wouldn’t shoot him.
The man made a fist with his right hand, but then he shrugged and
eased off. He wrapped up his wife’s sandwich in a napkin, slowly,
deliberately and then glanced at Cyril.
“ And you might want to look
into growing a sack, buddy. Comes in handy from time to
time.”
“ Go now,” Willow said, just
below a shout.
The man left the diner just as the
waitress made it to their table.
“ Is there any trouble?” she
asked.
“ That guy was a little off
the wall,” Willow said.
“ We get some odd ones in
here. You know, right off the highway. Had a guy a few years back
who walked in with an owl on his shoulder. Live owl. Why won’t you serve me and my
owl ?”
Cyril turned to Willow.
“ It’s a good thing we left
our owl in the car,” he said.
The waitress enjoyed that; she liked
Cyril but was undecided about Willow.
“ We had a sign up for a
while— No bare feet, No fighting, No
owls ,” the waitress said, “but it got
stolen.”
“ Of course it did,” Willow
said. “I’d steal a sign like that.”
The waitress walked away, not entirely
convinced that Willow hadn’t been the source of all the
trouble.
CHAPTER 21
Marcus saw the car, the brown Toyota
with Delaware plates, parked alone in the corner of the lot. It was
visible from the restaurant, but Marcus figured if he took the long
way around no one in the restaurant would notice him. He walked
behind a pickup truck and then stopped, peeking over into the diner
to see if anyone was looking. This was stupid, he realized,
slinking around made him look like he was up to something. Just
stride across the parking lot, slap the tracker on the car and keep
walking. When he walked out from behind the truck he saw a woman
standing on the other side. She was dressed like a hippie, and she
held a swaddled baby in her arms.
“ Where are you coming from?” she
asked.
“ Nowhere,
really.”
“ You just appeared out of
the dark. Nearly scared the life out of me,” she said, but she
didn’t seem scared in the least. “God damned Sasquatch shows up on
foot. Can you help me out?”
“ With what?”
“ A few dollars. We need to
get a place to sleep, to shower. You know, a room rather than just
sleeping in a car on the side of the road.”
“ I’ve got nothing.
Sorry.”
“ You just appear in a rest
stop—no car, no warning?”
“ Yes.”
Now he had no choice but to walk into
the restaurant. They wouldn’t know his face. He could walk in,
order something, use the bathroom, then walk out and slap the
tracker on? Did that sound suspicious?
“ Please can you help me,”
the woman continued. “I’m out here with a newborn baby. I’ve got to
get her out to California. That’s where my sister lives. She can
give me a hand.”
“ You’re out here all alone?
Just you and the baby?”
“ Yeah.”
“ You just drive with him in
the back? For days and days?”
“ She—her name’s
Maisey.”
“ You’re going to drive a
thousand miles with her?”
“ Unless you’ve got a better
way to do it. Please, it’s really hard. Anything you can
spare.”
Marcus had a soft spot for beseeching
women. He reached into his wallet—one fifty dollar bill for
emergencies, one ten, a few singles, and some change. He handed her
the singles and the change, but she’d seen the fifty.
“ Thank you,” she said,
“you’re a very generous person. Hey, do you like to
party?”
“ What do you mean by
that?”
“ What do you
think?”
“ I’m just going to get a
little something to eat.”
“ I’ll do what I can to
support this kid. You understand what I’m saying?”
They stood in silence for about half a
minute, the woman smiling assertively.
“ How about you give me that
fifty I saw or I start yelling that you’re making rude comments and
licking yourself while I’m trying to breastfeed?”
This was bad—it was the last of his
real money. But Marcus reminded himself that they were almost
there: tag the car,
The man made a fist with his right hand, but then he shrugged and
eased off. He wrapped up his wife’s sandwich in a napkin, slowly,
deliberately and then glanced at Cyril.
“ And you might want to look
into growing a sack, buddy. Comes in handy from time to
time.”
“ Go now,” Willow said, just
below a shout.
The man left the diner just as the
waitress made it to their table.
“ Is there any trouble?” she
asked.
“ That guy was a little off
the wall,” Willow said.
“ We get some odd ones in
here. You know, right off the highway. Had a guy a few years back
who walked in with an owl on his shoulder. Live owl. Why won’t you serve me and my
owl ?”
Cyril turned to Willow.
“ It’s a good thing we left
our owl in the car,” he said.
The waitress enjoyed that; she liked
Cyril but was undecided about Willow.
“ We had a sign up for a
while— No bare feet, No fighting, No
owls ,” the waitress said, “but it got
stolen.”
“ Of course it did,” Willow
said. “I’d steal a sign like that.”
The waitress walked away, not entirely
convinced that Willow hadn’t been the source of all the
trouble.
CHAPTER 21
Marcus saw the car, the brown Toyota
with Delaware plates, parked alone in the corner of the lot. It was
visible from the restaurant, but Marcus figured if he took the long
way around no one in the restaurant would notice him. He walked
behind a pickup truck and then stopped, peeking over into the diner
to see if anyone was looking. This was stupid, he realized,
slinking around made him look like he was up to something. Just
stride across the parking lot, slap the tracker on the car and keep
walking. When he walked out from behind the truck he saw a woman
standing on the other side. She was dressed like a hippie, and she
held a swaddled baby in her arms.
“ Where are you coming from?” she
asked.
“ Nowhere,
really.”
“ You just appeared out of
the dark. Nearly scared the life out of me,” she said, but she
didn’t seem scared in the least. “God damned Sasquatch shows up on
foot. Can you help me out?”
“ With what?”
“ A few dollars. We need to
get a place to sleep, to shower. You know, a room rather than just
sleeping in a car on the side of the road.”
“ I’ve got nothing.
Sorry.”
“ You just appear in a rest
stop—no car, no warning?”
“ Yes.”
Now he had no choice but to walk into
the restaurant. They wouldn’t know his face. He could walk in,
order something, use the bathroom, then walk out and slap the
tracker on? Did that sound suspicious?
“ Please can you help me,”
the woman continued. “I’m out here with a newborn baby. I’ve got to
get her out to California. That’s where my sister lives. She can
give me a hand.”
“ You’re out here all alone?
Just you and the baby?”
“ Yeah.”
“ You just drive with him in
the back? For days and days?”
“ She—her name’s
Maisey.”
“ You’re going to drive a
thousand miles with her?”
“ Unless you’ve got a better
way to do it. Please, it’s really hard. Anything you can
spare.”
Marcus had a soft spot for beseeching
women. He reached into his wallet—one fifty dollar bill for
emergencies, one ten, a few singles, and some change. He handed her
the singles and the change, but she’d seen the fifty.
“ Thank you,” she said,
“you’re a very generous person. Hey, do you like to
party?”
“ What do you mean by
that?”
“ What do you
think?”
“ I’m just going to get a
little something to eat.”
“ I’ll do what I can to
support this kid. You understand what I’m saying?”
They stood in silence for about half a
minute, the woman smiling assertively.
“ How about you give me that
fifty I saw or I start yelling that you’re making rude comments and
licking yourself while I’m trying to breastfeed?”
This was bad—it was the last of his
real money. But Marcus reminded himself that they were almost
there: tag the car,
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