Jack Beale 00 - Killer Run

* *
    As they drove across the road back home, another pair of eyes watched them leave. Alfred had intended to catch Max just before closing, but he was too late. He had to convince her of the importance to him of that quilt. She had to understand. He would see her tomorrow.

CHAPTER 85
    POLLY AWAKENED EARLY. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Without thinking, she put water on for tea as she had for so many years, then pulled a chair away from the table to sit down and wait for the water to boil. For a moment it all felt so normal. Malcom would be down soon, she’d have her tea, and he would make himself a cup of coffee. They’d talk … but that’s when it hit her. They wouldn’t talk. Today she was going to say goodbye to Malcom for the last time. Then, everyone who knew him would help her celebrate his life in the way he would have wanted.
    * * *
    While Cat was finishing her breakfast, Jack, coffee in hand, stood in front of the window and gazed out to sea. The storm had passed and to the west there were breaks in the clouds. The early sun was still below the cloud line. Unlike yesterday’s sunset, when the Isles had been lit as if by a spotlight, now they were no more than tiny dark specks on an angry sea, and it was the breaking waves that sparkled in backlit splendor.
    Cat rubbed at his feet, softly mrowing for attention since her stomach was now full. He bent down, scratched her head, and ran his hand down her back. She began to purr loudly and looked up at him, eyes scrunched shut. Her expression conveyed total contentment. “Cat, you’re such a good girl,” he said in a voice just louder than a whisper. She knew that. She head-butted his leg and then forced her head under his hand for another ear scratch.
    Finally satisfied, Cat sauntered off and Jack returned to looking out at the ocean.
    “You’re up early,” Max whispered in his ear. Startled, he jumped and she giggled. He had been so lost in his own thoughts he didn’t hear her get up. He had intended to let Max sleep for a while longer before they would have to get ready for the drive north to the funeral. He turned to face her.
    “You’re up. I was letting you sleep.”
    She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him, her head pressed against his chest. “I know, but Cat had different ideas.”
    “Figures.”
    “What’re you thinking about?”
    “Nothing specific, just looking out at the ocean, watching the sunrise. Looks like it’s going to turn into a nice day for a funeral.”

CHAPTER 86
    TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT AND the farther north they drove, the clearer the sky became. By the time they turned off Route 16, the sky was perfectly blue, much as it had been the first time they visited the Inn. Max checked her notes. The service was scheduled to be held at the Holt-Pierce Funeral Home, followed by a reception at the Inn.
    * * *
    Alfred awakened with the sun as well, but he didn’t have the same dramatic view that Jack had. He lay on the bed in the semi-dark motel room. The curtains on the single window were still drawn, and the only light in the room came from the small lamp next to the bed.
    As he stared at the ceiling, he noticed the patterns and shadows cast by the small lamp. Moments later, he slid back into that place somewhere between sleeping and being fully awake.
    The voices returned. He could hear shouts and cries. Then he heard a low rumble and felt a shaking and thundering like the pounding of horses’ hooves. Fearful that they were coming for him, he slowly, quietly, sat up then moved to the curtained window. As he parted the heavy fabric, sunlight streamed in. He held his hand up to shield his eyes from the bright light that hadn’t been seen for several days. There were no horses, only a large truck, its engine rumbling, and several men noisily loading boxes into the back of the truck.
    He let go of the curtain and it fell closed again, returning the room to its state of semidarkness. It was time, time to return to Ben’s and get what was rightfully his. But first he decided to call, just to make sure that she was there before he made the trip back to Ben’s. Last night he had made some assumptions that led to the failure of his mission. Today he would be more efficient.
    Moments later, he slammed the phone down and stared at it in disbelief, as if it were the reason for his continued bad luck. He sat down on the edge of the bed. He needed to think. The nice voice on the other end of the line had told