Two Guys Walk into The Globe Bookshop
A novella excerpt
I was sorting through a shipment of advance reader’s copies of new novels a university press had sent me when I heard a voice from my distant past.
“Paco, my friend, how have you been?”
I recognized the voice immediately and when I turned and saw that the man speaking completely obscured my front door, I knew I was right. I placed a hand on the shotgun I kept under the front counter, hoping I wouldn’t need it.
“Hello Ortiz,” I said. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has indeed,” he agreed pleasantly. “You have no doubt missed my brother as well.”
As if on cue, Jake Donovan walked through the door and stood beside Ortiz. My day couldn’t get better if the roof collapsed on my head.
“Hey Paco,” Jake said casually, as if the last time we had seen each other was the night before and not two decades ago. “I imagine you’re surprised to see us.”
The man had a gift for understatement.
“You could say that,” I replied. “I always assumed the next time I heard Luis Ortiz’s voice it would be followed by a sharp pain in my ribs and a sudden meeting with the Almighty.”
