Best Crime Stories of the Year - Anthony Horowitz by Unknown Author

Author:Unknown Author
Language: eng
Format: epub

Victor Methos

1

He looked like a scarecrow drenched in rain.

The man was cast in shadow from the headlights of Ryan Hooper's Jeep. Rain drizzled through thin gaps in the windows where the roof didn't attach properly. Ryan felt the droplets hit his face as he watched the man move into the middle of the road and wave both arms.

He slowed the Jeep. Off to the side was a white Toyota with its emergency lights blinking into darkness. Beyond, rain pummeled the barren sands of the Utah desert.

The man wasn't wearing a jacket. He ran to the driver's side.

He was older than Ryan, maybe in his midforties, with a thin face that looked like a skull. He wiped at his brow with the back of his

arm.

"Ran outta gas," the man said. "Mind giving me a lift?"

Ryan checked the clock on his dash. "I gotta be in Vegas soon. My wife's due date is tomorrow and she'll lose it if I'm not there."

The man tried to block the rain from his eyes by holding his hand up. "My motel's on the way. Up the road about thirty miles. My wife's waiting for me there."

Ryan hesitated. The man flinched as rain pelted his eyes.

"I just need a ride, friend."

Thunder crackled in the inky-black sky above them.

"Okay, hop in."

The man ran to the trunk of his car, took out a small duffel bag, and ran back. He opened the door, tossed the bag into the back seat, and climbed in. Ryan began to drive. He glanced at the man and saw water droplets dribbling down his nose. The man slid fingers through his wet hair and sighed with relief.

"I'm Ryan."

"Jim."

The darkness outside was accentuated by the looming canyons beyond. The road was two lanes of blacktop with white lines; besides that, Ryan couldn't see much, just amber and red taillights in the rearview on the rare occasion a car raced past him on the opposite side of the road.

He'd never taken this road before, and the drive was long, but the interview he'd had yesterday at a hospital in Provo, Utah, was worth the trip. The job would be fewer hours than he worked now. Nurses could be worked to the bone in big cities like Las Vegas, but small towns were more laid-back. With a son on the way, he wanted as much free time as possible to spend with his boy. His own father had left when he was ten, and he swore he would do better.

"Your Jeep's leaking," Jim said.

"Yeah, I screwed up putting on the roof once, and it's never been the same."

He glanced at Jim again. It was too dark to see many features, but he was unusually thin with closely cropped hair.

"No coat?" Ryan asked.

Silence.

Without a response, Ryan felt the awkwardness of two strangers forced together with nothing to talk about. Awkward situations made him anxious, and when he was anxious, he talked too much.

"Not the best place to run outta gas, huh? Literally the middle of nowhere."

No response.

The vast, empty landscape and a silent passenger made him feel claustrophobic.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.