Zig Zag Man
by
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"I think you got a problem, son. A big problem," Buddy said, emphasizing the word son. Buddy reached into his top pocket for his eye glasses. "Show me some identification, son. I'm gonna call this in and see what's happening, you know what I mean, son?" Buddy taunted him. As Buddy reached into the top breast pocket of his uniform, the slip of paper he had made a list on fell to the ground. Buddy bent to pick it up. He was old and over-weight and tired, and a little slower than he used to be, but he still knew how to do his job. He picked up the slip of paper and read the words he had written on it. Gouda. Buddy thought about the party tonight with Goodie Noonan and Donna. "Yup, son, I think we've got a little problem here," Buddy said putting on his glasses. "I don't got no problem. But you does," Lamar snapped. Instinctively, Buddy started to reach for his 9mm. Then it came to Buddy all at once, but even then it was too late. He heard the three pops as if they were coming from a distance. Pop. Pop. Pop. It sounded so far away. If he had been able to get his eye glasses on, he would have seen the gun in Lamar's hand. He would have seen him fire off three rounds point blank at him. But he didn't. All he heard was the three distant sounding pops. And then he felt the pain. Blood spurt through his shirt. He staggered forward and clutched at his chest trying desperately to pull the searing pain off his bloody chest. His hands were smeared with his own blood. He staggered a few steps forward and fell. His head slammed into the pavement breaking his glasses in two. A trickle of blood ran from his mouth. "Pumpkin," Buddy gurgled into the pool of blood that pumped out of him. Lamar Williams stood over him, the revolver dangling at his side."
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About the Book
"It was the kind of day no one should die on, least of all Buddy Whelan. The sun rose as it always did behind a thick Los Angeles haze that burned off early, like a curtain rising slowly, revealing another endless blue sky. Just another beautiful day in La-La land. The same as the day before it and the same as the day after it would be. The same for everyone, except for Buddy. This was his last day in LA or any other place on earth." And so begins Billy Noonan’s quest for The Zig Zag Man, the man responsible for the murder of Los Angeles police officer Buddy Whelan. As Noonan, an up and coming LA District Attorney begins to piece together the threads of this timely, contemporary thriller, the elusive Zig Zag Man leads him on a wild chase through the underbelly of Los Angeles, straight to the top of corporate America. A timely story about the after effects of the Vietnam War and the headline grabbing advances in DNA testing. Things are not always what they seem in this action adventure and neither is the mysterious Zig Zag Man. "A fast-paced, contemporary thriller, bound to keep you on the edge of your seat guessing, until the surprise ending."
About the Author
Jack Conway is a former Massachusetts Trial Court Clerk Magistrate and Boston University adjunct professor. He is the author of several books, including the novel, The Road To Ruin. His work has appeared in; The Antioch Review, The Columbia Review, and Yankee, among other publications. He is a member of the Sarah Doyle Fiction Writer’s Workshop at Brown University and lives on Birdsong Farm in Assonet, Massachusetts.