Setting The Pick

by April Kelly

About the Author: April Kelly's mystery stories have appeared in Down & Out Magazine, Mysterical-e, and Shotgun Honey (5 times!). Her literary, satirical and humor pieces have been featured in numerous literary magazines. In her previous life, she was a TV producer and comedy writer.

Excerpt

Here’s what Dapper Donny saw when I walked into his bar: a guy a few birthday cakes north of forty, with thinning hair, a slight limp in his left leg, and a suit straight out of a Motel 6 lost and found.

His nod and my request for a scotch were perfunctory, as I heaved myself onto a stool with a weary sigh. The line of sight between my seating choice and the wall-mounted security camera in the corner above the end of the bar was direct and unimpeded. Hey, if I’m doing a screen test, I want the video to capture every detail, from the spare tire straining my worn shirt’s buttons to the fine veins road mapping the mushrooming tip of a drinker’s nose.

Strictly transactional, the dealings between Donny and me that first night three weeks ago, though when I laid down a twenty for a pair of four-buck pops and eased off the stool to indicate I wasn’t looking for change, Donny tacked on a quick thank-you smile to his good-night nod.

Memory of the hefty tip triggered a more welcoming greeting the next evening, when I returned wearing the same shabby suit and a fresh, threadbare shirt.

“Scotch neat, right?” he asked, as I parked my can on the stool I’d claimed the night before.

“Yeah, and don’t let it die of loneliness.”

“Copy that.”

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