Love and Other Wounds by Jordan Harper Page B

will be someplace he feels safe. He chases a hunch. He makes a call to confirm it. He drives to the Grotto.He street-parks. He goes in the delivery entrance. He walks to the bungalow. He knocks.
    â€œYeah?”
    â€œLet me in,” Green says.
    Aaron unbolts the door. He blinks at Green. Recognition comes slow.
    â€œYou’re the guy,” Aaron says. “The cleanup guy.”
    Aaron opens the door. He’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt. His tuxedo lies crumpled on the floor.
    â€œWe’ve got to get you cleaned up,” Green says.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œYou know why.”
    Aaron smiles. It is flawless, charming, and Green cannot see the demon underneath.
    â€œWhat do we do?” he asks Green. Green pokes his head into the bathroom, as if he’s looking for hiding witnesses. He checks the shower. He yanks on the bar that holds the shower curtain up. It’s solid. Five-star construction.
    â€œTake a shower,” Green says. “Take the shower of your life. I’ll clean up around here. Leave your clothes out here so I can trash them.”
    Aaron strips in front of him, smiling.
    â€œDo you want to know why?” he asks Green.
    â€œI know why. She wouldn’t get down on her knees for you.”
    â€œNot the way I’d put it,” Aaron said. “But whatever. I want to know why you’re here.”
    â€œI haven’t picked my number yet,” Green says. “But I want enough so I don’t have to do this anymore.”
    â€œDoable,” Aaron says. He goes into the bathroom. Green waits five minutes. He breathes slow. He thinks about Sarah and her scarf made out of skulls. Then he removes Aaron’s belt from the pants he left on the floor. He tugs on the belt. Tests it.It does not break. He takes off his shirt. He picks the belt back up. He pushes the belt through the buckle. He holds the loop open with one hand, keeping it open, keeping it big enough to fit over a man’s head.
    Green goes into the bathroom. It is steamy from the shower. Green pulls back the curtain. Aaron looks at Green, squinting against the water’s spray.
    â€œWhat the fuck are you—” he says. Then Green is on him. Green gets the belt loop around the neck. He yanks the belt’s tail above Aaron’s head. The noose tightens. Aaron loses his footing. He slides onto his back in the tub. His fingers claw at the belt. The belt bites deep into his neck. Green tries to keep the angle right. He sits on the toilet and leans back like a man waterskiing. He puts his feet on Aaron’s shoulders. He yanks the belt toward the ceiling. He feels the man’s skull uncork from his spine.
    Green stands back up. He lifts Aaron. Green’s body shakes with the strain. He gets the belt over his head. He ties Aaron’s body to the shower curtain rod.
    Green stages the scene. He remembers the times he helped clean up an auto-choke death. He re-creates scene details. He leaves the water running. He puts the laptop on the toilet lid. He opens up four tabs’ worth of porn. He goes real dirty with the selections.
    He plays what will come next in his mind. A maid will find the body. She will be bought or frightened. Everyone will know the drill. The mess will be cleaned up. They will hide the evidence of a jerk-off death. They will clean up evidence of the murder along with it. They will slap a cover-up over his cover-up. No one will look close enough to dig down two layers deep.
    He calls Victor from the car.
    â€œCleanup on aisle seven,” Green says. He hangs up before Victor can ask him what he means.
    He goes home. He writes. It goes slow. He leaves nothing out but his name. He leaves nothing UNSAID. He copies and pastes it into an e-mail. He sends it to everyone he can. He wishes Sarah could read it. It is a press release. It is a moral fucking inventory.

LOVE AND OTHER WOUNDS
    I love you.
    I watch you bleed. I pull back your sweatshirt. I rip the bloody