Just finished another story from the streets of Vegas. I now have fourteen total, which would be great if all of them were around 4,000 or 5,000 words, but they are not. This one, for example, is around 1,300 words, and is about a copper thief/scrapper who stumbles on a dead body while casing an abandoned apartment, forcing him to reconsider his lifestyle.
Ten of the stories have been published—the most recent ones have yet to find a home—and I plan to start submitting this story to literary journals soon.
I have the first draft of a fifteenth story, which centers on a phone conversation between a couple who was together for several years, including a few on the streets of Vegas. Sober and speaking for the first time in a year, they gradually realize they are in different places and what they had is over—and that may be a good thing.
I’m sure I’ll write more about this potential collection soon. In the meantime, here is the intro to the latest story, if you’re interested.
The Copper Thief
By Matthew O’Brien
Jesse discovered the body during the apartment check. All the other areas were clear, and the walls, ceilings, and piping were intact, but the last space he entered—the back bedroom—contained the corpse. Exhaling a thin veil of marijuana smoke visible only in the beam of his headlamp, he felt the weight of his backpack: the six-pound sledgehammer, hacksaw, utility knife, wire cutters, and work gloves. A bottle of tap water fit snuggly in a side pouch, and a black-and-white bandana was looped around a strap. The backpack of his partner Sean, who was serving as lookout on the far side of the boarded-up window they’d opened with a crowbar, cradled the same items. Three loud coughs were the warning signal.