The Lovely Chocolate Mob - By Richard J. Bennett Page 0,61

But why did it have to hurt so much? Lord, sometimes I think it would be nice to have been married, but you know what you’re doing. On the other hand, I do have a quiet and peaceful life. It is a bit lonely at times, though. Maybe I should get out more, be involved more. That may be how I got down here. Thank you, Lord. Your will be done.”

Well, I felt as though I were at peace, for a little while anyway. I liked being at peace; it sure beat being worried, scared, or wanting something unnecessary, which happened to me often, probably more often than I’d like to admit.

I was getting sick of crawling, and decided to go up the next manhole I saw; I thought I had gone far enough. Hopefully there weren’t too many policemen around when they arrested Walter. I know he wouldn’t talk; he’d keep his mouth shut; he’s not one to crack under pressure. I’ll have to find a good lawyer for him. I’m sure there are a few who went to school with us; one of them will remember Walter. We’ve all done favors for each other during our days away from school; maybe they’ll help out pro-bono for old time’s sake. Maybe he won’t have to spend all his life in the big house.

Murder! He’d be charged with murder! Oh, this would be all over the television, with the whole nation watching. The general population wouldn’t take kindly to shooting an FBI helicopter out of the sky; neither would any federal judge.

I could feel fresh air and decided I was near an opening. Using the cell phone, I looked down the tunnel and could see that it opened into a small area, probably near a street curb drain. I put the phone back on my belt, not wanting anybody spotting a green light coming up out of a storm drain if they happened to be wandering around this time of night; people really ought to be home in bed; that’s what homes were for. So what was I doing down there?

At the tunnel’s end, there was enough room to stand up. I had to take my time doing that, though, since my joints weren’t as flexible as they used to be. It took a little time to get my feet under me to manage myself, to reach the manhole cover directly above. I put my ear as close to the little keyhole as possible and listened. There wasn’t any traffic noise; that was good. It was late, or early, and maybe I wouldn’t cause a wreck. Hopefully this manhole was part of the sidewalk and not on the street. If that was the case, there ought to be a drain nearby, but I didn’t see an opening, even though I felt and smelled the fresh air. I decided to risk using my cell phone light, hoping there would be nobody outside to see it. I opened the cell phone, and the little room turned from pitch black to bright green, and fortunately, there was a drain opening right next to me, so this manhole cover ought to be next to the sidewalk, and not in the middle of traffic, somewhere. It’s a good thing I had a little knowledge of drain systems, and even though I designed them, I didn’t get to see them from the inside very often.

I stood and pushed the heavy lid up. It was stuck; eventually I gave up and lay down on the little floor area. Maybe I should have just gone to sleep there, which would have been easy to do. I might have, but the thought of some creature coming along and taking a bite out of me would keep me from sleeping. I got back up and pushed again, until I felt the cover give. I rested for a minute before starting to push a third time; I didn’t want to throw my back out. I couldn’t have that, not while down in a drain. The thought of being hurt and stuck in a drain was frightening; I’d have to call for help, and if help did arrive I’d have to explain what I was doing in a drain. Maybe I could say I was doing research for my job, but that would be stretching it a bit. I pushed the lid, and it gave way.

Getting Home

It was a little bit lighter outside than in the drain. Once I got my head