Silvis, Randall - Ryan DeMarco 04 -No Woods So Dark As These by Silvis Randall

Author:Silvis, Randall [Silvis, Randall]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2020-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Fifty-One

After returning to the station house in midafternoon, Flores and Boyd went to their desks, Flores to write up a report of their day’s activities, Boyd to coax more information out of his computer regarding their growing list of persons of interest.

Not even halfway through her report, Flores was sent out on a call. A single vehicle incident, Route 58, two miles northwest of Grove City. No injuries reported.

She checked out a unit and drove 7.2 miles to find a blue Ford F150 axle-deep in the mud and high weeds, facing south fifteen feet off the northbound lane. The only visible damage to the vehicle was the driver’s side mirror, sheared off when the vehicle slid past a telephone pole. The driver was seated in the vehicle with his hands on the top of the steering wheel, his head laid back against the headrest.

She spoke first with two bikers standing in a yard off the southbound lane; one of the bikers had called in the accident. Both bikers had been following the truck for several miles, had watched it swerving erratically and had dropped back to a safe distance only to see the vehicle cut across the highway for no visible reason and sail into the weeds. They had spoken with the driver, who claimed to have fallen asleep.

Flores walked across the road and checked in with the driver. Fell asleep, he sheepishly repeated. Just finished a double shift. Had already called a tow truck. Thank God he hadn’t hit an oncoming vehicle.

She walked back across the road and thanked the bikers for reporting the accident. No sign of intoxication, she told them. She believed his story. Feel free to continue your ride. Be safe.

She cited the driver for careless driving, the least severe penalty, but assured him that if it happened again he would be cited for reckless driving or even criminal manslaughter in the worst-case scenario. She then waited in her vehicle for the tow truck to arrive. Watched the bikers still standing in the yard, in no hurry to leave, laughing and telling each other stories, no doubt. She wished she could climb out and join then and listen to their stories. Where do you go on your rides? she would ask. What’s the most interesting place you have been?

Both bikers were in their fifties at least, their faces tanned and lined but in a way she found attractive. The taller one especially. He was slender and graying and spoke only occasionally, happy to let the other man do most of the talking. There was a stillness to him that she found very appealing. A quiet kind of contentment sparkling in his eyes.

But it would be too awkward to approach them now. She would look foolish. Needy. She refused to give that appearance to anyone. Never again.

She waited until the tow truck driver pulled into position to winch the pickup onto the flatbed. Then she returned to the station house to finish both incident reports.

It was her seventh day on duty in a row and she was scheduled now for five days off.

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