Chapter 5 #3
“Pearl, this is Gunner. I have a question about the white sports car. Can you describe it for me?”
“I’m not good with makes and models of cars. I’m way better with pickup trucks, but if I had to guess, I might say an older Mustang.”
“Got it,” Gunner said. “Can you remember if it was just a two-seat style, or if there would have been room for a back seat?”
“Not sure, but it was definitely a two-door, not a four-door,” she said.
“That’s great, honey. Thank you. I made note of all that. You’re way better than most of the witnesses I deal with,” Gunner said.
“How is Jacob doing?” Pearl asked.
“He’s holding his own,” Ash said. “Thank you for calling me back.”
“You’re going after them, aren’t you? Whoever shot your dad. You’re going after them,” Pearl said.
“Let’s just say, we’re not leaving Crossroads until whoever did this is behind bars,” he said. “We’ll see you soon.”
The call ended.
Gunner looked up. “First lead. We just need a name to link it to.”
“God knows how we’ll find that out,” Dylan muttered.
“Oh, we’ll find them,” Asher said.
“Where do you even start?” Dylan asked.
Asher frowned. “I can’t stop thinking that it’s somehow linked to the robbery. And since we were kids when all that happened, I think we start at the beginning. We’ll get background on all of the conspirators and go from there,” Asher said.
“So, do we go out, or do we order in?” Dylan asked.
“Tonight, I vote for DoorDash,” Ash said. “We all need sleep, and I’m not in the mood to get back out in the cold tonight.”
“I second that,” Gunner said.
Ash opened his laptop, pulled up his app, and began scanning restaurants. In the end, they went with Chinese, and ordered a varied assortment of dishes to cover all the bases. After they finished, they turned on the TV in Ash’s room and settled down to wait.
Dylan and Ash were sprawled out on the bed, and Gunner was on the love seat beneath the window.
While they were waiting, Ash’s phone rang again. It was Nora.
“I’m going to take this in the other room,” he said.
“Tell Nora we said hello,” Dylan said, and threw a wad of paper at him.
Ash ignored the teasing as he sat down on Gunner’s bed to answer.
“Hey, darlin’. Good to hear your voice.”
“I hope I’m not intruding, but I wanted you guys to know how much you all mean to me, Jacob included.”
He closed his eyes and swallowed past a lump in his throat. “No, you are not intruding or bothering. I haven’t been mad at you even once since I first set eyes on you.”
“I wondered if it would be okay to come see all of you, and let you know you’re not in this alone. The whole town of Crossroads is rooting for Jacob and his boys,” she said.
“Then come see us. We’re staying at the Studio 6 Suites near the hospital, but we’re only here at night. Right now, we’re spending most of the day in the ICU waiting room, waiting on the ten minutes per hour that we can see him.”
“So, it would be okay if I came to the hospital some time tomorrow morning?” she asked.
“It would be very okay. And Nora…”
“Yes?”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you, too,” she said.
He went back to join the others just as someone knocked on the door.
“That’ll be DoorDash,” Asher said and reached for his wallet as he went to the door. The delivery guy had a big bag at his feet and was holding another one in his hand.
“Order for Kingston?” he said.
“Yes,” Ash said, and handed him an extra tip, picked up the bags, and closed the door. “Buffet on the counter?”
“Works for me,” Dylan said, then got up and began helping Asher set out the containers.
“Are there plates and flatware in that cabinet?” Gunner asked.
Asher looked. “Only two.”
“I’ll bring some from my room,” he said, and went into his suite to get another plate and a chair.
Within a few minutes they had food on their plates and were eating in comfortable silence, commenting mostly on the food they were eating.
“Either of you like sushi?” Dylan asked.
Asher shrugged. “I can take it or leave it, but it wouldn’t be my first food choice.”
Gunner shook his head. “Don’t eat raw meat. Don’t even want it rare, and there’s not enough hot sauce in Texas to make raw fish rolled up in rice and seaweed edible.”
They both burst out laughing. “Hey, Dylan, I don’t think Gunner likes sushi,” Asher said.
Dylan was still chuckling. “Heard that loud and clear.”
Gunner grinned. “Never ask a question if you don’t want an answer.”
* * *
Nora was asleep when the clock in the hall began to strike. She pulled the covers up a little closer and listened, counting the gongs until it stopped.
Midnight.
She sighed and rolled over, nestling back beneath the covers. There used to be a time when that clock struck all hours of the day and night, and it was background noise that never registered. Now it was startling.
She’d been gone too long.
When she woke again, it was morning. She got out of bed to turn up the thermostat, ran to the kitchen to start coffee, then peeked through the curtains to check the weather.
Cold but clear skies. She could work with that, but not just yet.
Still shivering, she ran back to bed until the house warmed up, and the scent of coffee was a big enough draw to get up again, get dressed, and head for the kitchen.
A bowl of cold cereal and a cup of coffee later, all she could think about was Ash. The fact that he was within a thirty-minute drive made her feel like a little girl again. Like she was about to make a wish and then blow out birthday candles, and get him for her wish.
She got up from the table, rinsed her bowl and cup and put them in the sink, then made a call to the Rose to order three pieces of cherry pie to go. She wasn’t going into that waiting room empty-handed, and face three Kingston men all giving her the once-over. Pie was always a good diversion.
A few minutes later, she was in her car and on the way to the café.
The parking lot was full of breakfast customers when she pulled in, and the wind was cold enough to make her eyes water. She got out on the run. By now, she knew the waitresses by name, and when they saw her walking up to the register, Cheryl headed that way.
“Morning, Nora. Your to-go order is right here, with forks and napkins included. That will be $12.95.”
Nora swiped her card through the machine, signed the printout, and picked up the sack. “Thanks a bunch,” she said, and went back to the car.
It was twenty minutes after ten. Barring any traffic delays, she would be there before eleven.