He walked around at the terminal for about an hour. He still had thirty minutes until boarding. He wasn't going to buy anything. But he finally caved. Coffee. He needed that. Well not really. But it would make this situation feel more fun. He hadn't told Jackie he was visiting...

There must've been something in the air, Joey thought. Not only was his coworker Tony acting weird. But he noticed his girlfriend Jane being weird too. She rustled her fingers through his hair. "You're so creative."

"What?" he asked. Trying to laugh it off.

"You're like one of those artist types."

"Jane. What...

Two months later there was snow. It was  Christmas Eve . Marc Love was still in  Bloomington, IN . Now with a job.  Bloomingfoods . The west location near downtown. Right by City Hall.

He had become friends with Kevin the deli guy. And Brock working the drinks.

On Thanksgiving he had...

The breeze of the evening rustled the branches. The shadows danced across the concrete sidewalk and the grass. Love walked with a cigarette in his hand. A cigar he had smoked earlier. But for a walk... he preferred a cigarette. Something about a  cigar warranted that he be seated. A...

When he arrived in  Bloomington, IN , he felt different. He wouldn't leave here right away like he did with any other place he stopped.

He didn't just pick the first hotel he found. He drove around a bit. Ended up booking a bed and breakfast downtown. It looked like one...

When he opened the door he was surprised to see his coworker Tony.

"You just can't open the door like that. That's how you'll get killed."

Tony came in without waiting for an invitation.

"Look I know what you're up to. So let me give you a few pointers. First one. I already...

It was strange. Joey had said that it was a busy night. But going through the POS system, Tony saw that there were barely any sales. Joey had probably just lied to cover up the fact the real reason he hadn't read the book.

It was because Joey was actually  Batman...

In front of him sat a book with an audacious title. The Creative Class . He had tried reading it. But unlike that one customer who sat like a stone in that chair all night... Joey hadn't read more than two pages. The two pages he did read he didn't...

Devour it whole. Like a python. In high school he remembered kids talking about a video where a python tried swallowing a gator whole. And it exploded.

Apparently the video was disgusting. Derek never got to see it. But the kids told him not to. So he listened.

After finishing off the...

"What?"

"you heard me. Drop. The. Case."

"But--"

"God Dammit. I said drop the fucking case."

The Lieutenant turned around and stared out the window. The detective could see his superior's face reflected in the glass. The anger subsided from it. And a sigh came. Then he turned back around.

"How many weeks has it...