Status Updates From D.C. Noir (D.C. Noir, #1)

The Bottom Line - Grady: A senator's chief of staff makes some hard choices. Kinda confusing in the end.

Stiffed - Slater: A burger cook has a bad day and makes it someone else's.

The Messenger of Soulsville - Kelley: An R&B record company goes against the mob, via a fictional Nation of Islam go-between.

The Dupe - Fusilli: Reaganite fanatic writes a tell-all that others go to lengths to suppress.

Cold as Ice - Peterson: Ice Hamilton messes with the wrong dude.

God Don't Like Ugly - Irby: A confession by a woman about how she screwed up her family and life.

Coyote Hunt - Castaneda: Latino reporter learns about a coyote--a human trafficker.

Jeanette - Beane: Dumb kid gets taken in by a manipulative hot woman, and pays the price.

East of the Sun - Howard: Yuppie mom accidentally gets involved with the local drugs scene.

Solomon's Alley - Andrews: A homeless man helps out a street vendor.

The Light and the Dark - Wisdom: Less of a story, and more a vivid memory Wisdom retells from when he was a kid.

A.R.M. and the Woman - Lippman: A rather amusing but vicious tale of a divorcee keeping what she wants.

The Confidential Informant - Pelecanos: That guy really is the best confidential informant.

First - Jasper: Kid takes his first step towards a life of crime.

Capital of the World - Patton: A moonlighting cop learns a lot more about human trafficking and despair.

The Names of the Lost - Currey: A liquor store owner, also a Holocaust survivor, ponders things while vandals ransack his store.