Jack Beale 00 - Killer Run

she had to let him have the quilt. She would say yes and he would leave. It was to be as simple as that, except that it wasn’t.
    Alfred opened the front door to the Inn and stepped inside. He didn’t see anyone, but he could hear the sounds of many voices enjoying themselves in a distant room. He looked into the first room next to the entry. It was empty. Then, he looked into the other front room. Polly and Max were sitting there, just the two of them, talking. Standing in the doorway, he watched them for a moment and smiled at his good fortune. “ This is going to be easier than I had imagined, ” he thought to himself.
    At that moment Max looked up and saw him standing there in the doorway. She stopped mid-sentence and stared. Polly watched Max freeze and saw the expression on her face change. She turned her head in the direction that Max was looking, about to ask if she was okay, when she saw him too. Paralyzed, Polly couldn’t breathe. All she could do was stare as fear and confusion washed over her.
    Alfred saw their reaction. It wasn’t what he had expected, and the smile on his face quickly faded. Polly found her voice and screamed. Now it was Alfred’s turn to be confused and he began to panic.
    Max suddenly stood up. “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.
    “Shhh. Stop it!” he hissed.
    They wouldn’t be quiet. As Polly screamed again, Alfred clenched his fists and glared at the two women. He took a step toward them.
    At this point, Max was overcome with anger. She moved closer to Alfred and said, “Get out.”
    For an instant, he paused. Max couldn’t tell whether he was about to leave or was preparing to attack. For a moment those terrible moments on Irrepressible flashed through her head. As she watched Alfred shift his weight ever so slightly she braced herself, expecting the worst.
    Suddenly a voice from behind the women broke the tension. “Polly, you okay?”
    Alfred shifted his stare past Max and toward the new voice.
    Max didn’t take her eyes off Alfred. The voice asked him, “Who are you?”
    That was enough. Alfred panicked. “I will have it,” he said to Max, catching her eyes one last time before turning and fleeing.
    Suddenly the room was full of people. The space became a jumble of noise and confusion, as everyone seemed to be talking at the same time. Anne sat down next to Polly and pulled her close as Polly sobbed.
    Max, still standing, suddenly felt weak. She began to shake as the adrenaline rush subsided. Finally she heard the voice she needed to hear. “Max, you okay? What happened?”
    Jack reached out for her. At his touch, she fell into him, her body trembling. His shirt muffled her words as he held her close. He asked again, more softly, more gently, “Max, what happened?”
    She looked up at Jack. “He was here.”
    “Who?”
    “Alfred. He was here.”
    It took a second for this to sink in. Then a shiver went through Jack as he understood.
    “Come,” he said as he guided her out of the room and away from the horde of well-meaning people. He needed to be alone with her.

CHAPTER 89
    NO ONE FOLLOWED AS ALFRED ran back to his truck, but he knew he couldn’t linger. Still, just before climbing into the cab, he paused to catch his breath. That’s when he heard them. The voices. They were back, scolding him, cajoling, mocking. He shook his head and said aloud, “Stop. Leave me alone. I’ll get it.”
    They laughed, but they did stop. Now all he heard was his beating heart and slowing breath.
    He cocked his head and listened for any sounds of pursuit. There was only silence except for the soft whispering of the night breeze through the trees. Then he heard it, a single voice, whispering to him. It was softer and kinder, almost forgiving in tone. He strained to understand, but the words were lost in the trees. It didn’t matter. He knew what they were, and it was time to go.
    The click of the door handle on his truck, followed by the soft snick of the door latching shut, silenced the whispers. Alfred turned the key and the engine fired. It had begun so well. Why didn’t they understand? He had approached the women wanting only to talk, to present his case for the quilt. Why had Polly screamed and summoned the other guests?
    “Shit!” He pounded his hand against the steering wheel. “She didn’t have to do that.”
    * * *
    “Max. Tell me again,” said Jack.
    She did.
    “I’m going to call Tom.” He pulled out his phone and began to