Read Online SUMMATION by Daniel Syverson - Free Book Online Page B

stool he always sat in, same grin he'd
been wearing while walking down the street plastered across his face. The
bartender waited for the foam to settle, then topped off the glass. He set it
carefully on a napkin in front of Frank.
               Frankie tossed some bills on the counter. "Here
you go, Marco. Keep the change."

           Marco looked at him suspiciously. Frankie wasn't
known as a tipper. "What, you win the lottery or something?"
               "Somethin' like that, I guess you could
say..." Caution flared up suddenly, popping out of some long forgotten
corner of his brain. "No, no. Nothing special. Just feeling good today. Skipped
out of work this afternoon. Too nice to spend it there."
               "Or here," the bartender mumbled, not
letting Frankie hear him.
               Marco scooped up the bills, casting a wary eye
at Frankie. "You didn't do anything stupid, did you? Rob a bank or
something?"
               Frankie laughed, though it was a little forced. "Of
course not. Can't I tip the bartender without somebody making a big deal of it?"
               Marco just kind of nodded, held up the glass he
had been polishing to the light, and satisfied, put it on the shelf. Picking up
another, he started polishing it as well as he walked back to the other end of
the bar. There were two girls down there that were vying for his attention.
               Not much of a choice there.
               Frankie was creepy on a normal day with his
surliness. This was even creepier.
               Frankie was at home here, back at his usual
hole, in fact, in the same seat he had been in last night when he tossed his
book. Curious, he leaned over the bar. Little more junk, reeked just a little
bit more, but there it was, peaking out. His log.
               What a stupid idea that had been. Good thing he'd
tossed it.
               Frankie grabbed another napkin off the counter
and reached for a pen. Not having one, he looked around, finally spotting one
near the register. He leaned over the bar, stretching, until he could just
reach it, and he grabbed it.
               Marco watched from the other end, curious. When
he saw Frankie start drawing on a napkin, Marco just shook his head, grabbed
another glass to polish, and tried to look interested in the conversation
between the two girls. They were cute, but oh so stupid.
               Just his type.
               Frankie began trying to sketch the box, and the
decorations on the sides that he could see. No artist he, it took several
tries, and several napkins before he thought he might have caught the essence
of the design. Finally satisfied, he folded it up and tucked it into his shirt
pocket.
               He took a couple of more drinks, picturing the
box in his head. He set his glass down, and pulled the sketch out of his
pocket. Unfolding it, he went over it one more time. He nodded to himself. Yep,
that was about right . He couldn't think of anything else to add. He again
folded it and returned it to his shirt pocket.
               He was still wondering - who wouldn't have -
about what was in the box. He tipped the bottle back, draining it. He looked at
the coins left on the bar, reached into his pocket and pulled a few more to set
beside them, waved at the bartender, and left.
               He was on his way home, perhaps a block away, thinking
he should have taken a leak before he left. He began looking around for a place
to go. Not many places between there and his house. At least not with a public
bathroom. Walking a little faster, he was just about to duck into an alley
between two buildings when one more place caught his eye.  
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               They were open to the public. They'd have a
bathroom. He headed over, looking in the front window. An older place, past it's
prime. Originally, in the early