Exposition

In many stories, writers use exposition—or the revealing of facts—as a narrative hook, feeding their readers a little piece of information just when they need it, so that they can retain the dramatic tension and keep their readers interested and waiting for the next piece. In this story, however, the telling is straightforward, and readers start to get a clue in the beginning when the woman argues with José, saying that she's "'got a quarter of an hour that says I've been here."' The reader may wonder why the woman wants José to say that she came in earlier than she actually did, but doesn't have to wonder for long. One gets a strong idea of what the woman has done in the middle of the story when the woman asks José if he would defend her if she killed...