very much.” He drank from his beer.
Andi returned to their table. “Can I get you guys anything else?”
Gerome shook his head, but Terrance must have been in the mood to be a real shit. “Do you know the guy at the table right over there? Has he ever been in here before?”
She pursed her lips and shook her head. “Not that I can remember. He paid his bill, though, and left a tip in dimes. The guy doesn’t have much. He counted out ones for the bill.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you think he’s trouble? Richard did have to get rid of that guy who was with him.” She turned to look as Puppy-Dog Eyes got up to leave. “Come to think of it, I doubt it. He’s just down on his luck or something. We get folks like that a lot this time of year.” She seemed to be settling in for a talk. “It’s warmer here, so some people migrate down and live outside or in tents and stuff. I’ve seen a few places off the key where it’s like a tent city with homeless people in the woods.”
Gerome only half paid attention as the guy left, and he was tempted to see where he went.
“You want to follow him, don’t you?” Terrance asked. “You know, nothing says ‘I’m interested in you’ like following someone home.”
“Look.” Gerome set down his beer a little harder than necessary. “This is the guy who was looking for our package. Maybe I can find out something about it.” He stood up and handed Terrance some money. “Take care of the bill, and I’ll see you later.”
Chapter 2
TUCKER WELLS hurried out of the restaurant, looking around the parking lot for the guy from inside. He didn’t seem to be around, and Tucker hoped he never saw him again. Forget about the money he promised. Nothing good was going to come of this. It wasn’t Tucker’s fault that he couldn’t find whatever had been dropped overboard, and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered why this guy didn’t just look for it himself if it was so important.
He walked to the roadside and looked each way before turning left. It had taken him a while to walk to the restaurant, and now he had to walk back to where he was staying. Tucker moved quickly, trying to put as much distance as possible between that guy and him.
About a block up the road, he paused and turned around. He had the feeling that someone was behind him, but he didn’t see anyone. He thought about running, but instead he walked as fast as he could. Tucker didn’t hear anything more from behind him, but he continued moving quickly just to be safe.
He passed a couple of shopping centers that were now mostly dark, with just a few lights in the parking lots. His belly grumbled because a single grilled cheese sandwich wasn’t enough food. Especially now that his belly had gotten something, it yearned for more. But Tucker had no money and no way to get any. He had been hoping that the man would indeed pay him and he would have a chance to eat and maybe be full for the first time in quite a while.
Still, he had eaten, and he was better off with this guy away from him and out of his life, hopefully for good.
Movement behind him caught his attention and then stilled. Tucker’s nerves grew. He was only about a half mile from the camp area where he had been staying, and once he was there, he could hide among the others and everything would be fine. As he approached the turnoff, he checked behind him once again before making the turn down the side street to the small, sparsely wooded area on the other side of the key.
At the edge of the camp, he hurried to his small tent and ducked inside. He had just a few things inside, including some sort-of-clean clothes and his blankets and the pad he used as a mattress. There were also a few bottles of water he had gotten at one of the shelters, and an old Igloo cooler. It was empty now but acted as his refrigerator when he had something to keep inside it.
“Tucker,” a small voice said, and he peeked his head out of the tent.
“Hey, Joshie,” he said as brightly as he could, his heart still pounding in his ears, even though he should be relatively safe here.
“Mama