Excerpt 1
The parking
area in front of the market was full, so he found a spot for his rental Lexus
in the side lot, then got out and went inside. “Is Darren still here?” he asked
one of the checkout people.
She pulled out her phone. “He’ll
be right out. He’s getting changed.” She actually giggled and kept glancing at
him. Chet was used to being noticed and smiled back at her. She giggled again,
and he wandered into the store. Teenagers were interesting… and a little
predictable.
“Chet,” Darren said softly as he
came down the aisle. He wore tan pants and a simple blue button-down shirt.
“Are you ready to go?” Chet led
the way out of the store and to the rental car. They got inside, and Chet
headed for Fort Bragg. “How was work?” He needed to start the conversation.
“It was okay,” Darren said. “Not
that exciting. I stocked the meat counter and cut up chickens for packaging.”
Chet couldn’t help chuckling.
“You sound like a chicken serial killer.”
Thankfully, Darren laughed. “By
the time I get them, they’re already dead, but it does sometimes seem like I’m
cutting up the evidence. Henry’s worse, though. He cuts up the beef and pork,
so he does the big stuff.”
“So you work in the butcher shop
at the grocery store and as a server at The Pub. You must be really busy.” Chet
said. He knew people worked multiple jobs to make ends meet; he’d just not met
someone like that before. His circle of friends were the children of wealthy
families and trust-fund babies. Rarely did they have to worry about money.
“I am,” Darren said, and Chet
glanced over at him.
“Do you live in Mendocino?” Chet
asked.
“Yeah. I came here as a teenager.
Things were really bad at home, so I came to live here with my grandmother. I
guess you could say I ran away. I couldn’t be with my mother any longer. My
grandmother died a few years ago, and I inherited her house.”
“That must be nice,” Chet said,
still trying to figure out why the two jobs.
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