Linc decided not to ask how old the meat loaf was. He paid the tab and didn’t complain at the price, which seemed seriously inflated.
“About those directions?” Linc asked.
Ned took out the map the firefighter had drawn and spread it on the linoleum counter. The route from Cedar Cove to the Harding place looked pretty direct, and Linc didn’t know how he’d managed to get so confused.
“The King’s gonna set you straight,” the grouch told them.
“Good, because we are
“Big-time lost,” Ned added.
This was a point that did not need further emphasis. Linc would’ve preferred his brothers keep their mouths shut, but that wasn’t likely to happen.
“Okay, you’re here,” King informed them, drawing a circle around their current location. He highlighted the street names at the closest intersection. “You’re near the corner of Burley and Glenwood.”
“Got it,” Linc said.
“You need to head east.”
“East,” Linc repeated.
“Go down about two miles and you cross the highway via the overpass.”
“Okay, got that.”
The grouch turned the directions around and circled the Harding ranch. “This is where Cliff and Grace Harding live.”
“Okay.”
“So, all you do after you cross the highway is go east. Keep going until you see the water, then turn left. The Harding place will be about three-quarters of a mile down the road on the left-hand side.”
“Thanks,” Linc said. Those directions seemed easy enough for anyone to follow. Even the three of them.
The grouch frowned at hi, and Linc assumed he was hinting for more money, which he wasn’t about to get. Grabbing their sandwiches, Linc handed the bag to his youngest brother and they piled out the door.
“Merry Christmas,” Ned called over his shoulder. Apparently he hadn’t grasped yet that this man wasn’t doing any kind of celebrating.
The grouch’s frown darkened. “Yeah, whatever.”
Linc waited until they were back in the vehicle before he commented. “Miserable old guy.”
“A regular Scrooge,” Mel said.
Ned tore open the sack and passed one sandwich to Linc and another to Mel. Linc bit into his. The old grouch made a good meat loaf sandwich, surprisingly enough, and right now that compensated for a lot.
The three of them wolfed down the food and nearly missed the sign for the highway overpass.
“Hey, you two, I’m driving,” Linc said, swallowing the last bite. “Pay attention, will you?”
“Sorry.” Ned stared out at the road.
“He said to drive until we can see the water,” Linc reminded them.
“It’s dark,” Mel protested. “How are we supposed to see water?”
“We’ll know when we find it,” Ned put in.
Linc rolled his eyes. “I hope you’re right, that’s all I can say.”
Linc couldn’t tell how far they’d driven, but the water never came into view. “Did we miss something?” he asked his brothers.
“Keep going,” Mel insisted. “He didn’t say when we’d see the water.”
“He didn’t,” Linc agreed, but he had a bad feeling about this. The road wasn’t straight ahead the way the grouch had drawn it on the map. It twisted and turned until Linc was, once again, so confused he no longer knew if he was going east or west.
“You don’t think that King guy would’ve intentionally given us the wrong directions, do you?”
“Why would he do that?” Mel asked. “You paid him twenty bucks.”
Linc remembered the look on the other man’s face. He’d wanted more. “Maybe it wasn’t enough.”
“Maybe Mr. Scrooge back there needs three visitors tonight,” Ned suggested. “If you know what I mean.”
“He had three visitors—us.”
“Yeah, and I think he was trying to con us,” Linc muttered.
“I guess he succeeded,” Mel said, just as Ned asked, “But why? What’s the point?”
“The point is that he’s trying to make us miserable,” Linc said. “As miserable as he is, the old coot.”
The three of them fell into a glum silence. It sure didn’t feel like any Christmas Eve they’d ever had before.
16
