Shining City by Seth Greenland

Author:Seth Greenland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: London
Published: 2011-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

Jan drove up the 405 freeway staring through the windshield like a zombie and gripping the wheel so tightly, her fingers were becoming numb. Because the seats in the van could not be moved, Marcus was lying on top of the rug that contained the corpse. Jan had turned the heater on so it was warm in the rear of the van, and Marcus began to notice the too-sweet smell of the dead man’s cologne. He would have preferred to be driving himself, but getting the body out of the apartment and into the van had further aggravated his injury, necessitating his prone position. Trying to forget that he was lying on a cadaver, Marcus adjusted his sore neck so he could see Jan in the driver’s seat. He was happy she was here—no, ecstatic. No longer did he feel like he was writhing on the end of a fishhook. He thought she might never forgive him, but at least she was going to help get rid of the body. If that wasn’t love, he reflected, he didn’t know what love was.

After forty-five minutes during which the only sound was the humming of the engine, Jan asked Marcus to tell her about the business. Her interest revived his spirits, and in confidential tones he told her about how the operation worked, who was on the payroll, and, most important, how little contact he had with the women. He did, however, emphasize that he had helped several of them set up 401(k)s, and when Jan evinced amusement at this incongruity, Marcus believed whatever he was doing at that moment was working. Then he delivered the coup de grace: “I’m going to stop eventually, but let’s remember that we have health insurance now and it paid for your mother’s eye surgery.”

Jan absorbed this information silently.

They drove past Magic Mountain, where Marcus had ridden the roller coasters with Nathan the year before, and out of the San Fernando Valley. Past Castaic, where he’d gone on family picnics when he was a boy, before things had soured with Julian. Past Santa Clarita, where Marcus and Jan had gone to a birthday party Plum threw for Atlas at an art deco bowling alley in a happier time that was receding behind them at warp speed.

The van was surrounded by a herd of groaning semis as it climbed the steep northerly incline. Pushing himself off the floor, Marcus rose to his feet and lurched to the passenger seat. He told Jan to take the exit for Solitario Canyon, a remote place where he remembered camping with Roon the summer after they’d graduated from high school. A dirt road there ran deep into the mountains. Jan eased the van off the freeway, then headed west on the overpass before dipping into the canyon.

Marcus directed her to an access road that led into the backwoods. After a couple of minutes he told her to turn off the headlights and pull over. She did as she was directed.

“Stop the van and get out.

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