A Crooked Waitress

Chapter 21

Before noon, Claus was going into his diner through the back door when Eric blocked his way. "Hello."

Claus's face turned white. He took a step back and looked behind him to see if anybody was watching. But no one was around.

"I went to the address you gave me. It turns out it's a church. A big one" Eric said.

"That's all the information I have. Why don't you try her cell phone? That number is correct. But you have to send messages because she can't hear." His voice trembled.

Eric glanced around and pushed him against the wall. "I don't want to send a damn message. I want her real address."

"I don't have it."

Eric punched him in the stomach. He put his hands on his gut, grunted, and bent down.

"Don't make me hurt you more. What else do you remember about her?" He raised his fist, ready to strike Claus in the face.

"Wait...wait..." the man said, panting. It took him a minute until he could straighten up.

"So?" Eric asked.

"One night her brother came in. His name is Toby. They were talking about doing some job. I don't know what kind. But I heard the name Junior or something. Christina disappeared after that night. That's all I know. I swear to God!"

So the second one was her brother; the tough guy!

Eric looked at the man's desperate face, lowered his fist, and walked away.

He knew Junior.

From the diner, he drove home. Jimmy was watching TV, and he could hear Natalie's blow-drier, upstairs.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, kid." He sat beside him. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Mom called," The boy said without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Your mom called?"

The hairdryer died down.

"Yes, she wanted to know how I was," Jimmy said.

"Good, that's good."

Natalie came downstairs, a towel was wrapped around her torso. It barely covered from the south of her butt to the north of her nipples. Jimmy's gaze veered toward her.

"I thought that I heard you." She said.

Eric grabbed the boy's head and turned it toward the TV. Once Jimmy's eyes were positioned in the desirable direction, he went into the kitchen.

"A word," he said.

She came in and ran her fingers into her hair, waiting for him to talk.

"My son is hitting puberty, and you walk around like this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. When did you become the father of the year?"

"Just cover your ass around my kid."

"Relax." She raised her hand." I'll put on some clothes like a good upstanding lady. How did it go?"

" I found the guy who sold them guns."

***

With a bag of groceries in his hand, Junior was limping back home. A former veterinarian, for a pretty penny, had stitched him and his crew up. His fee was steep, but his job was good.

Junior was lucky because the bullets had passed through the flesh and didn't hit any bone or nerve. The doctor had told him.

Toby and his sister won't be that lucky.