Read Online Valley of the Scarecrow by Gord Rollo - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Gord Rollo
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singing in bands all my life. Rock stars are cool!”
“Yeah, which is why you cut grass for a living.” Pat smirked and held up his hands in a peace gesture. “Kidding, man. In fact, I was gonna ask you and Dan if youhad any work for me? If I’m going legit here, I’d better get a job sometime…you know, make something of myself. My old man would probably have a heart attack if he heard me talking like this. Or an orgasm, I guess. What do you think, Rich?”
“About your dad having an orgasm?”
“No asswipe…about me working with you guys? You don’t have to pay me much. I just wanna hang out and see what this working-for-a-living thing is all about. See if I’ll hate it as much as I think I will.”
“Thought you were going to be a professional photographer?” Rich said, stalling for time, not wanting to discuss this topic.
“Sure, and I also wanted to be a chef, a race car driver, and I even considered becoming either a priest or a porn star, but none of those jobs have worked out yet, ya know? Just thought I’d try working with you guys for a while.”
Rich turned to Dan and held out his arms, palms out, as if he didn’t know how to answer their friend. Luckily it wasn’t his decision to make anyway. Dan was the boss so it was he who needed to speak.
“Can’t do it, buddy,” Dan said. “A year ago, definitely. Hell, three months ago maybe, but things really suck right now. We’re having trouble just finding work for Rich and me. If things ever pick up again, I’ll call you for sure, but I can’t promise you anything right now. Sorry.”
“No worries. It was just a thought. I can work for nothing if that will help you guys out any? I don’t really give a shit about money.”
“Wow. That’s really nice of you, Pat,” Lizzy said.
“Yeah, it is, but right now we don’t have work for any of us.” Dan glanced around to look Kelly in the eyes, then quickly dropped his gaze to the ground. “I didn’treally want to get into this tonight, but now that we’re talking about it I may as well spill the beans. I was over seeing my accountant this week and things are bad. Really bad. In fact, there’s a good chance Rich and I will be shutting down the company next month.”
“What?” Pat said, as shocked to hear the news as Kelly had been. “Business is that bad?”
“Worse. I’m still trying to refinance a few things but the bank manager is being a prick, as usual, and I’m not holding my breath.”
“Anything we can do to help?” Pat asked.
“Not really. I hate to say it, but I think we’re screwed.”
“Maybe not,” Kelly said. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. She hadn’t intended to bring this up tonight, and maybe not ever, but she hated to see the beaten-down look on Dan’s face and hear the shame and disappointment in his voice. He worked so hard and deserved better than what fate was giving him. Still, was it really going to help telling them the fantastical story her grandfather had told her earlier today? Was running off on a wild-goose chase going to help the situation out any? Probably not, and having false hope might even be worse than no hope at all.
“What do you mean by that?” Rich said.
Now what the hell was she going to say? She felt like a horse’s ass for not keeping her big mouth shut. “Shit! Okay…have a seat around the fire, guys. This is probably nuts, but I’ve got a story to tell you and it might take a while…”
Kelly told them everything she knew, from the city workers finding the dead suicide victim in the wall of the Paramount Theatre, to her grandfather’s confession about what the village elders of Miller’s Grove had supposedlydone to the town preacher back in 1936. She ended her story with the rumor of Joshua Miller’s hidden treasure and how there was a chance, if it had ever existed at all, that it might still be out there somewhere in the nearby Iowa woods.
Everyone was silent for a moment,
“Yeah, which is why you cut grass for a living.” Pat smirked and held up his hands in a peace gesture. “Kidding, man. In fact, I was gonna ask you and Dan if youhad any work for me? If I’m going legit here, I’d better get a job sometime…you know, make something of myself. My old man would probably have a heart attack if he heard me talking like this. Or an orgasm, I guess. What do you think, Rich?”
“About your dad having an orgasm?”
“No asswipe…about me working with you guys? You don’t have to pay me much. I just wanna hang out and see what this working-for-a-living thing is all about. See if I’ll hate it as much as I think I will.”
“Thought you were going to be a professional photographer?” Rich said, stalling for time, not wanting to discuss this topic.
“Sure, and I also wanted to be a chef, a race car driver, and I even considered becoming either a priest or a porn star, but none of those jobs have worked out yet, ya know? Just thought I’d try working with you guys for a while.”
Rich turned to Dan and held out his arms, palms out, as if he didn’t know how to answer their friend. Luckily it wasn’t his decision to make anyway. Dan was the boss so it was he who needed to speak.
“Can’t do it, buddy,” Dan said. “A year ago, definitely. Hell, three months ago maybe, but things really suck right now. We’re having trouble just finding work for Rich and me. If things ever pick up again, I’ll call you for sure, but I can’t promise you anything right now. Sorry.”
“No worries. It was just a thought. I can work for nothing if that will help you guys out any? I don’t really give a shit about money.”
“Wow. That’s really nice of you, Pat,” Lizzy said.
“Yeah, it is, but right now we don’t have work for any of us.” Dan glanced around to look Kelly in the eyes, then quickly dropped his gaze to the ground. “I didn’treally want to get into this tonight, but now that we’re talking about it I may as well spill the beans. I was over seeing my accountant this week and things are bad. Really bad. In fact, there’s a good chance Rich and I will be shutting down the company next month.”
“What?” Pat said, as shocked to hear the news as Kelly had been. “Business is that bad?”
“Worse. I’m still trying to refinance a few things but the bank manager is being a prick, as usual, and I’m not holding my breath.”
“Anything we can do to help?” Pat asked.
“Not really. I hate to say it, but I think we’re screwed.”
“Maybe not,” Kelly said. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. She hadn’t intended to bring this up tonight, and maybe not ever, but she hated to see the beaten-down look on Dan’s face and hear the shame and disappointment in his voice. He worked so hard and deserved better than what fate was giving him. Still, was it really going to help telling them the fantastical story her grandfather had told her earlier today? Was running off on a wild-goose chase going to help the situation out any? Probably not, and having false hope might even be worse than no hope at all.
“What do you mean by that?” Rich said.
Now what the hell was she going to say? She felt like a horse’s ass for not keeping her big mouth shut. “Shit! Okay…have a seat around the fire, guys. This is probably nuts, but I’ve got a story to tell you and it might take a while…”
Kelly told them everything she knew, from the city workers finding the dead suicide victim in the wall of the Paramount Theatre, to her grandfather’s confession about what the village elders of Miller’s Grove had supposedlydone to the town preacher back in 1936. She ended her story with the rumor of Joshua Miller’s hidden treasure and how there was a chance, if it had ever existed at all, that it might still be out there somewhere in the nearby Iowa woods.
Everyone was silent for a moment,
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