Jack Beale 00 - Killer Run

confused for a moment as he returned to the present.
    “I love coming out here when it’s stormy. The birds are all swooping and crying. I watch birds.”
    Alfred was confused and uncomfortable. Who was this woman, and what did she want? Why would anyone just go up to a stranger and start talking to them? “Do I know you?” he said. He was almost certain he didn’t, but it seemed like the right thing to say.
    “Oh, no. My name is Gladys. I just like to meet new people. I spend most of my time watching birds. It’s a pretty lonely thing to do, and since I live alone, whenever I see someone who looks interesting, I go over and say ‘Hi’ to them. Kinda’ like spotting a new bird.” She lifted the glasses to her eyes again.
    She was making no sense at all to him, and he really didn’t feel like talking. “Well, it was nice meeting you,” he mumbled. The show was over. The sun was hovering at the western horizon and the world was rapidly becoming black-and-white again. He turned to get into his car. Gladys didn’t move; she simply continued to stand there looking out to sea through those enormous binoculars.
    Alfred ended up walking in front of her because she wasn’t moving and there was no room between her and the front of his truck. She lowered her binoculars and started to say “Goodbye,” but he had already climbed into his truck. As she returned the binoculars to her face, he quickly backed out into the road.

CHAPTER 78
    “BYE, JACK. I’M HEADING OVER TO BEN’S,” shouted Max as she rushed down the stairs.
    He was in the shower and didn’t hear her call out, but it didn’t matter. When he had returned from his run she was already dressed and ready to go to work.
    It had taken him most of the day to get out the door for a run. Inside, looking out, one part of his brain had told him that staying inside with a book would be the best option for such an obviously cold, raw, and windy day. However, by mid-afternoon, he was restless. He had lived by the harbor for enough years to know that once he got out the door, he would find that it wasn’t as bad out as it looked from inside.
    The five miles or so that he ran turned out better than he had expected. Since the wind was from the east, he was able to follow a course that that would minimize time spent with a head wind, and by the time he had run a half-mile or so he had begun to break a sweat and it was no longer so cold. Traffic on the roads remained light, and he was on his way back when the sun dipped below the clouds as it set. All of a sudden the world was bathed in an ethereal light, and out over the dark, greenish-gray ocean, the Isles of Shoals had exploded and sparkled in light and color.
    Jack slowed his pace and smiled as he became immersed in this moment. He knew that it would only last a very few minutes, and as he reached one of the many small parking areas that dotted the coast, he began walking. There were perhaps a half-dozen vehicles lined up, and most of the occupants were outstanding and looking east at the spectacle. The show was nearly over when he saw a truck start, back up, and leave. He watched it drive off before he walked over to join the remaining spectators. The group had turned and were now facing west to watch the end of the sunset.
    “Jack?” It was Gladys, her ever-present, large binoculars slung around her neck, walking toward him.
    “Gladys, what are you doing out here?”
    “Watching my birds.”
    “See any good ones?”
    “Some. Wasn’t that sunset amazing?”
    “It was.”
    “I saw you watching that truck drive off,” said Gladys. “Anyone you knew?”
    “No. Why?”
    “I talked with him a bit. He struck me as odd.”
    “Gladys, most people are.”
    “No, he was odd in a different sort of way. I could just feel it. Odd.”
    He shrugged. “I gotta’ get going before it gets too dark. I’ll see you soon,” he said. He began moving away from her.
    “Be safe. Bye,” she called as he began running again. Then, while shaking her head she said to herself, “Nice guy, but that one’s odd too. Why would anyone want to be out running around like that?”
    * * *
    Now, as Jack emerged from the bathroom, Cat greeted him with an earful of complaints. Mostly she wanted supper, and as usual she was very good at making her desires known.
    “As soon as I’m dressed I’ll feed you,” he said.
    She looked up at him and began to tell him just what she thought of the delay.
    Finally, fed and happy, Cat