Page 43 - Demo

that Mr. Gerdulon, in his naivete, thought the orien- tation document was, and so, did skip it, leading to this dilemma—which is another example that for lack of a thumbtack or two entire urgent immedi- ate notices may go unhung such as such as such as how, how was he s’posed to know to read the fuck- er—I mean, Christ, the almighty how was I s’posed to know to read the fucker, I mean, does this imply that a job requirement to be a Boole Agency Pri- vate Detective is the ability to read minds, or see behind the scenes of all and everything, or have a sense of smell exceeding that of a dog, or, or, you get the point, eh, sistah I ‘hink—and then, if that’s so—I was not, no I was never, tested for mind reading, sir, with all due respect, the punishment
I am facing is unjust and inappropriate—it is you, kind sirs, who’re violating policy—I cannot be held accountable to standards I was not found to be capable of before hiring I cannot I cannot be held accountable no no no I have not heard of this—so listen detective sir I don’t recall your name but it doesn’t really matter—there’s no record here of this boy—this Fedlericolio Frayy-mann or whoever her names are! The printouts here are thick! The patients passing through these doors daily are many! And the time I have to handle such inquiries as yours is nonexistent! So, the answer is no! I can- not help you!
Slamdown!
Mr. Gerdulon checked off beside the name of whichever jail, mortuary, hospital, or walk-in clinic he’d just called, and ran his hand under
the phone number of the next on the list. As he punched in the next number, he idly noticed his breakfast plate and dirty utensils had been taken away, and a fresh cup of coffee had been pro- vided. How considerate. They really know how to run this truck stop. They really do. He made mental note to leave a large tip—but—the other side answered and here he went he went again again. Here he and again and went again. Again. And here he here he went and here he went again and again.
Meirose’s short work has appeared in numerous venues, and his published novels include No and Maybe - Maybe and No (Pski’s Porch), Le Overgivers au Club de la Résurrection (Mannequin Haus), Understanding Franklin Thompson (JEF pubs), and Sunday Dinner with Father Dwyer (Optional books).
“M
of whichever jail, mortuary, hospital, or walk-in clinic he’d just called, and ran his hand under the phone number of the next on the list.”
r. Gerdulon checked
off beside the name
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