No, not politics. No, not the economy – although she had to keep up with that one in order to know what her clients were talking about. No, she liked to read the police reports, the terrible crimes appearing on Page 1, and any sort of atrocity she could get her hands on. She picked up the habit late into her previous relationship, when things were dark and she wondered if she would make it another day without hurting herself in some way – or if her ex would kill her. It’s nice to know that other people have it worse than me. What a morbid thought. Monica couldn’t help it, however, as she sat at the table early the next morning, eating her breakfast of eggs and a bagel. Page 1 had a story about a man killed during an attempted robbery in his own home. “Was like my son,” his neighbor said. “Such a kind, charitable man. I don’t understand why something like this happened to him. Who would do such a thing?” Monsters. Monica put her paper down and stabbed her scrambled eggs topped with spring onion.
