The Secret Manuscript Read Online Free PDF

pocket of his hoody. Then he
went over to a shipment of bananas that had just arrived, took out
his box cutter, and ran it along the seam of the box. He reached
in, snapped two bananas from a bunch, and concealed them in his
apron.
    During his
fifteen-minute break, Ben stepped out back to where some employees
would typically congregate, but this time he was alone. He reached
into his sweatshirt pocket and took out the apple. In an effort to
clean it, he rubbed it a few times on his shirt before taking a big
bite. As he chomped down, his mouth was filled with nourishing
juices. To him, an apple never tasted more delicious. It was
something he had previously taken for granted. Before he could sink
his teeth into the apple for a second time, he heard an angry voice
yelling at him.
    “B.O.!” Chad
shouted.
    Ben was so
startled that he nearly dropped the apple. He could feel the blood
rush to his face as his anxiety rose. He thought for sure he had
been caught.
    “What do you
think you’re doing?”
    “I... uhh…”
Ben didn’t know what to say. Showing up late was one thing, but
stealing would certainly be grounds for dismissal. A medley of
feelings consumed him; the most prominent being guilt, regret, and
hunger.
    “You must not
want this job,” Chad began his tirade. “I hire you back after
showing up over two hours late, and now I catch you slacking off.
Eat your apple on your own time. Get back to work!”
    “But I’m on my
break.”
    “You don’t get
a break, not today.”
    Chad gave Ben
a dirty look and shook his head in disappointment. He turned around
and went back inside. Before he was fully in, he turned back around
to face Ben. Ben was prepared for the worst — another tongue
lashing, or perhaps he changed his mind and was going to fire him.
Instead, he said, “By the way, some man was in here looking for
you.”
    “What
man?”
    “I don’t know,
I told him you were busy and were not allowed to have any
visitors.”
    “Was he an
older man?” Ben asked.
    “Listen, I’m
not going to play twenty questions with you. Here, he left you his
card.” Chad extended his arm to give Ben the card. When Ben went to
accept the card, Chad flung it at him. The card hit Ben in the
chest and fell to the ground.
    “Don’t let me
catch you calling him on company time either.”
    Chad walked
away, leaving Ben to pick the card up from the ground. After Chad
left, Ben picked up the card and turned it over. Printed with
simple black letters on a white card was the name:
    Carl Saunders –
Process Server
    Saunders &
Associates
    A process
server? Ben thought. What would a process server want with
me?
    Ben had a
limited knowledge of the law, but knew a process server was a
person who delivered documents for a law firm, typically when
someone gets sued. Am I being sued? he asked himself. His
imagination ran wild. The most logical explanation for a process
server contacting him was due to the fire. Perhaps some insurance
company was looking to settle, or someone was putting together a
class action lawsuit. The other logical, albeit unlikely
possibility, was that he was being sued, but he could not think of
a single person who would sue him. Besides, suing him would be
pointless since he had nothing left.
    Ben put the
card in his pocket and finished the remainder of his shift. When it
was time for him to go, he punched out and snuck out the back to
avoid Chad.

Chapter Nine
    It was shortly
after 4:00 p.m. when Ben arrived at the plain office building in
the business district of the small town. He entered through the
front doors and approached the building’s directory. With the
business card in his hand, he looked at the name once again, and
then checked for it on the list. Saunders & Associates was
located on the eighth floor.
    Ben entered
the old elevator and rode it to the top floor. The doors opened and
he stepped out into a drab hallway with a low ceiling. Something
about the place made his stomach churn. He felt