The Hollow Tree at Dead Mule Swamp Read Online Free PDF Page B

free. Bud chalked the cues. I spent
the next hour leaning against a dirty wall watching Bert show off some of his
best swagger. It was almost nauseating to keep raising an eyebrow, smiling,
winking, chuckling at stupid jokes, and praising the man for good shots, but I
did learn that Bert was going out of town on Wednesday on some sort of delivery
job.
    He tried to convince me to stay
longer, but I said I was tired, which was certainly no lie. I was plenty tired
of Bert. It concerned me a little bit that I'd told him where I lived, but it
wasn't like my address was any secret around town.
    Now I understood more about why
people were reluctant to make any complaints about Bert. He was handsome and
personable, even if not my style. If Dee was grossly overweight and ill, people
probably felt sorry for Bert. As long as there was no obvious evidence of
abuse, no one was going to stick out his or her neck. Couple that with Adele's
assertion about his temper, and it all made sense. It wasn't right, but it made
sense.
     
    Jimmie was unlikely to visit on
Sunday, since Harold's Scrap Yard wasn't open that day. After church (which
seemed cleansing after my evening in the bar with Bert), I called Cora and
asked her if she'd like to meet Jimmie on Tuesday. She was emotional with
anticipation but tried not to let me know how strongly she felt about Jimmie.
To give her something more mundane to discuss, I suggested that we fix a nice
lunch. Since Cora likes to cook and bake, this turned out to be a great idea. I
tried to get her to let me bring some food, but she wouldn't hear of it. She
did agree to let me do the shopping, since she doesn't drive. As a result, I
ended up with a list of groceries to buy on Monday.
    There was one thing left to do that
day. I sat down with my code key and laboriously printed out a note for Jimmie,
telling him I could take him to see some family pictures on Tuesday. I
suggested he come in the house tomorrow and talk to me about it.
     
    Monday was Memorial Day, and the
small town of Cherry Hill was preparing to celebrate in a humble way. I didn’t
yet feel connected to the community enough to care to watch the small parade
that was scheduled to take place in the early afternoon,
    Luckily, Volger’s Grocery was open
in the morning, catering to people who had forgotten to buy their picnic
supplies. There, I bought the ingredients for sloppy joes, plus potato chips,
some vegetables to cut up, dip, and ice cream. It seemed like a simple menu,
but a safe one to please a hungry boy.
    "Put that ice cream back in
the freezer for a minute," Adele said. "I want to talk to you."
    I didn't mind the order, because I
was confident Adele had enough influence with the right groups to actually get
Jimmy and Dee some help. "What's up?"
    "You left right after the service
yesterday," she accused.
    "I didn't have any reason to
stay longer." I didn't understand what the problem was.
    "This is a small town. When
you are trying to get things done, you have to spend time talking with the
people who can help you."
    "Did I offend someone?"
It sounded like I'd offended Adele, for sure.
    "I wanted to introduce you to
Glenn Erickson."
    "Who's he?"
    "He's the head of the local
Habitat for Humanity group, that's who! He doesn't come to Crossroads all the
time." She added as an aside, "His wife is Lutheran."
    "Are you thinking we might get
a house for Jimmie and his mom?"
    "Exactly! But we'd have to get
Dee to agree to leave that bloodsucker Bert. We're not building any houses for
him! I don't know anyone who is friends with Dee, though."
    "I haven't even met her."
    "But you're so good at
figuring out how to get things done," she wheedled.
    "I'll think about it," I
said.
    "You are thinking about a lot
of things, Ana. Better make up your mind."
    I rolled my eyes, retrieved the ice
cream and headed for Cora's house on Brown Trout Lane.
     
    Cora was in a dither. Other times
I'd spent with her, she'd always been calm and organized, but she was