{"id":1193,"date":"2026-01-03T21:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/the-accident-barclay-linwood\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T21:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T21:18:12","slug":"the-accident-barclay-linwood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/the-accident-barclay-linwood\/","title":{"rendered":"The Accident – Barclay, Linwood"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Book Preview<\/h3>\n
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\nPROLOGUE<\/span>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Their names were Edna Bauder and Pam Steigerwald, and they were grade school teachers from Butler, Pennsylvania, and they had never been to New York before in their entire lives. New York was hardly the other side of the planet, but when you lived in Butler, almost everything seemed that way. As Pam\u2019s fortieth birthday approached, her friend Edna said you\u2019re going to have a birthday weekend you are never, ever going to forget, and on that count she turned out to be absolutely right.<\/p>\n

Their husbands were delighted when they heard this was a \u201cgirls only\u201d weekend. When they learned it was going to be two full days of shopping, a Broadway show, and going on the Sex and the City<\/span> tour, they said they would rather stay home and blow their brains out. So they put their wives on the bus and said have fun and try not to get too drunk because there\u2019s a lot of muggers in New York, everybody knows that, and you have to keep your wits about you.<\/p>\n

They found a hotel near Fiftieth and Third that was, at least by New York standards, reasonable, although it still seemed like a lot considering all they were going to do was sleep there. They\u2019d vowed to save money by not taking cabs, but the maps of the subway system looked like a schematic for the space shuttle, so they decided, what the hell. They went to Bloomingdale\u2019s and Macy\u2019s and a huge shoe outlet in Union Square that would have held every store in Butler and still had room left over for the post office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my ashes scattered through this place when I die,\u201d Edna said, trying on a pair of sandals.<\/p>\n

They tried to get to the top of the Empire State Building, but the line to get in was huge, and when you had only forty-eight hours in the Big Apple you didn\u2019t want to spend three of them waiting in line, so they bailed.<\/p>\n

Pam wanted to eat lunch at that deli, the one from that movie where Meg Ryan had the fake orgasm. Their table was right next to the one they used in the movie\u2014there was even a sign hanging over it to mark the spot\u2014but when they got back to Butler they\u2019d tell everyone they got the actual table. Edna ordered a pastrami sandwich with a knish, even though she had no idea what a knish was. Pam said, \u201cI\u2019ll have what she\u2019s having!\u201d and the two of them went into fits of hysterics when the waitress rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n

While having coffee afterward, Edna said, almost out of nowhere, \u201cI think Phil\u2019s been seeing that waitress at Denny\u2019s.\u201d And then she burst into tears, and Pam asked why she suspected such a thing, that she thought Edna\u2019s husband, Phil, was a good guy who\u2019d never cheat, and Edna said she didn\u2019t think he was actually sleeping with her or anything, but he went there for coffee every single day, so that had to mean something. And the thing was, he hardly ever touched her anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d Pam said. \u201cWe\u2019re all busy, we got kids, Phil\u2019s working two jobs, who\u2019s got the energy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you\u2019re right,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

Pam said, \u201cYou need to get your mind off that nonsense. You brought me here to have fun.\u201d She opened her New York Fodor\u2019s tourist guidebook to the spot where she\u2019d put a sticky note and said, \u201cYou need more retail therapy. We\u2019re going to Canal Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edna had no idea what that was. Pam said you could buy purses\u2014designer purses, or at least purses that looked just like designer purses\u2014for next to nothing down there. You have to ask around for the best deals, she said. She\u2019d read in a magazine somewhere that sometimes the best stuff, it\u2019s not even out where the people can see it. You have to go into a back room or something.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re talkin\u2019 my language, honey,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

So they grabbed yet another cab and asked to be taken to the corner of Canal and Broadway, but at Lafayette and Grand the taxi came to a dead stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happened?\u201d Edna asked the driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccident,\u201d he said in an accent Pam thought could be anything from Salvadoran to Swiss. \u201cI can\u2019t turn around. Is just few blocks that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam paid the driver and they started walking in the direction of Canal. A block up, a crowd had gathered. Edna said, \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked away, but Pam was transfixed. A man\u2019s legs were splayed across the hood of a yellow cab that had crashed into a streetlight. His upper body had gone through the windshield and was draped over the dashboard. A mangled bicycle was trapped under the car\u2019s front wheels. There was no one behind the wheel. Maybe the driver had already been taken to the hospital. People with FDNY<\/span> and NYPD<\/span> on their backs were inspecting the car, telling the crowd to move back.<\/p>\n

Someone said, \u201cFucking bike messengers. Amazing it doesn\u2019t happen more often.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edna took Pam by the elbow. \u201cI can\u2019t look at this.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time they found their way to Canal and Broadway, they hadn\u2019t exactly put that horrible image out of their heads, but they\u2019d been repeating a \u201cThese things happen\u201d mantra that would allow them to still make the most they could out of this weekend.<\/p>\n

Pam used her camera phone to get a shot of Edna standing under the Broadway street sign, and then Edna got a shot of Pam doing the same. A man walking past offered to take pictures of the two of them together, but Edna said no thank you, telling Pam later it was probably just a ploy to steal their phones. \u201cI wasn\u2019t born yesterday,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

As they moved east on Canal the two of them felt as though they\u2019d wandered into a foreign country. Weren\u2019t these what the markets in Hong Kong or Morocco or Thailand looked like? Stores jammed together, merchandise spilling out onto the street?<\/p>\n

\u201cNot exactly Sears,\u201d Pam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many Chinese people,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s \u2019cause it\u2019s Chinatown,\u201d Pam said.<\/p>\n

A homeless man wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey asked for change. Another tried to hand them a flyer but Pam held up her hand defensively. Throngs of teenage girls giggled and gawked, some able to carry on conversations while music chattered from the buds stuffed into their ears.<\/p>\n

The store windows were jammed with necklaces, watches, sunglasses. A WE BUY GOLD<\/span> sign was positioned out front of one. A long, vertical sign hanging off a fire escape read \u201cTattoo\u2014Body Piercing\u2014Henna Temporary Supplies\u2014Wholesale Body Jewelry\u2014Books Magazines Art Objects 2nd Floor.\u201d There were signs pushing \u201cLeather\u201d and \u201cPashmina\u201d and countless banners in Chinese characters. And even a Burger King.<\/p>\n

The two women went into what they thought was one store, but it turned out to be dozens. Like a mini-mall, or a flea market, with each business ensconced in its own glass-walled cubicle. They all offered a specialty. Stalls for jewelry, DVDs, watches, purses.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at this,\u201d Edna said. \u201cA Rolex.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not real,\u201d Pam said. \u201cBut it looks fabulous. Think anyone in Butler knows the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThink anyone in Butler even knows what a Rolex is?\u201d Edna laughed. \u201cOh, check out the bags!\u201d<\/p>\n

Fendi, Coach, Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Prada. \u201cI can\u2019t believe these prices,\u201d Pam said. \u201cWhat would you normally pay for a bag like this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWay, way more,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

The Chinese man running the stall asked if they wanted help. Pam, trying to act as though she knew the territory, which was not easy when you had a New York guidebook sticking halfway out of your purse, asked, \u201cWhere do you have the real<\/span> deals?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are nice,\u201d she said. \u201cBut where do you keep the prime stuff?\u201d<\/p>\n

Edna shook her head nervously. \u201cNo, these are fine. We can pick from these.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Pam persisted. \u201cA friend told me, I\u2019m not sure if it was your place specifically, but there might be some other bags, but not on display here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man shook his head. \u201cTry her,\u201d he said, pointing deeper into the rabbit warren of shops.<\/p>\n

Pam went to the next kiosk and, after giving the bags a cursory look, asked the elderly Chinese woman, dressed in a brilliant red silk jacket, where they were hiding the good stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d the woman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best bags,\u201d Pam said. \u201cThe best knockoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman gave Pam and Edna a long look, thinking that if these two were undercover cops, they were the best she\u2019d ever seen. Finally, she said, \u201cYou go out the back door, go left, look for door with number eight on it. Go down there. Andy\u2019ll help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam glanced excitedly at Edna. \u201cThank you!\u201d she said, and grabbed hold of Edna\u2019s arm, tugging her to a door at the end of the narrow mall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t like this,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry, it\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even Pam was caught up short when they went through the door and found themselves in an alley. Dumpsters, trash strewn everywhere, abandoned appliances. The door closed behind them and when Edna grabbed it she found it locked.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat,\u201d she said. \u201cLike that accident didn\u2019t freak me out enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said go left, so let\u2019s go left,\u201d Pam said.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t have to walk far before they found the metal door with an \u201c8\u201d painted on it. \u201cDo we knock or just go in?\u201d Pam asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is your brilliant idea, not mine,\u201d Edna said.<\/p>\n

Pam rapped lightly, and when no one came after ten seconds, she pulled on the handle. The door was unlocked. They were met with a short set of steps leading down a dark stairwell. But there was a glimmer of light at the bottom.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello? Andy?\u201d Pam called out.<\/p>\n

There was no answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Edna said. \u201cI saw some purses at the other place that were perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re already here,\u201d Pam said. \u201cMight as well check it out.\u201d She went down the stairs, feeling the temperature drop with each step. She peered into a room at the bottom, then turned and looked back up at Edna with a huge grin on her face. \u201cThis is so<\/span> the place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edna followed her into a dense, cluttered, low-ceilinged room that was jammed with handbags. They were on tabletops, hanging from hooks on the walls, hanging from hooks in the ceiling. Maybe because it was cold, it reminded Edna of a meat locker, but instead of sides of beef dangling from above, it was leather goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must be dead,\u201d Pam said. \u201cWe\u2019re in Purse Heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tubular fluorescent lights flickered and buzzed above their heads as they began picking through bags on the display tables.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this is a fake Fendi, I\u2019ll eat Phil\u2019s hat,\u201d Edna said, inspecting one bag. \u201cThe leather feels so real. I mean, it is real leather<\/span>, right? It\u2019s just the labels<\/span> that are fake? I\u2019d love to know how much this one is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam noticed a curtained door at one end of the room. \u201cMaybe that Andy guy is in there.\u201d She started walking toward it.<\/p>\n

Edna said, \u201cWait. We should get out of here. Look at us. We\u2019re in some basement, off an alley, in New York City, and no one has any idea whatsoever where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pam rolled her eyes. \u201cGod, you\u2019re so Pennsylvania.<\/span>\u201d She reached the doorway and called out, \u201cMr. Andy? The Chinese lady said you could help us?\u201d As soon as she\u2019d said \u201cChinese lady,\u201d she felt like an idiot. That really narrowed it down.<\/p>\n

Edna had gone back to examining the lining of the fake Fendi.<\/p>\n

Pam reached out and pulled aside the curtain.<\/p>\n

Edna heard a funny sound, a kind of pfft<\/span>, and by the time she\u2019d looked over, her friend was on the floor. Not moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cPam?\u201d She dropped the purse. \u201cPam, are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

As she approached she noticed that Pam, who was on her back, had a red dot on the middle of her forehead and something was running out of it. Like Pam had sprung a leak.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God, Pam<\/span>?\u201d<\/p>\n

The curtain opened and a tall, thin man, with dark hair and a scar over his eye, stepped out. He had a gun, and it was pointed straight at her head.<\/p>\n

In her last remaining second, Edna spotted, just inside the room beyond the curtain, an elderly Chinese man, seated at a desk, his forehead resting on it, a rivulet of blood draining from his temple.<\/p>\n

The last thing Edna heard was a woman\u2014not Pam, because Pam was done talking\u2014saying, \u201cWe have to get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last thing Edna thought was, Home. I want to go home<\/span>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Read the full book by downloading it below.<\/p>\n

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Book Preview PROLOGUE Their names were Edna Bauder and Pam Steigerwald, and they were grade school teachers from Butler, Pennsylvania, and they had never been to New York before in their entire lives. New York was hardly the other side of the planet, but when you lived in Butler, almost everything seemed that way. As … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1192,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-1193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-linwood-barclay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}