Time was running out. The cop looked down and gave me the opportunity I needed. I swung my fist back and knocked him off-balance, giving me just enough time to run down the stairway to my speeder. Those self-defense classes really came in handy.
Just before I made it to the car, I felt a blow from the right side of my body. Another cop I couldn't see was right below the stairs and tackled me on my escape route. He roughly handcuffed me and read me my Miranda rights. Sweet-talking was going to get me nowhere now.
They threw me in a cell, fondly known as the "Drunk Tank." I waited though a long night before any cop would even speak to me.
The next day I actually got to talk to Mac Malden, whom I explained the entire situation to. He informed me that they had discovered Tex's DNA on some hair and skin cells, next to a large puddle of blood. It didn't look good. No body was found, which I took as a good sign. But they didn't have any decent evidence or suspects, either.
He was sympathetic with me, but I had to stay in jail another week for resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. I actually made some pretty good friends when I was in the can.
When I got out, I had no leads left to follow. I tried to return to my newsstand on Chandler Avenue, but it was too painful working it every morning directly across from Tex's apartment. So I sold the stand and a fellow inmate helped to get me a job as a bartender on the border between Old and New San Francisco. The pay is good and the company is decent, so I have nothing to complain about.
But every time someone orders a bourbon--neat, I have to look twice. Call me an optimist, but I never can give up on him completely. I keep my eyes open every evening for that familiar felt fedora and faded overcoat to walk in and sweep me away. Sure, the odds are against me every year that passes I don't see him, but that doesn't matter. I can't control my heart, and for some odd reason it's willing to wait. For however long it takes.
The End
(If this isn't the ending you like, go back to 1 and try again.)