The Grove Read Online Free PDF

on the table.
    “You need anything else right now?”
    I stared at my plate and a single chunk of ham, pink and steaming, trapped in the yellow omelet.
    My stomach twisted.
    “You doing OK?”
    I nodded. The last thing I wanted was to come into town and draw attention to myself. I squeezed my fists tight, then looked up and smiled.
    “Doing fine, thanks.”
    Megan hesitated, then said, “If you need anything else, just yell.”
    She started toward the old couple in the booth, but the woman behind the counter stopped her.
    “What’s your opinion? You think Jess ran off with her boyfriend?”
    Inside, I thanked her.
    The girl didn’t say anything for a moment; then she looked back at the kitchen and the man watching through the cook’s window.
    “I—I guess I don’t know.”
    “If anyone knows, it’ll be you,” the woman said. “I know you two talked.”
    “I don’t think she would’ve run off. I mean, she didn’t mention it to me.”
    The woman looked at me then pointed at the girl. “Secretive as cats, all of ’em.”
    The man in the kitchen cleared his throat and said, “Megan, give me a hand with something.”
    Megan slipped into the kitchen.
    This time I didn’t hear them talking, and I made a note of it.
    “Well, one thing’s for sure,” the woman said. “When she does show her face again, she’s going to have a lot of questions to answer.”
    I looked down at my omelet. The smell settled in the back of my throat, and something bitter rolled up to meet it. I had to eat. I couldn’t come in and order a meal and then leave it untouched, especially not after asking all kinds of questions. People would remember.
    I picked at the eggs, then took a bite. At first I thought it was going to come back up, but I forced it to stay down. A few minutes later I tried again. This time it was easier.
    The old couple paid their bill and walked, arm in arm, out to the parking lot.
    “Sweet,” the woman said after they’d gone. “Been married forever and still holding hands.”
    I ignored her and cut into the omelet. When I’d finished most of it, I folded my napkin over the rest and leaned back. The woman called for Megan, who came out and handed me my bill.
    “Didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” I said.
    She smiled, and I thought it was the fakest smile I’d ever seen.
    “You didn’t at all,” she said. “Can I get you anything else?”
    “You working all day?”
    She shook her head. “Just through lunch.” She picked up my plate and waited, then said. “More coffee or anything?”
    I shook my head and reached for my wallet.
    “Thanks for coming in.” She gave me the same smile again and walked away.
    I dropped a couple bucks on the table then took the bill to the front counter. The woman rang me up, and I told her they made the best omelets I’d ever tasted.
    She thanked me, then said, “Bring your wife next time. We haven’t seen you two together for quite a while.”
    I nodded. “I’ll definitely do that,” I said.
    And I almost meant it.

CHAPTER 8
     
    Louie’s Liquors didn’t open until eleven o’clock. I parked my truck across the street and sat with the windows down, watching the traffic. At exactly eleven, a neon OPEN sign blinked on in the window. I crossed the street to the front door and went inside.
    I came out with eight bottles of Johnny Walker and a case of Budweiser. I put all of it on the floor in front of the passenger seat, then took one of the Johnny Walker bottles from the bag.
    It was ten after eleven and I figured Megan wouldn’t get off work for a few hours. If I wanted to see where she went, who she saw, and what she did, I’d have to wait. And judging by the way she’d acted in the café, I had a good idea she knew something.
    I considered going home for a few hours until her shift ended, but if I did I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t make it back to town.
    I thought about my options for a while then capped the bottle, started my truck, and