Page 8 of Anarchy Missing

Heat? Pain? Damage? What is it? What’s inside my body? Why does it hurt so bad? Why do I need to cut it out? Why is the city speaking to me in a language I don’t understand?

What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Why can’t I stop?

Something is wrong with me.

CHAPTER THREE - LULU

Something is wrong with this city.

I just can’t put my finger on it.

I sip my coffee as I look out the window of my downtown loft and ponder my uneasiness. I might be overreacting. I did grow up here. I have lots of great memories of friends, and school, and… boys.

That makes me smile, at least.

My phone buzzes on the kitchen table, so I walk over, pick it up, and tab accept. “Louise speaking.”

“Lulu,” Cait, my new assistant at the DA’s office, says, a little out of breath. “When are you getting here? We’re having a crisis.”

“What? What kind of crisis?”

“The banks. Jesus Christ. The banks have been robbed.”

“What? Which ones?”

“All of them, Lulu. I’m telling you, things are going off the rails. The mayor is here throwing a fit. He’s got all the assistant DAs lined up in Randy’s office, barking out threats.”

When she says Randy’s name it comes off like he’s a pariah. Which he kinda is. Randy is the head DA, my boss. I don’t know what I have against him. It might be his thousand-dollar suits—who can afford that at the DA’s office? Or the way his thick hair is always perfectly styled. Or the fact that he actually schedules his time at the gym. Every night from seven to nine, he’s there. It’s on the department calendar for everyone to see.

It might be all of that. Or it might just be that he’s a pretentious asshole.

“I don’t have time to explain, but they’re all asking for you.”

“It’s not even seven yet,” I say, feeling defensive.

“I know. I’m sorry. But can you just come in early? They’re making me nervous.”

“Sure.” I sigh.

“Great,” Cait says. “See you soon.” She ends the call.

Maybe this is why I feel something is wrong. The jerks who run this city are all… well, government jerks. And I know there was a major overhaul in city personnel last winter, but it’s the same old shit. This is my second job as an assistant DA and I really thought the shakeup would’ve changed things. But I don’t think it has. Cathedral City politics are just as bad as Wolf Valley politics. Probably worse, if that’s even possible, because it’s a much bigger place. More crime, more violence, more everything than semi-quiet Wolf Valley.

I had to get out of Wolf Valley before they fired me over my big mouth. Let’s just say… it’s not always a good thing when everyone knows your name in a town. I had a reputation for being ruthless. Which should be a good quality for an assistant DA. But when the bad guys are almost indistinguishable from the good guys… well. They just want a good little minion to do her job the way she’s told.

I really hope Cathedral City doesn’t end up being the same way.

Please don’t let Cathedral City end up being the same way.