Dark Karma by Joyce Veranda Gray.
Category: Fiction
Paperback: 288 pages
Language: English
ISBN: 1933967129

"When the gunshot rang out, the young man standing less than twenty feet away had no chance of escaping its impact. He dropped his bag of groceries and clutched his chest. He looked down to see blood rushing from his chest and turned toward the sound.

Where did it come from?

"Why?" he whispered as he fell hopelessly to the ground. Macy rushed out to see the young man lying in a pool of blood- dead. He looked around, trying to see someone, anyone, but it was dark and the street was deserted. There was no one to be found- just a row of stores and shops along Venice Boulevard with dimly lit lights and bars on the windows and doors. Macy’s Convenience Store was one of the few stores that remained opened past nine o’clock. He’d never seen anything like this before. He rushed back inside and called the police.

This isn’t a bad area. Why would something like this happen here, and in front of my store?

Macy Bastowe had owned the store for over twelve years and offered the neighborhood a quick and convenient place to buy a few items late at night without dealing with the larger grocery chains. "In and out," he would say, "in and out."

But now, this could change everything. The police arrived within ten minutes, and one of them started to rope off the area along the front of the store.

Macy found another policeman and asked, "How long will this have to stay here?" as he pointed to the yellow tape that blocked the entrance to the store.

"Maybe a few days," the policeman said.

The policeman took out his notepad and his phone and called for the coroner. The paramedics arrived within minutes. Macy could hear sirens blaring down the street.

"What is your name?" the policeman asked.

"My name?" Macy pointed to himself.

The policeman looked at him and waited. He realized the situation was alarming, but he couldn’t assume that the man standing before him did not commit the crime. He allowed Macy a moment to calm himself. Macy was a tall man with pale blue eyes and short hair that was mostly gray. His age was showing a bit around his waist, and his chin was not where it used to be, but he was an attractive man in his mid-forties and lived a quiet, peaceful life until that day. Macy had lived with his family in Palms, California for twenty years and finally got enough money to open his small store two years ago. He found the perfect spot away from any major chains, and he provided a good service to a small neighbourhood."