Random Events (Allen Crane Book 3) by Rodney Riesel

Author:Rodney Riesel [Riesel, Rodney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Island Holiday Publishing
Published: 2024-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The Breaker Bar was so similar to the Drunken Pelican that Allen wondered why anyone would pick one bar over the other as their usual hangout. The ceiling had the same exposed beams and black duct work. The walls were exposed brick. The bar sat at the back of the room with two- and four-top tables between it and the entrance.

The main difference in the two places was that the Breaker Bar seemed to have an awful lot of firefighter memorabilia, whereas the Drunken Pelican had more of an Irish/nautical theme. There were old black and white photographs of firefighters battling blazes. There were photographs of old brick firehouses. Fire helmets hung here and there on the walls and antique brass fire extinguishers sat on rustic wooden shelves. A large brass bell hung over the back bar. Three men sat at the bar with their backs to the door.

The wide oak plank floor creaked as Allen and Corey made their way across the room.

“Cool memorabilia,” Allen commented. “I take it the owner was a firefighter?”

“Dean Mulligan runs the place. Yeah, he was a fireman. His father and uncle were firemen, and his grandfather was a fireman too.”

“Family business.”

“Dean's son is a dancer.”

“I didn't know the fire department had dancers.”

Corey chuckled.

“Where the hell have you been?” said one of the men at the bar. “I'm halfway through my second drink.”

“Your alcoholism has nothing to do with what time I arrive,” said Corey. “Dave, this is Allen Crane. Allen—Dave.”

“It's nice to meet you,” said Allen.

“You're the writer Corey's been talking about,” said the man next to him.

“What's he been saying?” asked Allen.

“That you haven't gotten much work done since you arrived,” said the third man.

“He's right about that,” Allen said.

Corey pointed at the man next to Dave. “This is Pete, and that's Nolan.”

“Good to meet you guys,” Allen said.

“We gonna play cards, or what?” said Dave.

Dave was short—about five foot six. He had a full head of thick red hair that complemented the sea of freckles on his moon face. He was a little on the heavy side, but not what one would consider fat. He wore a white T-shirt and denim overalls. He looked a little like an Oompa Loompa and Junior Samples had a baby.

“We playing out here, or in the back?” Nolan asked.

Nolan was tall and thin with short salt and pepper hair. He wore jeans, work boots, and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. All three of the men appeared to be around Corey's age.

“I don't care where we play,” said Pete. “I just want to win my six bucks back from last week.”

Pete wore dark blue golf shorts and a black golf shirt. Snowy specks of dandruff sparkled in his jet-black hair. The shoulders and back of his shirt were coated with an avalanche of flakes.

Corey reached over and brushed the dandruff off Pete's shoulders. “Went with a black shirt again, I see,” he said.

“Piss off!” said Pete. “It's not dandruff! I have a dry scalp.

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.