Read Online Eximere (The River Book 4) by Michael Richan - Free Book Online Page A

was pretty small. I don’t recall seeing a restaurant or even a
grocery store.”
    “I expect they all travel to Aberdeen for groceries,” Roy
said.
    They walked in silence again. Soon the town came into view.
    “We’re close now,” said Roy. “I see houses.”
    As they walked into town, they took note of the buildings and
businesses there. The houses were small and drab, many looking abandoned. There
was a half-block section of businesses on the main drag before they reached the
motel. Most shop fronts were dark and abandoned, with “For Lease” signs in the
windows, but there were a couple of spots that looked like they might open in a
couple of hours. There was a knick knack shop, a hair and nails salon, and a
café. In another building down the road they could see the sign for Percival
Realty. There was no car out front.
    Jonathan checked his watch. “We’re in luck, this café should
be open in a couple of minutes,” he said. As they watched through the windows
they could see movement in the back of the restaurant.
    “Oh, good,” said Myrna.
    “You hungry?” Steven asked Eliza.
    “Not really,” she said. “I’m not much of a breakfast person
anyway.”
    “Still feeling nauseous, Dad?” Steven asked Roy.
    “Yes,” Roy answered. “Not hungry.”
    They saw a thin woman of about fifty approach the door, turn
over the “closed” sign that hung in the window to “open,” and unlock the door.
    “Welcome folks,” she said. “You all look a little chilly.
Come in and warm up. You want a table, or do you want to sit at the bar? It’s
easier for me if you sit at the bar.”
    “Well,” said Jonathan, “we’ll sit at the bar, I guess.”
    “Good choice,” the woman said, leading them inside. “Do me a
favor if you would, and leave the two stools at the end open. Howard and Jerry
will be here in a few minutes, and it’ll throw their whole day off if you sit
in their spots.”
    The group situated themselves at the bar, which had an old
feel to it. Steven guessed it had been around for fifty years at least. Everything
looks clean , he thought. The woman rounded the bar and began setting coffee
cups out for each of them.
    “Menu’s on the board,” she said as she began pouring coffee.
“Oh, wait,” she said, putting the coffee pot down. She reached behind the bar
and flipped a switch, and the menu board attached to the wall behind the bar
lit up. It was a Coca-Cola menu board with press-on letters that lit up from
behind. Steven began surveying the menu while the woman resumed pouring coffee.
To the right of the menu a stuffed spotted owl hung from a noose. Below it hung
an old faded sign that read, “This Business Supported by Timber Dollars.”
    “My name’s Bess,” she said. “I’m guessing you’re all from out
of town. That’s because there’s only fifty people in town and I know ‘em all.”
    “You’re right,” Jonathan said. “We’re from out of town. We’ve
just stayed the night at the Unser Estate.”
    “Did you now?” Bess said. “That place has been closed up for
a while. You must know Kent Percival.”
    “We do,” said Roy. “Unfortunately.”
    “Well, what can I get you?” Bess asked. “You know what you
want?”
    Myrna, Jonathan, and Steven ordered food. The rest just had
coffee. They chatted quietly as Bess disappeared into the kitchen.
    A bell rang, and in walked two older gentlemen. They glanced
up at the group and grimaced, then walked over to the bar and sat next to the
group in the two stools left open.
    “Mornin’,” one of them said to Steven, who was at the end.
    “Good morning,” Steven answered back. He guessed the men were
in their seventies. One of them walked behind the bar and got cups for himself
and the other gentleman, then poured them both some coffee.
    “Bess doesn’t mind if we help ourselves,” he said to the
group, then sat on the stool by the other gentleman.
    “Been doing it for twenty years,” the other man said.