Pennsylvania “Austen,” called the matronly clerk. “Richard Phillip Austen Jr.” The small gathering of supplicants looked about the dreary DMV’s institutional waiting room,...
ByThe RegistryMay 14, 2024Terminal The LAX international terminal was crowded, bustling, its check-in lines long, with unshaven arrivals embracing their excited families, while embarking passengers bid...
ByThe RegistryMay 12, 2024Zapatos Though less than an hour’s drive from their hometown of Lemon Grove, Roy’s trip was longer than Eddie’s cross-country flight. His was...
ByThe RegistryMay 12, 2024The Pinto Eddie’s leg was asleep. Tingling—numb from the hip down—it had pressed too long against the coils of rope and folded canvas...
ByThe RegistryMay 11, 2024Las Tumbas A few blocks north of the hotel, Rosarito’s police station squatted on a dirt road next to a used-car lot. The...
ByThe RegistryMay 11, 2024Bang, Bang, Bang, Boom Eddie’s mind raced, dancing from his empty future to his moves at the police station, how he would get...
ByThe RegistryMay 9, 2024A Ride Downtown Sergeant Rudy Schmidt drove into the Riviera Inn and parked his wife’s Chevy wagon within sight of Roy’s convertible. He...
ByThe RegistryMay 9, 2024Nothing to Declare On his way north to Tijuana, Eddie eased into Rosarito, squinting after a jail down each of the small streets...
ByThe RegistryMay 9, 2024Rosarito Sitting on the rubbled beach awaiting Roy’s overdue return, Eddie scowled at the jammed coffee can at his feet. How would he...
ByThe RegistryMay 8, 2024K-39 Eddie and Roy stood next to the van on a bluff overlooking a small, dingy beach. A faded signpost, K-39—the distance in...
ByThe RegistryMay 8, 2024Date Night To seize the day, Roy Cross could say anything to anyone, occasionally even meaning it. While Eddie hung his head in...
ByThe RegistryMay 8, 2024Jonnie His dinner shift over, Eddie strode to the VW beneath the stand of wind-twisted Monterey pine in the Inn’s employee lot. Troubled—and...
ByThe RegistryMay 7, 2024