Read Debts for Free Online Page A

watching for that story, now, you hear?”
    Craig stands up as well, and she’s both happy to have his tall, sturdy presence next to her in the stuffy, unbearable office and utterly humiliated that he’s witnessed all this. How is she going to have any credibility at work when he’s just seen her get spanked by an interviewee?
    The snake has lain motionless throughout their interview, but as Miriam passes by the terrarium to get to the door, the python lifts its massive triangle head, its yellow slitted eyes rising to meet hers. Everyone in the room freezes as the snake slowly uncoils and rises higher in its glass cage, its muscles visibly bunching and sliding under its camouflage-colored skin. Keeping this creature in the office is akin to leaving a gun lying around—pure intimidation. She knows what Bender is trying to do, and damn it all, it’s working. Animals can’t be evil, and yet there’s something nasty in the python’s gaze that says, “I can take you.” It flicks its black, forkedtongue once, tasting the air.
    “Oh,” says Bender in high tones of delight. “Genghis likes you.”
    Miriam shudders before hurrying out the door and out of the awful house.
    Walking back to the newspaper office, Miriam fumes, kicking savagely at acorns in her path. She’s in no mood to dissect the interview for teaching points. This is what the angel Gabriel meant. She wasn’t finished. Bender had to be stopped.
    Craig walks next to her, hands in pockets, matching his long legs to her shorter strides, smart enough to stay silent. It’s unseasonably warm, with autumn only a few days away, but the day feels gloomy nevertheless. A sudden breeze kicks up a few fallen leaves, twirling them in the street against the gray lip of the sidewalk.
    “Miriam,” Craig finally says, breaking the silence. “It’s not the first time a big man pushed someone around and it won’t be the last.” He sounds resigned and kind of sad.
    “What would you know about being pushed around?” Miriam asks sullenly. She’s the closest thing to a mentor that Craig’s got at the paper and he just witnessed her getting her lunch handed to her. She wonders about all the poor souls who’ve come up before the judge for their trial and sentencing. There’s no way he was an impartial judge. How many innocent people were behind bars because of him? The unhappy mix of revulsion, intimidation, and bitter frustration coalesces in her belly and turns to pure anger. It had to be him. Bender was her new mission and he had to be stopped.
    A low-slung old Chrysler with an unfortunate burnt-orange paint job and oversized rims creeps by, the bass thumping so loudly Miriam feels it vibrating in her chest. Craig looks up, narrows his eyes. The windows of the car are darkly tinted, so it’s impossible to see who’s inside. Craig must recognize the car because he sends it a curt nod. The car slows to a crawl onthe quiet street. Miriam waits for a window to roll down and the driver to call out a greeting, but the car stays even with them and the windows stay up. She shivers and walks a little faster, and Craig easily keeps up with her. The car speeds up ever so slightly, staying even.
    Miriam looks at Craig, a question in her eyes.
    “Neighbor,” he says flatly. With the windows so dark, she can’t make out anything inside, not even the basic outline of the driver. The fast rhythmic booms of the bass provide a threatening accompaniment to their walk. Miriam keeps glancing at the car and at Craig. He hasn’t taken his eyes off where the driver would be. After several uneasy moments, a car drives up behind the Chrysler and honks impatiently for it to move on. It takes another long, creepy moment before the driver steps on the gas and leaves them behind in a cloud of stinking exhaust fumes and burned oil. Craig keeps his eyes on the Chrysler as it turns and disappears, the thumping bass still audible.
    “Don’t worry about him,” Craig says to Miriam’s