Flowers Among Thorns || Bob's Burgers

10- Magnum Opus

Day Thirty Three

Bob

This is hell. Over a month since Tina was taken. Abducted and raped by a man only known as The Gardener.

I wish I could've gotten more information from Tina instead of freaking out and losing myself at the sound of her voice. And that was only the second day without her.

That bastard. What if he killed her for calling me? Damn it, what if I made it worse?

My mind could spiral into a million different possibilities, but I try to stop myself. I can't lose my mind. I still have people who count on me. No matter how much it hurts to keep breathing in Tina's absence.

I'm cooking with Zeke like I've done every day for the past thirty three days. After work, he walks around town and hands out posters about Tina. He's dedicated.

He's sixteen. I didn't expect that level of maturity and responsibility from a boy that age. But he loves her endlessly.

I know Tina would be grateful.

"One burger of the day with fries at table two." Linda says.

"Gotcha." Zeke replies.

He masterfully cooks up the burger while I ready the ingredients. We make a good team.

Linda picks up the phone and talks to Ginger, completely distracted. "Lin. Table two. Linda." I inform her.

"I'll get it." Zeke says.

I thank him, and a few mere seconds later, he's back inside the kitchen. I'm about to thank him again when I see the look on his face.

"Zeke? What's wrong?" I ask.

"Call the police." He gasps.

"What?" I ask again.

"Call. The. Police." His voice is shaky and he looks both shocked and angry.

"I can't call them if I don't know why I'm calling." I reply.

He's frozen, blocking the door to the front. "Don't." He says. "You...just...just don't."

This is all I need to peak my curiosity. I push him aside, looking around for answers.

The man at table two. I hadn't gotten a good look at his face when he walked in, but I recognize it as I inspect him closer.

The man from Zeke's police sketch. One of the ones who took her. My baby. My Tina.

My entire body shakes as I look at this man. Our eyes meet, and he looks nervous.

"Can I help you?" He asks.

"Yeah. You sure can." I growl.

As soon as Zeke exits the kitchen, the man attempts to bolt, seeing the face of the only witness to his crime.

I grab him before he can run, slamming him onto the tile floor. "You are going to tell me where the fuck she is. Or I'm gonna make this...a lot more difficult."