Hunter's Quest

Chapter Sixteen

Kristie gasped with a combination of heat-shock and worry. She'd only just stepped out of the car a couple of minutes ago and already she felt close to melting. In the middle of the afternoon, the temperature remained around ninety and the sun blazed down on her. Sweat dripped along her temples and ran under her clothes, making her blouse cling unpleasantly.

She rounded a bend in the road and the restaurant loomed ahead. At this time of day only a few cars baked on the asphalt in front of the building. Probably even those belonged to employees.

Her nerves stretched tight as she wondered what she would be walking into. She regretted her logic had made so much sense that even control-freak Jason had been forced to concede.

Her reasoning was still good. But logic failed to account for her near-panic as she worried about what might await her inside the restaurant. Deputies with warrants, Chet-and-Sid-types with guns... Her imagination was far too vivid.

Surely there weren't enough cars around for a trap. Of course, they would be parked out of sight in the back or somewhere else. But she and Jason were arriving two hours earlier than the arranged time. Even if someone planned a trap, they might have beat it out. She hoped.

She felt exposed, vulnerable, and alone while crossing the asphalt parking lot, though she knew Jason wasn't far behind. She had to force herself to pull the door open and go in.

Since she was prepared for just about anything as she entered the building, the only thing she wasn't mentally ready for was the actual nothing she found.

It was quiet inside and empty. Aside from the hum of machinery and the mutter of voices from beyond the far wall, presumably where the kitchen was, she heard nothing at all and saw nothing unexpected. The air conditioning blew a pleasant breeze across her overheated face and shoulders.

Booths lined the walls of the room on either side, with a scattering of tables and chairs in the middle. The smell of onions and peppers cooking drifted on the air.

Her fears faded when no one at all seemed to notice her arrival. No one came out to greet her. She waited for a moment, assessing the situation before she said, "Hello?"

It echoed around the empty room. A scrape and a thud sounded from the kitchen and then a man emerged, wearing an apron. He looked surprised to see her but greeted her politely and asked what she'd like.

Kristie explained she was meeting some friends and asked for a soda. While he went to get it for her, she moved to the door. As promised, Jason had driven up to the front. He saw her wave and nod and drove the car around to the side of the building to park. A moment later he came in.

They took a booth near the back. Jason angled himself so he could watch both the door at the front and the entrance to the kitchen. They each drank a soda, sharing a basket of chips and anecdotes from their pasts, while they waited.

Though she enjoyed the conversation, the next two hours crawled. For the first hour no one else came in except for one thin young man who shuffled through from the kitchen to set places on the tables in preparation for the dinner crowd. A few other people straggled in over the next hour. Some took tables and one other person went back to the kitchen. No one looked particularly interested in them. Finally, at five to five, the young woman they'd met earlier entered.

She raised her eyebrows but didn't comment on their early arrival. Instead she said, "I'm glad you managed to get out okay this morning. I'm Meg Conley. Thanks for coming." She slid into the seat next to Kristie.

Jason and Kristie introduced themselves. Although Meg smiled at each of them, the relief on her face when Jason mentioned his name was clear.

"Thank goodness. You're Will's friend," she said to Jason. "I was hoping, but I wasn't sure. I'd just heard the sheriff was concerned about someone who'd been asking questions about Will."