Four for the Road by K. J. Reilly

Author:K. J. Reilly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2022-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

30

I’ve been holding Sloane’s hand for one hour, twenty-seven minutes, and not enough seconds when she sits bolt upright, drops my hand, and starts pointing to her right as she calls out, “Pull in there!”

We’re off the highway now and driving by mattress stores and body shops, and Will asks, “Where?”

“There. Over there,” she says, making it seem like there’s some pending emergency. She’s pointing at a run-down strip mall on the right side of the road, barely ahead of us. Will checks the mirrors, sees an opening in the oncoming traffic, and then yanks the steering wheel hard to the right, and we careen across two lanes of traffic, then swerve into the parking lot. It’s a bit of a stunt-driver maneuver, and I almost have another heart attack. Then I decide that we’re lucky that Henry’s asleep because if Evelyn doesn’t like going over forty miles per hour, then that move Will just pulled would not have gone over well.

“Here?” Will asks, and Sloane nods.

As I look around at the stores trying to figure out what Sloane saw that seemed so appealing, I come up dry. “The gun store or the liquor store?” I ask sarcastically as I continue to scan the shops and Will pulls nose-first into a parking spot. Some of the stores have bars on the windows, and the rest either look shuttered up or sketchy. Next to the gun shop there’s a dilapidated thrift store with an old typewriter and a naked mannequin in the window. There’s a sign that says WE BUY THE TITLE TO YOUR CAR FOR CASH. I point at it and ask, “What do you think that’s about?”

Will glances over, and I realize that I didn’t specify if I meant the mannequin or the typewriter or the sign, but then when he says, “Extreme poverty and gambling,” I realize that his answer covers all three.

“Gambling?” I ask.

“Casinos near here. People need cash,” he says.

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve been here before.”

“Here, here?” I ask surprised. “Like, in this shopping center?”

Will doesn’t answer, but he says, “This doesn’t look safe. Go with her, Asher.” Then a police car drives by slowly and the cop eyes us. Henry wakes up in time to wave at him, which doesn’t help. Sloane takes everyone’s drink order—Red Bull for Will, peach iced tea for Evelyn, and water for me and Henry—then opens the door and says, “Wait here.” She gets out of the car and heads for a sleazy-looking convenience store that’s tucked back in the corner.

I tell Will not to let Henry out of the car, and trail after her.

She’s through the door like she’s on a mission and goes straight to the register and asks the clerk a question.

I hang back by the door as he points, then eyes me, probably figuring that we’re going to shoplift or full-on rob the place at gunpoint, probably with an assault weapon I just purchased in the shop next door with the cash I received for

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