The Big Finish Read Online Free PDF Page B

wore her blond hair cropped in a scruffy pixie apparently meant to project a just-rolled-out-of-the-sack look.
    She ran Island Treasures, a gift shop in Tavernier, a tiny space crammed with goofy seashell geegaws and row upon row of customized bongs. She created them at a hobby table at the rear of the store. Each was covered in peace symbols and flashy plastic beadwork. Patchouli or sandalwood incense burned in every corner of the space. If you weren’t stoned when you entered Tina’s store, you were at least a little dizzy when you left.
    “I’m going with you guys,” she said to Thorn. “Sugar called to tell me he was driving north and I asked could I come along, and my sweetie said yes.”
    “As far as Jacksonville,” Sugar said, shooting Thorn a conciliatory look. “Tina’s got an aunt in the hospital up there. So I volunteered to give her a lift.”
    Thorn said sure. No problem.
    “What’s the big mystery?” she whispered to Thorn as he was settling his gym bag in the trunk of Sugar’s Honda. There was a full-size army duffel taking up most of the cargo space. “Come on, Sugar won’t tell me a thing.”
    “It’s a secret,” Thorn said.
    “I hate secrets. They aggravate my hormones, make me sweat like a camel.”
    “We’ll stop and get you a bag of frozen peas. I hear that helps.”
    She brayed with laughter.
    “And some of the girls say what a grumpy stick-in-the-mud you are. But no, you’re funny, Thorn. You’re a regular riot.”
    “Maybe three bags of frozen peas. One for each of us.”
    She rode shotgun, casting looks at Thorn in the mirror in her sun visor. Smiling at him, mugging, trying to get him to loosen up. It didn’t work.
    As they hit the nightmare of Miami traffic, Tina cleared her throat and sat up straight, ready for an announcement.
    “I know what the mystery is. It’s your son, Thorn. Flynn Moss.”
    Sugarman’s foot came off the gas for a moment, and Tina said, “Bingo.”
    “What makes you think that?” Thorn said.
    “It adds up,” she said. “Everyone knows what happened with the power plant and Flynn. Then he disappeared. Now you two are off on a mysterious road trip. It’s just two plus two. Anybody could figure it out. And the postcards.”
    “Postcards?” Thorn said. “What postcards?”
    “Julia Jackson—you know, Thorn. Works in the library, cute, with lavender hair. She works in my shop on weekends. We were talking and she said you’re always at her computers, a picture postcard on the desk in front of you and you’re Googling this and that. Looking at maps and photographs and newspaper stories. So we figured it was about your boy. He’s sending you messages and you’re checking up on him.”
    Thorn looked out at the traffic. Sugarman said nothing. Driving with full concentration.
    “Now don’t start thinking I’m a gossip,” Tina said. “It’s just the coconut telegraph. You hear things, you can’t help it.”
    Thorn tightened his seat belt, settled back into the seat.
    “Oh, okay. I guessed your secret, so now I get the silent treatment. I’m not welcome. You want to dump me on the side of the road.”
    “We’re taking you to Jacksonville,” Sugar said.
    “You sure you don’t want to talk about Flynn? I could give you a woman’s point of view, help you out with whatever the problem is.”
    “Kind of you to ask,” Thorn said. “But no thanks.”
    They drove in silence while Tina fiddled with the radio until she found a talk show and turned up the volume. Some blowhard was ranting about the president, ridiculing him for his lies and failures and corruption. They listened to the rant for several minutes, Thorn trying and failing to tune the guy out.
    “Maybe some music,” Sugarman said.
    “Hey, I need my fix of straight talk,” Tina said. “You’re just biased against political discourse.”
    “Is that what that is? It sounds like hate speech.”
    Tina turned around to face Thorn.
    “Me and Sugar have these arguments.