World Public Library

Big City Rag : Two Stories from the Adventures of Q.J. Rouge

Donald Harry Roberts

2017

Abstract

The last thing I remember was a sharp, excruciating pain in the back of my head that shot downward all the way to my feet, rattling my toes. Then the lights went out! When I came to, I found myself lying face down in a thick puddle of gunk and grunge that smelled like the city sewer in mid-July after a week long heat wave. I had been snooping around in an alley-way downtown, a little before sunset. It was dark now, except for a dim light coming through a smudged window that looked like it had not been cleaned since the newspaper head-lines read, “NESS FINALLY NABS CAPONE.”

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