#2bitTues: Temperature

This week's excerpt is straight out of From The Desk of Buster Heywood, due for release in mid-September!

The overhang outside the door kept him dry as he looked out at the storm that had rolled in over the North End.  The slush banks Cameron had kicked to pieces were already melting under the onslaught of the rain, pitted and spiked like termite hills, and rivers ran past the edges of the sidewalk into the gutter.  Buster pulled his gloves on and buttoned up his coat to steel himself, then stepped out into the frigid deluge. 

The tenement building had no roof overhang for him to duck under, so he was soaked by the time he reached the alley.  Even so, the building shielded him from any gales coming at him from the side, leaving him to contend with the rain from above.  He ducked beneath a fire escape and paused to remove his glasses, wiping droplets off with his scarf.  It wouldn’t last long, but at least he’d be able to see long enough to find his way back to the Jetta.

“You,” an unfamiliar voice called out from behind him.

Buster turned, feeling his dinner turn, as well. 

“Yeah, you.”  A short, thin man with a patchy goatee moved forward into the alley.  He wore a faded grey wool coat that looked as though it had seen several previous owners before him, and tattered jeans.  The stained apron around his waist and red bandana tied over his hair marked him almost unmistakably as Luis’ busboy.  “I know who you are..."

---