Long Way Down

A stranger gets on the elevator. He is pale with light brown hair, a big guy. At first Will is relieved, thinking he isn’t looking at another ghost. But then Buck starts talking to him. He calls him Frick and says he recognizes him. Frick recognizes Buck too. Will interrupts to figure out who this guy is. Buck responds, with a shrug, “This is the man who murdered me” (244). Will is shocked and confused. He doesn’t know the whole story. All he remembers is Buck, who was raised by his kind stepfather, a preacher, ended up taking after his biological father and robbing suburban homes. He remembers the day the police came to the house, asking Shawn if he knew anything about the man who shot Buck in the stomach.

Buck tells the story of his death, with occasional interjections from Frick. He and Shawn were at the basketball court, talking. Shawn was upset because this guy Riggs had just come bragging about being in the Dark Suns and told Shawn to stay away. But Shawn needed to get soap for his