“You do that,” he said.
I could tell by the tone of his voice that he didn’t think I’d do anything but fall on my face. I let it go at that and walked out.
I drove down to the riot area. It was quite a shock to see all the burned and scarred buildings. There were still plenty of police around, outnumbering the few sullen-looking n*****s on the street. I parked near what was left of the Belters Building and studied it. The Lieutenant was certainly right. It had been completely gutted. I walked around it. The view was the same from all sides. As I came back to the sidewalk, a cop lumbered up to me.
“Looking for something, bud?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “A building that isn’t here now.”
He frowned. “What are you? Some kind of nut?”
“No. Just a man looking for yesterday’s illusions and t
