Free SERIAL UNCUT by Blake Crouch, Jack Kilborn J.A. Konrath Page A

came from
behind me. I could guess who it belonged to.
    " Passing through," I said, not
bothering to turn around.
    " Well, maybe you can hurry it along,
little lady. Your kind isn't good for business."
    I carefully set down my mug of coffee, then
slowly swiveled around on my stool.
    The pimp was sticking his chest out like he
was being fitted for a bra, a few stray curly hairs peeking through
his collar. One of his women, strung out on something, clung
unenthusiastically to his side. Her concealer didn't quite cover up
her black eye.
    " I'm off duty, and just stopped in for
coffee and some cheese curds, which I can't get in Illinois. I
suggest you mind your own business. This isn't my jurisdiction, but
I'm guessing the local authorities wouldn't mind if I fed you some
of your teeth."
    The older fat guy next to me snorted. The
pimp wasn't so amused.
    " The local
authorities, " he said it in a falsetto, obviously
trying to mimic me, "and I have an arrangement. That arrangement
means no cops." He gave me a rough shove in the shoulder. "And I'm
sure they wouldn't mind if I fed you--"
    I drove the salt shaker into his upper jaw
with my palm, breaking both the glass and the teeth I'd promised.
Besides being hard and having weight, the shards and the salt did a
number on the pimp's gums. Must have hurt like crazy.
    He dropped to his knees, clutching his face
and howling, and three of his women dragged him out of there. I did
a slow pan across the room, looking for other challengers, seeing
none. Then I brushed my hand on my pants, wiping off the excess
salt, and went back to my coffee, trying to control the adrenalin
shakes. I hated violence of any kind, but once he touched me, I
didn't have any other recourse. I didn't want to play footsie with
the local cops he was paying off, trying to get an assault charge
to stick. Or worse, wind up in the hospital because some asshole
pimp thought he could treat me the same way he treated the women
who worked for him.
    Better to nip it in the bud and drop him
fast. Though I didn't have to feel good about it.
    I took a deep, steadying breath, and managed
to sip some coffee without spilling it all over myself, all the
while keeping one eye on the entrance. I'd hurt the pimp bad enough
to require an emergency room visit, but if he were tougher and
dumber than I'd guessed, he might return with a weapon. I set my
purse on the counter, my .38 within easy reach, just in case.
    " You're Lieutenant Jack Daniels,
aren't you?"
    I glanced at the fat man again. Even though
I'd been on the news many times, I didn't get recognized very often
in Chicago, and it never happened away from home.
    " And you are?" My voice came out
higher than I would have liked.
    " Just a fan. You got that serial
killer Charles Kork, the one they called the Gingerbread Man. How
many women did he kill?"
    " Too many." I turned back to my
coffee.
    " I saw the TV movie. The one that
became the series. You're much better looking than the actress who
played you."
    I was in no mood to be idolized. Plus, there
was something creepy about this guy.
    " Look, buddy, I don't want to be rude,
but I'm really not up for conversation right now."
    The fat man didn't take the hint. "And you
got Barry Fuller. He killed over a dozen, didn't he? He was both a
serial killer and a mass murderer, due to all those Feds he took
out at that rest stop."
    I sighed. The waitress came by with my
cheese curds. She set down the basket and winked at me. "These are
on me."
    " Thanks. I could use some
salt."
    I tried a curd. Too hot, so I spit it back
out into my palm and played hot potato until it cooled off. My
biggest fan refused to give up.
    " There were others in the Kork family
as well, weren't there? A whole group of psychos. I heard they
killed over forty people, total."
    I really didn't want to think about the Kork
family, and I really didn't want to have a late-night gabfest with
a cop groupie.
    But, on the plus side, knocking out that
pimp's teeth really