Adios Angel Read Online Free PDF Page A

all.  Anyway, she works in the
principal’s office and every mornin’ after they get the attendance, that’s one
of her jobs, which sorta surprises me because she was never very organized,
they send her down here for donuts for the teacher’s lounge.  I swear teachers
eat more donuts than anyone.  Don’t you think?”
    The rat-a-tat machine gun answer gave Sheriff Hanks a
reason to smile as he glanced down at his protruding belly.  Doreen kept firing
away.
    “Well, almost everyone that is, present company
excluded, when it comes to donuts.  So when she didn’t show up on time, she’s
always here at eight fifty-five on the nose, always on time that gal, never
organized but always prompt, even knew exactly when her monthly was coming,
that’s why I’m surprised she got knocked up.   Now that I think about it, she
musta’ wanted a baby with or without a daddy that might hang around for the
duration.  That Schmid boy, he’s the father, I hear tell he’s already outta the
picture. Joined up with Uncle Sam is what I heard.  Well, when she didn’t show,
I called up there and no one answered the phone in Principal Newlin’s office. 
That seemed sort of strange, dontcha’ think?” Zeb nodded. “Why wouldn’t anyone
be at the school?  Well, I put the phone down and called again, figurin’ maybe
the attendance was takin’ longer than usual or the phones were tied up callin’
parents about kids who didn’t show up to see if they were really sick.  That’s
one of her jobs too. She does a bunch a weird stuff.  No answer agin’.  So I
got to thinkin’…”
    “Uh-oh, thinking might mean trouble,” interjected Zeb.
    “Oh hush up yer mouth.  I got to thinkin’ maybe I got
the wrong number?  I knew I didn’t but I looked it up in the phone book
anyways.  Funny how when somethin don’t feel right we stop trustin’ ourselves
first, ain’t it Zeb?   I mean why on God’s green earth would I think I had
somethin’ screwed up?”
    “I hadn’t thought about it quite like you just
explained.  But, I suppose you’re right.”
    Zeb beamed with a new found personal pride.  He might
have finally learned to never disagree with a woman when she is making a
point.   Just maybe he was learning about women in general, Doreen in
particular.
    “Anyway, then I got to thinkin’ that about five
minutes earlier I seen ol’ Josh Diamond in his pickup truck, with them
bloodhounds of his, headin’ up the school road.  Right away I got to thinkin’--bomb
threat.”
    “Hold on a sec, Doe.  That’s some mighty fast
figuring.  How come you thought that?   You know he trains those dogs out
toward the Mount.  He could have just been on his way out there.”
    “Nope.  For sure nope.  When he’s headed up trainin’
on the Mount, he always stops by for a large coffee and some meat scraps for
the dogs.  Besides he was speedin’ and that good ol’ boy never moves that
fast.”
    “You got him pegged on that one.”
    “Both you and Jake told me Josh was a dog and
demolitions expert durin’ both his military and border patrol time.  All hell
and tarnation should become me if I couldnta’ put something that obvious
together.  What do I look like anyway?   Some sort of ditzoid lamebrain?”
    Zeb looked at the lovely, crazy women who would soon
be his wife.  He knew of no other human being who so succinctly verbalized what
went on inside her head.  Not even a child could do it so well.
    “Then about five minutes later ol’ Mrs. Cordoli comes
in and tells me every kid at the high school is standin’ out on the football
field.  She says she seen your car is up there too.  She seen it pull up with
yer’ cherry spinnin’ and yer siren whoop whoopin’ away. Coffee?”
    “How about a Pepto Bismol, straight up?”
    “Yer stomach still barkin’ back atcha?  I thought you
said it was all better.  You been holdin’ the truth back on me?”
    “Too much coffee on an empty