Miami Blues

        Hoke went to the desk and poured an overflowing jigger of Early Times into his tooth glass. Too much.  He poured part of it back into the bottle. His hands shook a little and he spilled part of his drink. He could hear his heart beat. The more he thought about Mendez, the more afraid he was. This was not paranoia. When a man has beaten you badly and you know he can do it to you again, a wholesome fear is a sign of intelligence.
                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Two lizards in particular, Freddy noted, made the palm their home base. One, a hustler, darted here and there in search of mosquitoes but the other one, the fatter of the two, moved rarely, except to inflate and deflate it's mottled purple throat.

Miami Blues
Charles Willeford
1984