Safe and Sound by J.D. Rhoades

Author:J.D. Rhoades [Rhoades, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940610207
Publisher: Polis Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The valleys were still in shadow, but the sunlight was creeping slowly but perceptibly down the mountainsides as DeGroot steered the stolen Toyota truck down one of the steep off-ramps and exited the Parkway. He retraced the path he had taken to the meeting place, searching for one of the tiny villages he had passed through.

Like most of the towns in the area, it made its living from providing the comforts of home and civilization to the tourists who told everyone they’d come to the mountains to get away from all that. After a short time, he located a place he had noticed and marked. The building had apparently started as a diner, but some subsequent owner had decided to try to dress the place up in a Swiss chalet motif with carved gingerbread trim around the edges of the roofline. A neon sign in the window advertised ESPRESSO, LATTE. SMOOTHIES in curlicued red letters, while another hand-lettered sign in the other side of the window promised INTERNET CAFÉ.

An electronic chime gave out with a grating electronic bing-bong as DeGroot entered. There was a plump teenage girl busy at the espresso machine. She and DeGroot were the only people in the café. She looked up and smiled at him through a mouthful of braces. “Be with you in a minute, hon,” she said. DeGroot took a seat at the counter.

After a moment, she finished what ever intricate operation the machine required and turned to DeGroot. “Welcome to Chez Espresso,” she said in a cheerful mountain twang. “What kin I gitcha?”

“Coffee. Black,” DeGroot said. “And I need to check my e-mail.”

“Ain’t even turned the computers on yet,” the girl said. “But it’ll be two shakes.”

DeGroot was baffled. “What?”

“It’ll be a just a couple minutes, hon,” the girl said. She bustled off toward a back room.

“Dankie,” he said absently.

In a moment, she was back. “Okay,” she said. “They’s bootin’ up. Don’t get much call for the Innernet this early in the mornin’. Most people just want the coffee. You want a granday or a molto granday?”

Degroot rubbed his hand over his face. What the devil was the bitch saying? “Just the coffee, dank…ah, thanks.”

“Yeah, but what size? Granday or molto granday?”

“Ahh…small.”

“That’d be the granday. Just a sec.” As she busied herself behind the counter, she chattered merrily. “I love your accent,” she said. “Are you from Germany?”

“Ah, sure,” DeGroot said. “Germany.”

She nodded sagely. “I knew it. That’s why you’re up so early. You musta just got here. Jet lag, huh? I went to Los Angeles once to visit my cousin. I had jet lag somethin’ awful.” She handed a steaming Styrofoam cup across the counter. “That’s three fifty,” she said, “And five bucks for the Innernet.” He handed the money to her across the counter. “Computer’s in the back, hon,” she said. “Enjoy your granday.” She winked. “Hope you get good news.”

“Thanks,” DeGroot said. He shook his head as he walked to the back room. The computers were lined up on a counter that ran along three walls of the room.

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