“Lots of cops married nurses. Nurses understood the life: murderous shiftwork, long stretches of
boredom, sudden adrenaline spikes, blood everywhere.”
“Naked shotgun man was going to blow away any asshole who
tried to take his home from him because this was his home and no one could make
him do anything he didn’t want to do and also he had a shotgun. He didn’t mention being naked. Tallow presumed that he was simply too angry
for clothes.”
“There was a dark speckling [of blood] on his left
side. Jim Rosato was always on his left
side. Jim never let him drive.”
“For all your big talk about the bad week you’re having, you’re
not even angry. You’re just tired.”
“[He] let the city keep him company for as long as he could
stand it.”
“[He] had worked the streets long enough to know that it
didn’t always take a big thing to send someone to the point where it seemed to
him that the best option was to live outdoors and eat out of garbage sacks.”
"A laugh like bones being rattled in a tin."
"A room that hummed with the sound of machines. It did not quite smother a sudden composition of sounds from the next floor up: screams like a cat being dismembered, a deep thump that shook the ceiling; the noise of someone trying to cry while unable to draw breath."
"Testing structures in his mind. Foundations of fact, scaffolding of speculation."
“One day his world fell apart and he figured the only way he
could force life to make sense again was to walk out into the hallway naked
with a shotgun and scream. It doesn’t
always take much to make that happen.
This time, just [an eviction] letter shoved under the door.”
“Doesn’t matter where I get my appetite from so long as I
eat at home.”
“Talia’s like this Scandinavian Amazon who can break rocks
with her boobs. She could fit Scarly in
her armpit. Sometimes I think she likes
Scarly just because she was the most portable lesbian available.”
"A laugh like bones being rattled in a tin."
"A room that hummed with the sound of machines. It did not quite smother a sudden composition of sounds from the next floor up: screams like a cat being dismembered, a deep thump that shook the ceiling; the noise of someone trying to cry while unable to draw breath."
"Testing structures in his mind. Foundations of fact, scaffolding of speculation."
"When there was a good evening ahead, with the sky still light, it was like you stole a whole extra day from the world."
"You ever cheat on a girlfriend? Then you know. You break a part of the ethical compact, the basic rule that says You Don't Do That, and it's only hard once. When the sun doesn't go out because you've been so evil...well, it's easier the next time. And the next time. "
"The idea crept out like a spider and set off an autonomic repulsion. He just didn't want to be part of... The thought went: I just don't want to be part of people's lives."
"The jokes turned to ash and blew down the radio waves and away. Smoke signals."
