Poison Town Read Online Free PDF Page B

it?”
    “No, man, I’m just being real. Marriage is tough. You gotta give, give, give—and not expect a whole lot back. And then when you have kids … look out.”
    Jack knew he had it good. Pam was special and beautiful. She still struggled with fear and paranoia handed down from her mother, but she was generous and compassionate. She did for others, all the time. She was a true gift from God.
    “Man, I’ll be honest,” said Derrick in a rare serious moment. He glanced around with those big brown eyes and shiny black retro glasses, making sure no one else was listening. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m ready, if I have the maturity—not only to be a good husband, but a good dad. I’m one selfish dog.”
    “Dude, that’s half the battle right there, realizing you’re selfish. We all are. At least you know it and can work on it.”
    “That doesn’t come easy for me—or Z.”
    Jack was about to “say something Christian,” but he stopped before he made a hypocrite of himself. After all, where was the Spirit five minutes ago when he belittled Pam for caring about the well-being of a mixed-up individual whose rotten misdeeds she was willing to overlook in hopes that he might find God?
    “Me either,” Jack said. “We’re all a work in progress … And speaking of work, I gotta get busy.”
    As Derrick hung his coat and began unloading his bag, Jack bent over, elbows on knees, staring at the gray carpet beneath his desk. At one time in his life, he would have taken a minute to pray, but as fast as that thought came, it went, run over by a freight train of revulsion toward Granger and apprehension about his family’s safety.
    He had a problem.
    But that was just how it was—he was powerless against it.
    Or had he made a calculated decision to deny God’s way? Was it really his pride that had convinced him this was his right—to harbor bitterness toward the demon who had invaded their lives?
    But he was right to be cautious—and vigilant. It was his job as husband and father to protect his family.
    That’s why he’d bought the gun the day Granger got out.
    For protection.
    Who could blame him?
    But Pam still doesn’t know.
    And that was another problem: it was getting easier and easier to lie.

Chapter 4
    A gob of money must have gone into furnishing the plush waiting area near ICU, where Travis sat on a hard, shiny leather chair, squinting at his worn-out notepad, making calls to clients. He gave the same explanation to each: his father was out of commission; there’d be a delay in getting their vehicles fixed.
    His nephew, Bo, was slumped on a big comfy couch, blasting away at some shoot-’em-up game on his handheld, black earbuds stuffed in his ears. At seventeen he was tall and lanky, had shaved his black hair to the scalp, wore low-riding baggy jeans, silver chain, the works. LJ, who should have been curbing his son’s time on that idiot box, stood staring out the window at the end of the hall.
    Travis figured that the hospital made the ICU area extra cozy because the people who were waiting there were nervous and worried, suffering, probably doing some grieving. A large old woman across the room looked sick with sorrow.
    He licked his fingers and leafed through the little notepad till he found Jack Crittendon’s cell number.
    “Jack, I’m real sorry, but your Jetta ain’t gonna be ready till tomorrow or the next day. Daddy took a turn for the worse today. Me and LJ and Bo’s all at the hospital.”
    “No worries about the car. What’s going on with Galen?” Jack said.
    It still didn’t seem real to Travis. “It’s a long story. He’s stable now, but all we know is he was poisoned.”
    “Poisoned? You mean food poisoning?”
    “I wish. He was drugged on purpose, through his IV.”
    “ What ? By who? What kind of poison?”
    “I saw a man leave his room. The police got here right away. They’re working with hospital security, checking all the video cameras. Only a trace made it into