Concierge Confessions

by Valerie Wilcox

  “I need a drink.”

  Jack was a case study in Pavlov’s classic conditioning. He automatically turned to alcohol whenever he felt distressed, and it irritated me now just as much as it always had. “Get a grip, Jack. If you think a dead body is bad, try having it almost land on top of your head.”

  “That was Marie Talbot,” he said. “My new client.”

  “Maybe a drink wouldn’t be so bad after all.”