THIRTY-ONE
OCTOBER 25
7:00 A.M.
Jason Shepard sat at a tall wooden table at Bixler’s Bagels, facing the street so that he could see who came and went. In front of him were a cup of coffee and an everything bagel. A duplicate of the order waiting in front of the empty seat across the table. Dan Talbot gave him a wave as he came through the door and then walked over to where his breakfast awaited. “Hi Jason,” he said extending a hand, which Jason stood to shake.
They sat down and Jason said, “Thanks for meeting me, Dan.”
“My pleasure, man. I have to tell you, I was impressed with the way you worked with my partner to get the Masons out of there before the shootout happened.”
“How is Larry doing?”
“He’ll be out a couple of months, but he’s on the road to recovery and already itching to
