The Final Rule Read Online Free PDF

coffee.
    When she left he said, “I know you two are hurting, and I know you want answers to all your questions. But getting those answers by twisting reality to suit your needs is not going to help you heal.” He looked at Ellis. “And you need to heal. You need to grieve. Don’t clog everything up with…” He waved a hand. “I’m sorry, Ellis. I’m sorry for you and Rudy. What happened was wrong and I’ll do everything I can to help make sure they put Lenny away.”
    “You’ll fail,” Ellis said.
    “I know it seems that way now—”
    “No. You’ll fail. You play by the rules, Lenny doesn’t. He is persuasive and people give him what he wants. Because of that, you’ll lose.”
    George sat back. To Jon, he said, “I know you mean well. And I don’t think you’re doing this out of cruelty, but I think you need to take a good long look at what you’re doing.” He nodded at Ellis. “Especially to him.” George slid out of the booth and picked up his jacket. “I’m going to head home. You two be careful. It’s supposed to get cold tonight. If it rains it’ll probably snow.” He took some money out of his wallet and laid it on the table. “I know the snow here is nothing like what they have in DC, but that’s why people underestimate how dangerous it can be. So drive safe, you hear?”
    “Yes, sir, “Ellis said.
    Jon held George’s gaze for a moment. Disappointment shadowed his eyes along with unspoken words. “If you love this man don’t hurt him like this.” Jon nodded and George left.
    Ellis pulled apart the remnants of his burger and ate the pickles stuck to the bun. Jon rubbed his forehead. What if all this was nothing more than his fucked up PTSD brain creating excuses? George was right. Evil was an act, not an entity, and the dead did not come back to visit the living. Dreams were nothing more than what they were, indigestion in the human mind as it tried to process the day.
    Being wrong didn’t frighten Jon. Hell, being crazy didn’t even bother him. The idea that he might hurt Ellis, however, left him frozen.
    But if he was right, then getting rid of Lenny wasn’t going to end this.
    And for Ellis’s sake, and maybe for a lot of other innocent lives, he needed to find out what was happening in Gilford.
    It was, after all, rule number six.
    ********
    Just as Jon cranked up the car, Ellis said, “Would you mind if we got a hotel?” He stared out the window. The dash lights highlighted his profile in green.
    Jon found Ellis’s hand and held it.
    “I need to think and I can’t think when I’m at home.”
    “We can do that.”
    “I know it’s a lot. I know I wanted to go home before…I still want to now, but…”
    “You don’t have to explain.” Jon understood the need to return to what was familiar and, at the same time, the need to run away from it to save your sanity. If only there was a way to get answers. But that would take finding someone who had them. Someone who knew some history on the land and was willing to talk.
    “Do you know if there’s a way we can find out information on those investors who own the property?”
    “Why?”
    Jon backed out of the parking spot and headed to the street. He’d seen a hotel on their way to the restaurant, now it was just a matter of remembering where. Or maybe he’d imagined it like everything else.
    “Jon?”
    “It was just an idea. I thought maybe if we could talk to someone who owned it, we might get some insight. If nothing else, they could confirm whether or not we’re just bat-shit crazy.”
    “You could probably find out from the tax assessor’s office. George would know who to ask.”
    “I think if I bring this up again, he’ll punch me.” Jon stopped at the red light and waited for traffic to clear so he could take a right.
    “No, he wouldn’t.”
    “I don’t know, Ellis, he’s pretty protective of you.”
    “There’s no reason for him to protect me from you.”
    “There is if he thinks I’m