Alone, Book 3: The Journey Read Online Free PDF

Kansas City.
         But Dave had a stop to make first.
         It may have been the way the street signs were designed, with white lettering on a dark blue background. Or, maybe it was just that the stars didn’t allow enough reflective light on this dark night.
         Whatever was the case, Dave found it hard to read the street signs.
         So he went by memory and watched out for the Dairy Queen.
         He knew that the Dairy Queen was on the intersection of Military Drive and Zavala Avenue. He used to stop and get a banana split with the girls on Saturday afternoons, after he picked them up from their “young readers” meeting.
         At the Zavala Branch Library.
         Which was his destination and his last stop on his way out of town.
         But first things first.
         First, he allowed his mind to wander a bit.
         To that Dairy Queen, and to the banana split he always shared with the girls.
         They got one for the three of them. With three cherries. Lindsey sat across the table from Dave and Beth, and carefully used a plastic knife to cut the dessert into three sections.
         “Now you two be careful not to encroach on my section,” she always warned. “I don’t want any of your cooties.”
         The first time she’d uttered the warning, Dave had commented, “Now where on earth did you learn a word like ‘encroach?’”
         She’d replied, “Dad, I’m twelve now. I know words you’ve never even heard of.”
         Dave shot back, “Well, excuse me, Einstein,” causing little Beth to giggle.
         A few seconds later Beth gestured for Dave to lean close, so she could whisper in his ear, “Dad, what’s an Einstein?”
         Dave always requested three cherries so each of them could enjoy one.
         He smiled as he remembered how little Beth always managed to steal his.
         Her fail-proof method never varied. She would point out the window and say, “Dad, look! It’s a pterodactyl!”
         Dave would say, “Really? Where?”
         And he would divert his attention to the window, just long enough for Beth to steal his cherry and pop it into her mouth.
         Beth, convinced she’d gotten away with her evil scheme, would then apologize.
         “Oh, I’m sorry, Dad. I guess it was just a bird.”
         Beth would then snicker, Lindsey would roll her eyes, and Dave would wink at Lindsey.
         Just so at least one of his daughters realized he wasn’t the gullible old fool he appeared to be.
         Dave’s smile faded as the Dairy Queen came into view.
        Now he was back to business.
         He turned at the Dairy Queen and drove north another block to the public library.
         He’d have to go inside. And that provided his next predicament.
         Should he leave the vehicle running, in a strange neighborhood, or risk it not starting when he came back out?
         This time it was a no brainer.
         This time he wasn’t sure if he was spotted. And whether someone might be following his slow moving vehicle.
         He had no choice but to kill the engine and hope for the best.
         Luckily, the Ford Explorer was equipped with a higher ground clearance and oversized tires that gave it much better traction than most passenger vehicles.
         Traction to go off-road, as long as the terrain wasn’t too rugged or too muddy.
         Perfect for driving off the pavement of the library’s parking lot and around to the grassy field at the back of the building.
         At least if he had to tinker with it to get it running again, he’d be able to do so away from the prying eyes of anyone walking down the street in the front of the library.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
         As he suspected, the library had been broken into, but had barely been ransacked.
         The office areas at the front of the building