The Alley (an excerpt from Find Frank) [Story #16]

I'm cheating a bit this week. This isn't really a short story, but a disturbing little excerpt from my novel-in-progress, Find Frank. I've had a busy week, but the good news is that I've managed to spend a couple hours editing F.F.
This except takes place in the fictitious setting of Tempest City--a place that might exist if Gotham, Chicago, and L.A. had a three-way. The gist of the story is that an investigative reporter (female, brooding, loner--a fairly typical noir protagonist) is trying...