in on itself and was now clenched against Daisy 's side, attached to an arm roughly the size of a small keg. The coffee pot was still gripped in her other hand and if nothing else, I prayed she'd put the damn thing down before the kid ended up wearing it.
" That's not very nice," the kid said, sounding genuinely hurt. I looked at him, his eyes now hidden beneath his long black fringe as he stared down at the book. "Besides, I walked here."
A flicker of uncertainty passed over Daisy 's face like a ripple over a calm pond. She cackled dryly and looked at Jed's boys and then me, perhaps hoping we'd join in. We didn't.
" Walked? Son, no one walks in this heat. That road out there is called Brimstone Highway for a reason you know. What kind of a hopped-up lunatic are you anyway?"
Her gaze hardened and she stepped right up to the kid and snatched the paperback out from right under his nose. "I'm talking to you and as long as your ass is taking up valuable real estate in here, you'll listen." She wiggled it in the air like a playground bully and I saw the name of the book, or at least what the name looked like.
Silver symbols against a black background. No letters, just lines and shapes, and squiggles.
I didn't think much of it at the time. For all I knew the kid was a Muslim and liked to keep up on his religion. I'd never seen Muslim language but I imagined it looked pretty similar to the hieroglyphics on that cover. There was no picture, unless you count a big black crooked rectangle with a speck of amber light in the middle and I don't.
" Give it back," the kid said, his voice sinking a notch. "I'm just hungry, that's all."
Daisy raised her pencil thin eyebrows and gave the book a cursory glance. "What's this? Nazi shit, no doubt. You kids are all the same these days, one cult or another as if the world isn't messed up enough without you bringing more crap into it."
Finally I found my voice: "Daisy, just give the kid back his book would ya?"
She spoke without looking at me. "Mind your business Tom or you'll be out on your ass too."
And with a casual flick of her wrist, she sent the book flying over her shoulder where it came to land atop the griddle, among Ralphie 's sizzling steaks. Ralphie gave a surprised ' uh ' and gawped at the newest addition to his menu. "What the…?"
Daisy set the coffee pot down on the counter and leaned in close to the kid, her hands clamped onto the counter at either side of her. "And you stink kid. Anyone let you in on that little secret yet? You smell like road kill. And I'll tell you something else for nothing, this is my diner and everyone around here knows that. They also know not to mess with me. Wanna hazard a guess as to why that is?"
I expected a witty retort but the kid 's eyes were growing darker by the minute, his lips thin and bloodless. I wouldn't have crossed him then, despite my having a good sixty pounds over him. He looked like he was about to go bananas. Whatever that face of his was saying, Daisy was encouraged by it. She was grinning from ear to ear, big coffee and nicotine-stained teeth gleaming dully, her face mere inches from the kid.
" Give me the book back," the boy replied tonelessly.
Ralphie had suddenly become interested in the little scene ever since the book had landed on his stovetop. When he heard the kid ask for the book, he winced and swept it off the griddle and onto the floor, where it lay in a smoldering heap, edges blackened and curled. Daisy, who ordinarily would have pissed petroleum at such a mutinous move, seemed oblivious to everything but the boy 's pale face.
Ralphie looked at me. I shrugged.
"People who mess with Daisy McFarlane tend to wind up in hospital," Daisy was saying. "We tend to favor only polite folk in here and any fool who swaggers through that door thinking he can act just as he pleases because a woman is behind the counter finds out the hard way that this is nineteen-eighty seven and not the Dark Ages. If he acts the dick,
" That's not very nice," the kid said, sounding genuinely hurt. I looked at him, his eyes now hidden beneath his long black fringe as he stared down at the book. "Besides, I walked here."
A flicker of uncertainty passed over Daisy 's face like a ripple over a calm pond. She cackled dryly and looked at Jed's boys and then me, perhaps hoping we'd join in. We didn't.
" Walked? Son, no one walks in this heat. That road out there is called Brimstone Highway for a reason you know. What kind of a hopped-up lunatic are you anyway?"
Her gaze hardened and she stepped right up to the kid and snatched the paperback out from right under his nose. "I'm talking to you and as long as your ass is taking up valuable real estate in here, you'll listen." She wiggled it in the air like a playground bully and I saw the name of the book, or at least what the name looked like.
Silver symbols against a black background. No letters, just lines and shapes, and squiggles.
I didn't think much of it at the time. For all I knew the kid was a Muslim and liked to keep up on his religion. I'd never seen Muslim language but I imagined it looked pretty similar to the hieroglyphics on that cover. There was no picture, unless you count a big black crooked rectangle with a speck of amber light in the middle and I don't.
" Give it back," the kid said, his voice sinking a notch. "I'm just hungry, that's all."
Daisy raised her pencil thin eyebrows and gave the book a cursory glance. "What's this? Nazi shit, no doubt. You kids are all the same these days, one cult or another as if the world isn't messed up enough without you bringing more crap into it."
Finally I found my voice: "Daisy, just give the kid back his book would ya?"
She spoke without looking at me. "Mind your business Tom or you'll be out on your ass too."
And with a casual flick of her wrist, she sent the book flying over her shoulder where it came to land atop the griddle, among Ralphie 's sizzling steaks. Ralphie gave a surprised ' uh ' and gawped at the newest addition to his menu. "What the…?"
Daisy set the coffee pot down on the counter and leaned in close to the kid, her hands clamped onto the counter at either side of her. "And you stink kid. Anyone let you in on that little secret yet? You smell like road kill. And I'll tell you something else for nothing, this is my diner and everyone around here knows that. They also know not to mess with me. Wanna hazard a guess as to why that is?"
I expected a witty retort but the kid 's eyes were growing darker by the minute, his lips thin and bloodless. I wouldn't have crossed him then, despite my having a good sixty pounds over him. He looked like he was about to go bananas. Whatever that face of his was saying, Daisy was encouraged by it. She was grinning from ear to ear, big coffee and nicotine-stained teeth gleaming dully, her face mere inches from the kid.
" Give me the book back," the boy replied tonelessly.
Ralphie had suddenly become interested in the little scene ever since the book had landed on his stovetop. When he heard the kid ask for the book, he winced and swept it off the griddle and onto the floor, where it lay in a smoldering heap, edges blackened and curled. Daisy, who ordinarily would have pissed petroleum at such a mutinous move, seemed oblivious to everything but the boy 's pale face.
Ralphie looked at me. I shrugged.
"People who mess with Daisy McFarlane tend to wind up in hospital," Daisy was saying. "We tend to favor only polite folk in here and any fool who swaggers through that door thinking he can act just as he pleases because a woman is behind the counter finds out the hard way that this is nineteen-eighty seven and not the Dark Ages. If he acts the dick,
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