conversation.”
He swiveled around and headed off away from her. Up ahead the neon of the Tick Tock Diner flashed invitingly, and Brian Flagg desperately wanted to put a cheeseburger into his gurgling stomach.
He didn’t hear her following him, and it surprised him that he was disappointed she hadn’t. You’re getting soft, boyo, he told himself, and struck out at a faster pace for the Tick Tock.
When he got there, Fran the waitress was still tending shop, cleaning up while George the short-order cook hauled out a mop and a pail to clean up the tile. They looked as if they were closed for business, but Brian had to give it a try.
He opened the door and headed straight for the counter. “George, Franny.
Fran flashed him a crooked smile. “Hey, hotshot. We’re closed.”
Brian flopped onto a chair and leaned his chin into his hands. “Fran, please, I’ve been dumped on all day. Gimme a break, huh?”
Fran was cool. She liked to trade quips with him, and he enjoyed that. “Aww, what’s the matter, dear? Tough day at the office?” She returned his grin, then stuck a thumb behind her, indicating the kitchen. “Grill’s shut down. How about a sandwich?”
He’d had his heart set on that cheeseburger, but his stomach would accept anything. “Beautiful,” he said. “I’ll just sit in one of these booths here, get outta your way, George, okay?”
He folded into a booth, trying to let the tension go from his muscles. He closed his eyes. Shit, what a day. If he could just forget everything…
The next thing he knew, he heard the door fly open, followed by the sound of footsteps on tile, and the thump of a fanny hitting the booth seat across from him.
He opened his eyes, and there was Meg Penny.
“Jeez,” he said. “You don’t give up.”
“I need your help,” she said insistently.
“What a surprise. And I thought you came out of the goodness of your heart.”
“I came because I thought we could help each other.”
“In three years of school you haven’t said shit to me, but now that you need my help we’re old buddies, huh.”
She looked down. She knew he was right. She was one of the preppy chicks he’d tried to talk to before. But she’d given him the cold shoulder, then and always.
Now she spoke in a low, almost pleading voice. “Nobody believed me about what happened tonight.”
“What
“You were there. You saw!” she said.
“All I saw was an old man with a funky hand.”
And then Fran was there with a plateful of Lebanon-bologna-and-cheese sandwich, along with a big pile of chips and a fat dill pickle. His mouth watered at the smell of the vinegar and the mustard and the sweet scent of fresh chips as she set it down in front of him.
“Can I get you something, hon?” she asked Meg, looking at Brian as though to say, What’s a clean-cut looker like this doing hanging out with a guy like you?
“No, thanks,” said Meg.
Fran shrugged and left. As Brian stuck a corner of sandwich in his mouth, Meg leaned over to him, speaking in a low and desperate voice. “That thing on his hand… it
Brian chewed, giving her a long, blank stare. After he swallowed, he said, “That what you told the cops?”
She nodded.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure.”
“I know you’re the homecoming queen type and all that… but are you a little strung out on something?”
Her eyes lit up with anger. Her face trembled with frustration. “You’re just the same!” she said in a low, tight voice.
“Huh?”
“You act like you’re different… You put on a big show… But you’re just like everybody else in this town.” She got up. “You’re full of shit, Flagg.” She started to take off.
That surprised him. What surprised him even more was his immediate reaction. He got up and grabbed her and gently but firmly pushed her back into the seat.
“Hey, wait a second. C’mon, take it easy.”
Suddenly she seemed to cave in, as though trying to hold back tears but not quite succeeding. Gradually they started leaking out, down her cheeks and onto the Formica table-top. Brian took the half of sandwich he hadn’t bitten into and offered it to her.
“Here,” he said, “eat something.”
She shook her head, refusing it.
“Go ahead,” he insisted. “You’ll feel better.”
She took the half sandwich and started nibbling at it. Brian watched her for a moment. “I’m amazed,” he said finally. “I never heard you say
She looked at him oddly, and then couldn’t help herself. She laughed, and Brian could see the nervous tension draining out of her face.
“So go ahead, I’m listening,” he said, softening his voice. “Tell me all about what happened. What you saw. I’m sorry I wasn’t listening, but you’ve got to admit, if someone told you that that little bit of something on the Can Man’s hand devoured two guys almost six feet tall, then you’d have a hard time believing it, wouldn’t you?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I guess maybe I would at that.”
“So tell me what happened. Everything, from the moment I left that clinic. I want to know. I really do.”
She nodded. She looked him straight in the eye, and she told him.
14
As soon as they’d let Brian Flagg go, Deputy Bill Briggs had been dispatched to return to the team of firemen and paramedics searching around the clinic grounds and the nearby woods for the body of Paul Tyler.
Forty-five minutes later he reported in.
“All we’ve found,” Briggs said through his walkie-talkie, “is lots of ground mist, trees, and a couple of dead rats. We’re coming up empty, Sheriff. And we’ve got our best searchlights sweeping the area. You want us to head into the foothills?”
Herb Geller sighed heavily, thought about it a moment, and decided against it. “Negative. I’d rather have you patrolling the streets. We’ll start again at first light when the state police get here.”
“Ten-four,” said Bill Briggs, signing off.
Herb hung the hand mike up and clicked the radio off. He rubbed his face wearily; the springs of the chair squeaked as he leaned back in it. A night to remember, this one, he thought. Or rather, a night to forget, quickly, soon as it got cleaned up. This shit had a
Just then Sally Jeffers entered, a steaming cup of coffee in her hand and an understanding smile on her face. “You look tired,” she said, putting down the coffee.
The smell of chicory, the warmth of steam, caressed his face as he picked up the cup and sipped. Ah. “Been a long night. Thanks.”
“Gonna be even longer,” she said.
