The Stains. Short for Bloodstains. They always wear a shirt dipped in a victim's blood. Kinda like a Boy Scout badge." "Charming." "Errol Swade and Curtis Yeller were also cousins. Swade had been living with the Yellers since his release a month earlier. Let's see what else. Swade was a dropout Big surprise. A coke addict. Another shocker. And a major league moron." "So how has he eluded the police for so long?" Jake picked up his burger and took a bite. A big bite. Half the burger vanished. "He couldn't have," he said. "Excuse me?" "No way he could have stayed out of trouble this long. Impossible." "Hold up. Did I miss something here?" "Officially the police are still looking," Jake said. "But unofficially they're sure he's dead. The kid was a dumb punk. He couldn't find his ass with both hands, never mind hide from a nationwide dragnet" "So what happened?" "Rumor has it the senator got a favor from the mob. They knocked him off." "Senator Cross put out a hit on him?" "What, that surprises you?
