2 Chapter 2

Now what do I do? Go to the cops? Like they’d believe me. By now those bastards have probably picked that poor guy up and are dumping his body somewhere else. It’s what I’d do if it was me. And then they’ll come back looking for me. Lots of luck. There’s no way I’m sticking around.

For a second he considered going back to get his sleeping bag. Then common sense took hold.One of them could be waiting there, hoping I will. My life isn’t worth a damned sleeping bag.

He’d kept going—once he’d rested for a while and changed into a pair of black jeans, a different T-shirt, and his dark blue hoodie—moving farther and farther from the where the murder had happened. He’d stayed well back from the road, afraid the men might be driving up and down looking for him. He figured he’d see their headlights if they were, but wasn’t counting on it.

It was close to noon when Kip finally took a chance and snuck into the small town of Elderon, which he knew was at least ten miles from where he’d bedded down the previous night.

Cautiously, he made his way to the local diner. He was starving but more importantly he wanted to see if there was a TV there, and turned on. Maybe there will be a news story about the guy being kidnapped, or at least missing.If there was, he’d seen enough of the man’s face he knew he’d recognize him if they showed a photo.

He peered out between two buildings, looking for the killers, wishing he’d seen their car. After several minutes he felt safe enough to walk quickly to the diner. There were several customers, some of whom cast leery glances at him as he found a vacant stool at the end of the counter

“You want coffee, honey?” the waitress asked, coming over to him.

Kip nodded, taking the menu she handed him. She poured it then went to wait on someone else, giving him a chance to see how much money he had. Not a lot, but enough for a burger, which he ordered when she came back. At that point he turned his attention to the TV set on the wall in the corner of the room. He was in luck. The news was on, starting with a story about something the president had done. He waited through it and several other stories, none of them about a missing man, or someone finding a body in the mountains.

He jumped when the waitress put the plate with his burger down on the counter, thanked her, and began eating, his gaze still glued to the TV until the sports came on.

“News freak?” he heard someone ask. Turning, he saw a man smiling at him from the next stool. He was maybe in his early forties with piercing blue eyes and a slight bend to his nose as if it had been broken sometime in the past. “You’ve barely taken your eyes off the TV since you sat down.”

Kip lifted one shoulder. “I was waiting for the weather,” he replied. “I’m going, umm, hiking, if it doesn’t rain.”

“That explains the backpack. You come up from the city?”

Nodding, Kip took a bite of his burger, hoping it would keep the man from asking more questions. It didn’t.

“You hitched up here? I didn’t see a strange car outside.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” The man stopped bothering him to order his lunch. When he had, he returned his attention to Kip. “Running from family troubles?”

“What?” Kip tried for innocence. “No! Like I said, I’m going hiking, I hope.”

Resting one elbow on the counter, the man shook his head. “I was watching you, before you came in here. No one dropped you off. You were looking around, from across the street, like you were making sure no one you knew was here. My bet, from the shape your clothes are in, is that you packed up and took off, or were kicked out of your parents’ house. Not yesterday. A while ago. You’ve been living rough, maybe down in Grand Junction, first. Or some other city.”

“You’re crazy.” Kip purposely turned to the TV again, just in time to see a ‘Breaking News’ bulletin about a man thought to have been responsible for the disappearance of the payroll from the company where he was employed as a bookkeeper.

“Mr. Constantine was last seen leaving work two nights ago,” the reporter said. “He didn’t go home, and didn’t show up for work the next day. If you have any information on his whereabouts, the police request you to call them. Anything you say will be kept confidential.” Then a picture appeared on the screen. Kip sucked in a breath.