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“You go back in now. I’ll come in another door and we’ll take it from there.”
She nodded, and then slipped back around the building and went in the side door.
Tate circled the gym and went back in the front door as if he was just arriving.
* * *
Hershel entered the gym just as Peg came out of the office.
“Oh, good, a pair of strong arms. Do you have time to help me?” she asked.
“Sure. Lead the way,” he said, keeping an eye out for Benton, but he was nowhere in sight.
Peg pointed him toward the back door. “Help the other guys finish unloading. It’s all baby formula and diaper donations. The driver is on a tight schedule to get the rest of it downriver. They’re as hard hit as Queens Crossing is.”
This is how you need to be living—helping others. You have to quit this need for revenge. I don’t like it.
He ignored Louise’s yapping and jumped in to help. The next time he looked up, he saw Nola and Laura sitting in a corner talking and laughing, but still no sign of Benton.
A couple of minutes later, he spotted the man out in the gym drinking a bottle of pop and talking to some locals, and he reminded himself that the guy had grown up here. That was when it hit him that Benton wouldn’t actually stash a witness here, and it was a stupid assumption on his part.
As soon as he finished unloading, the truck driver signed off and drove away.
Leon walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Did you go to the press conference?”
Hershel nodded.
“What do you think about that Fed? Do you think he was lying? That Stormchaser has the sorry bastards jumping through hoops. He’s sharp as hell, that’s all I got to say.”
Hershel’s eyes widened in surprise. I’ve heard about people who get hard-ons for serial killers. It seems I have myself a fan.
Shame on you, Hershel! You should not be proud of the fact. What you’re doing is a sin and you know it!
Hershel ignored Louise and glanced at his watch. It was almost noon. Laura had already asked him to be on site late tonight to unload another shipment. He had half a mind to grab a burger and go back to his travel trailer to get some sleep when he saw Nola get up and leave the kitchen.
He watched her just because he knew she was a link to Benton and toyed with the idea of killing her, too, just to show the hotshot what real grief was about. He was still watching her when he noticed Benton separate himself from the people he’d been talking to and walk across the gym to meet her. Hershel’s eyes widened as he watched them embrace. Their kiss was brief, but a kiss was a kiss. He was still mulling over what he’d seen as he walked out of the gym.
He drove through town to the local café. Calling the place Eats didn’t show much creativity, but he knew from experience that while the food was basic, it was good. He walked in, nodding to the people he passed, and went straight to the register to put in an order to go.
“Hey there. I see you came back,” the waitress said.
Hershel smiled. “Good food always brings a hungry man back.”
She laughed. “Do you know what you want, or do you need to see a menu?”
“Burger and fries, and a piece of that apple pie to go, please.”
“You got it,” she said. “Do you want something to drink while you wait?”
You like a Pepsi with your burgers, Hershel. Order yourself a Pepsi.
He frowned. I can make my own decisions about what the hell I drink.
Don’t you curse me, Hershel Inman.
Go away, Louise. You’re dead. You don’t belong here anymore.