Bookworm Thug

Tank didn’t mug people often, but he was saving up to buy the next Deirdre Day mystery novel. He waited in the alley and ambushed the first lady to walk by alone.

Unexpectedly, she drew a gun. He wrestled her for it, setting it off, then ran, only slightly shaken. She wasn’t his first casualty.

The next day, though, it was on the news: “Mystery author Deirdre Day found dead in alley.” Her next book, set for publication that fall, was cancelled. The cliffhanger would remain forever unresolved.

It was the first time a news story ever made Tank cry.