The Short Drop (Gibson Vaughn, #1)

by Matthew FitzSimmons

Time was the great leveler, and neither money nor power held sway over its relentless march.

Most people were overawed by time. They allowed time to bully them, fearing that it was passing too fast or too slowly, sometimes both simultaneously.

Entitlement breeds laziness, which in turn breeds decline. But of course with enough money, it is possible not to notice for decades that your family name is gathering dust.

The dead have no rights, or so my lawyers tell me, and rarely rise to defend themselves.

An eternal truth of the human condition was that no one ever thought they were evil. No matter how reprehensible their actions, people always convinced themselves they were justified.

Hope is a cancer. Either you never learn the truth, or you do and go through that windshield at ninety because hope told you it was safe to make the drive without a seat belt.