“Shhhhh . . . you’re dying. You might as well not fight it,” Eddie said, bending down and gripping his flailing arms. Even though the wound on his head was still gushing with blood, he could see that his face was turning blue underneath. The trucker collapsed to the floor, and his twitching body stopped moving.
Eddie stood up straight and took a deep breath—a sense of relief just washed over him. All of the tension and rage seemed to dissipate for a few fleeting moments. He looked down at the pathetic excuse of a corpse at his feet. Eddie winced—his knee was still in pain after Ness’ kick. He examined his knee and could feel there was underlying swelling and damage to the cartilage. He shook his head at the hindrance but was still impressed with her tenacity.
Eddie stopped pressing his knee and looked back at the trucker. He needed to get rid of the body. Eddie bent down and gripped the corpse beneath his armpits and dragged him into one of the stalls. Even though he weighed well over 300 pounds, Eddie still managed to easily manipulate him. He placed him on one of the toilets and leaned his head back so the remainder of the blood would drip onto the toilet and not onto the floor. He removed his phone, wallet, and keys from his jacket pockets. Eddie closed the door of the stall and used his pocketknife to lock it. he wiped down anything that he possibly touched and wiped the blood off the floor. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but once he left here, he would disappear for good. The waitress would barely remember him come the evening rush.
Eddie walked out of the bathroom and sat back down in his booth. The waitress was still busy somewhere, so he waited patiently now that he felt better. He looked around outside and wondered which truck was his and what possible items he might find inside. He smiled at himself.
A few minutes later, the waitress brought him his plate of food. “Fried eggs, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, beans, and french fries. I hope you like it!” she said as she started walking away.
“Oh, sorry.” Eddie piped up, making her turn around.
“Yes, darlin’?”
“Could I bother you for a fresh cup? A bug flew into this one and bugs kinda freak me out,” he said in a most charming manner.
“Sure thing,” the waitress smiled and grabbed his cup for him to get him a fresh one. Eddie started eating breakfast, and he was pleasantly surprised at the flavors. He devoured the eggs, bacon, and mushrooms, and then ate the french fries and beans afterward. He was completely stuffed by the time he made it to the sausages.
The waitress brought him his fresh cup of coffee. “There you go, darlin’,” she smiled broadly.
“Thank you. Would it be alright if I took the sausages with me? I’d love to eat them on the road,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Sure thing, I’ll just wrap those up for you,” she said and took the plate away with her. A few moments later she came back with his doggie bag.
“Thank you,” Eddie said, handing her a $50 bill. “Keep the change.”
“That’s mighty generous of you. Thank you, darlin’. I wish we had customers like you in here more regularly,” she smiled broadly. “No, you don’t.” Eddie laughed at his personal joke.
“By the way, have you seen the chubby guy that was harassing you a little while ago?” the waitress asked.
“I think he hit the crapper. He was complaining about indigestion on his way there.”
“Oh, best leave him to it then,” the waitress laughed. “Have a nice day darlin’ and travel safe.”
“I shall do so. Thank you for the wonderful meal.” Eddie smiled at her and walked out.
He walked straight to the trucker’s cab that he believed was his and unlocked the door. But Eddie was thrown back by a vicious German Shepherd. “Woah, boy. take it easy.” The hound continued to snarl at him. Eddie opened the bag with the sausages and held it higher for the dog above him to see, “Come on, boy. You hungry?”
The German Shepherd stopped growling and started drooling instead. He hopped out the cab and sat right in front of Eddie. Eddie held the sausage out to the dog who tentatively took it and then wolfed it down.
“Good boy. Here’s another one,” Eddie held out his hand, and the dog took it gently from him. “How about you and I take a little trip?” Eddie smiled and called the dog into the backseat of his Contour. He started the car and started driving toward North Utica.
26
Eddie parked his car in a shady spot at North Utica’s Presbyterian Hospital and cracked a few windows before he climbed out of the car. “I’ll be back in a jiff,” he said to the German Shepherd, who was obviously used to being in a vehicle because he’d already passed out on the back seat.
Eddie climbed out of the vehicle and walked toward the main entrance. He wasn’t entirely sure which hospital Lindsay would have been brought to, but this one was nearest to their house. He walked through the front doors of the main entrance, and he could see that there were many people moving about, making it much easier to blend in, especially if Ness or Wyatt were around.
