Evil in Evening Wear

A free Kindle short story.

Hello, folks. It's Bradley Vee from Third-Eye LASIK. I'm here to tell you about a short I wrote six years ago.

Many literary journals deemed it too sinister for publication. I have to agree. Being rejected for being too renegade by publications self-anointing themselves envelope-pushers was its own sort of success. Though such self-talk on my part is either alchemy or bullshit or both.

(That whole envelope metaphor always struck me as odd. What's so badass about huffing a business-size 10 up a hill? Sisyphus be like, “Dufuq?”)

The story is titled Evil in Evening Wear. Here's the synopsis:

A loss prevention analyst gets involved with two very different women inside an apartment complex the size of a metropolis. Once his balancing act of discretion comes crashing down, all Hell breaks loose.

In Irvine, CA, there are these contiguous apartment complexes the size of cities. You know, the kinds with ubiquitous key fob panels, in-house restaurant chains, rooftop comunity pools, indolent trust-fund kids vaping or smoking (or both), exorbitant rents. My imagination used to spin while stuck at red lights next to these structures. What sorts of things go on in these veritable cities? What sorts of things could go in inside them? Harrowing things, exhilarating things, embarrassing things.

(Cover by Esli Avila, @esliavila @eslistudios on IG)

Evil in Evening Wear is free for five days starting today, Tuesday. You can go download it to your device. See, I'd rather you read it on said device, with all the eye-comforting margins and fonts that ePubs offer, considerate EPubs, so cute. I don't want you grudgingly burning a hole in the middle of your Samsung Galaxy S22 in an effort of edification. I love Substack too, but damn.

After Saturday, the story skyrockets up to a whopping $0.99. In a world where rampant inflation has us winnowed down to top ramen and Night Train, I wouldn't want to wager a buck on a yarn that might possibly lead to eternal perdition and bad earthly habits. Would you? Of course not. So snatch that puppy up posthaste. There's Thelemite magick and an agave plant waiting for you in Bezos-space.

Peace out.

b

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Thank you for reading Third-Eye LASIK. If you like what you just read, check out my brand-new novel. It’s an LA noir mystery featuring an alcoholic private detective, vegan crime bosses, guys who cut cocaine with borax, and AI Charles Manson.

Suicide by Jiu-Jitsu? Hmm. Tequila? Of course. Crushed Trachea Blues is live and livid. You in?