The Button Man and the Murder Tree

A short story about a hitman suffering from a recently-acquired Joker deformity, this is a well-written story with some strong imagery. But there's not much more to it than that, with the story retreading familiar ground about anti-Joker prejudice and lacking in resolution. Being set in the early '70s it's unlikely to have any relevance elsewhere in the series, either. Yes, it's well done, but it comes across as filler.

A free short story from Tor.Com, available HERE.

This is a short story as a part of the Wild Card series, championed by GRR Martin, but written by various authors. Of course, late to the party I knew nothing about this series, and didn't poke about to find out until after I had read this story.

There is no doubt that it reads as a part of a larger story, but with enough hints as to the background so that it still makes sense to the reader. Set in 1971 Chicago, the story is atmospheric and our protagonist is a hitman for the mafia, but he has a secret that is worrying him - he is growing some kind of mushrooms on his arms and shoulders!

As the story unwinds, we learn how Raul with his mushrooms fits into the larger plot, as he finds out about secrets his targets have been keeping - secrets which link the targets to the hitman.

Beside the toilet squatted a knee-high trash can. He picked it up and set it on the sink's edge, then reached inside his limp jacket for the inner pocket, and pulled out a switchblade. As quickly as he dared, he sliced the bubbling lesions away.He started at his wrists, since those growths had blossomed first, and were largest. He pruned them one by one, scraping the blade along the clustered stalks. They popped free and dropped into the steel waste bin with a spongy little ping that made his teeth itch. Some as small as his pinky nail. Some the size of his thumb. Brown-capped or gray, with creamy undersides and speckles.