‘Odd Jobs’ by Jonathan Escoffery

Odd Jobs by Jonathan Escoffery, 2020

The magic trick:

Building to a unique, explosive scene

“Odd Jobs” sets up an intriguing situation: a man answers a Craigs List ad looking for someone to come over to a woman’s house and hit her in the face.

OK.

So the story kind of plods along for a few pages, working its way to the scene of this premise. But once it gets there? Whew, it’s explosive.

And that’s quite a trick on Escoffery’s part.

The selection:

Chastity held her elbow in her palm and pinched her nose, deciding. I’d caught my reflection in the Raider’s darkened windows; I looked more than slightly stepped on. There was no way she was letting me through her door. “You’re taller than I might have wanted,” she said. “I think it’s best if it’s straight on. I don’t want to be punched from a downward angle. Take your shoes off first.”

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