CHAPTER 18 - REED
EMMA HAD BOUGHT her groceries from a dusty dump called Joe’s Spend ’n’ Save. A f*****g oxymoron if I ever heard one. Located at one end of a crumbling strip mall, it was only one step away from demolition, and I spotted mouse s**t in the chiller aisle.
“Now what?” Kim asked, sticking close by my side as she skirted a puddle of something sticky on the grimy floor.
I nodded towards the checkout clerk, a blonde with nails so long it was a miracle she managed to work the register.
“Once she’s finished serving that customer, I’ll have a chat with her.”
Gaudy banners still advertised last summer’s barbecue specials, and unsurprisingly, the hot dogs were out of date. How did places like this survive? The cynic in me said it was a front for money laundering, but in reality,
