The case of the female corpse, when first revealed, did indeed leave many people speechless for several minutes.
A sordid puzzle: a broken family, a bloody and ironic s*x trafficking business, and a stolen Cadillac crushing a girl's brief escape.
But in this place, tragedy is merely a topic of conversation in the tavern.
The next morning, as sunlight once again bathed the streets of Los Angeles, hardly anyone mentioned the body anymore.
People would occasionally sigh over lunch: “Oh, that beautiful girl. Damn her dysfunctional family.”
Then the conversation quickly shifted to new gossip.
Bruce stood at the office window, watching the slow flow of traffic on the street, tapping his knuckles on the glass. To him, this case was just a symbol—a confirmation of the city's putrid stench.
