The Secret Manuscript Read Online Free PDF Page A

days of petty larceny and vandalism behind him.
Either the security guard did not mention the assault, the police
officer forgot about it, or he simply ignored it. Regardless, Ben
was happy to catch a break.
    Ben proceeded
to the processing clerk to obtain his personal effects — one pocket
knife, a wallet with identification, roughly $200 in small bills,
and one really expensive watch. Now with the bit of money he had
looted from the apartments, Ben could at least afford to feed
himself for the next few days until he received his paycheque.
    Ben stepped
outside as a free man, but figured his freedom was temporary.
Surely it was only a matter of time before tenants were allowed
access into their apartments to gather the rest of their things.
Once they realized their apartments had been robbed, Ben would
likely be the prime suspect. He did not want to remain in Cold Lake
and wait for the RCMP to arrest him again so the only option seemed
to be leaving town for good. However, given his circumstances, that
did not seem like a viable option.

Chapter
Eight
    Given that it
was nine o’clock in the morning and his shift started at eight, Ben
thought for sure he would be fired. He ran inside Ray’s Grocery
store as if shaving a few extra seconds off his tardiness would
somehow matter. Considering the store was usually empty in the
morning, he figured his manager would go easy on him.
    The store was
small and not an easy place to hide from someone, but when Ben
walked in, Chad was nowhere in sight. Ben rushed through the store
and into the stocking area where he donned his apron and began to
work. He was greeted by a few coworkers and was in the middle of
explaining why he was late when Chad burst through the back
doors.
    “B.O., you’re
late,” Chad said.
    “I know, my
apartment burned down early on Saturday morning and I was in the
hospital. I came in as soon as I could.”
    “I don’t see
any burn marks on you.”
    “Fortunately,
I made it out okay, but I suffered severe smoke-inhalation damage.
They wanted to keep me for observation and I—”
    “Look, I don’t
want to hear your excuses, okay? Work is work, and when I schedule
you to be here, I expect you to be here.”
    “Okay, you’re
right. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
    “That’s right,
because you’re fired.”
    “What? No,
please don’t do this. Chad, I just lost everything, I need this
job.”
    “I’m sorry,
Ben, but rules are rules. Do you know what would happen if there
were no consequences for our actions? There would be chaos. As a
manager, it’s my job to ensure there’s order, and that operations
run smoothly. How do you expect things to run smoothly when one of
my employees decides to take the morning off without notice?”
    “I
didn’t—”
    “I’ll tell you
what,” Chad said smugly. “As it turns out, a position for a
stock-boy just opened up, but for minimum wage.”
    “Come on,
Chad, please. I’ve worked here for three years.”
    “You should be
lucky you have a job.”
    Ben did not
say anything since he had no leverage to negotiate. Feeling
powerless and humiliated, he accepted Chad’s patronizing offer, and
went back to work. As soon as Chad left, a few concerned coworkers
asked him how he was doing. He offered them a few details, but for
the most part kept his head down to avoid being on Chad’s
radar.
    A few hours
into his shift, his stomach began to growl. He had not had anything
substantial to eat all day, but since he worked in a grocery store,
Ben was surrounded by food. Sometimes a box of granola bars would
get damaged or a package of muffins would pass its expiry date.
Instead of having it go to waste, the owner let employees take it
home. Ben had been eating stale granola bars all morning and
desperately wanted some fresh fruit.
    Stacking boxes
of shiny red apples, Ben casually looked around. As it was
typically the case, there was no one else around. He picked out one
of the apples and slipped it into the