Cloud Nine
“I’ve killed two people, Dude,” Nine began, “within less than two weeks. Once with a kitchen knife, once with a switchblade. In each case, it was an accident, s***h, self-defense. In each case, I was the victim.” Nine paused to draw on a joint. “If that sounds self-serving and contradictory, let me add this: I am not a violent person, and I am not a sociopath. And I have not the least twinge of conscience over either.”
I raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I know, right?” Nine responded, “What a crock. It’s impossible that all these statements could be true at once. Let’s revisit that question when you hear the whole tale.”
That was as good a hook as I had ever heard. I tried not to show it, but he had me. This, I had to hear.
Another toke on the joint, “this is a story I have n
