, after years of blowing out brains, of begging victi breaths, I was actually kind of bored

Gore only titillated for so long

I wanted more

So I went downstairs

The place was called Six in the Morning though everyone just called it Six The floor was concrete covered with all sorts of old, faded rugs The walls were hung with thrift store paintings, and the tables and chairs were all h I knew the oasn’t putting on a front—he genuinely couldn’t afford decent stuff, so he filled his bar hatever was on hand The staff looked tired but up-beat, and the drinks were plentiful and cheap