Page 46 of No Safe Place

“Makes sense,” Cushing said.

“Dad, I know this sounds crazy, but the reason I’m calling is that someone on Facebook said mother’s car was there.”

No! Cushing thought, almost dropping the bottle. Dammit. They had the news stations snowed, but in a small town, word traveled at light speed with or without the internet.

“Dad?”

Stall. Say something, he thought.

“That’s preposterous. Your mother’s asleep upstairs. I’m down in my office working.”

“I figured,” his daughter said. “I didn’t think it made any sense. How do these rumors start?”

“Oh, people just like attention, I guess. How’s my little lad, Carter, doing?” Cushing said to change the subject.

“Oh, goofy as usual. Remember he went to the doctor for his shot last week and wasn’t real happy?”

“Yes.”

“Well, one of his new Lego toys has a doctor in it and he’s taken to running the doctor over with Thomas the Tank Engine on his train table.”

“That’s hilarious. Maw Maw will love that,” Cushing said. “I’ll be sure to tell her when she wakes up.”

“Tell Maw Maw Carter misses her,” Ashely said. “And Grampy, too, of course.”

Cushing sipped the whiskey.

“Tell Mother to call in the morning, okay?” Ashley said.

“You got it,” Cushing said as he lifted the bottle again.

41

The second the power went out inside The Forge, there was a general moan in the sudden darkness.

But people didn’t freak out as much as I thought and, in general, were pretty calm and good-natured about it.

Someone called out to the owner, Scotty, about why hadn’t he paid the electric bill that month and some people laughed. Out came the phones then, of course. The modern flashlight. In a minute, the mood calmed even more as the inside of the restaurant became illuminated in a silvery bluish glow.

It looked strangely festive, even a little fun, I thought. Like a crowd at a concert just before an encore starts.

Looks could be pretty damn deceiving, couldn’t they, I thought, glancing at the front door.

As I saw people begin to get up and head outside, I stood myself and went into my kit bag. The nine-millimeter semi-auto I slipped out and tucked into the back of my khakis was a Smith & Wesson Model 5906.

I really liked the 5906. Not only did it hold fifteen with one in the pipe, there’s an added safety feature where if you kick out the magazine during a tussle, it disengages the trigger so it won’t fire. It was also the same type of gun I had first carried when I was a beat officer in the NYPD, so maybe I was a little biased.

Why I wanted to bring the gun outside with me at this juncture, I wasn’t completely positive. But I must say, just like when I was in the cops, I sure felt better with the familiar weight of it nestled at the small of my back.

“Hang back with Jodi and let me see what’s happening out there,” I said to Colleen as she stood as well.

“Okay, Mike,” Colleen said.

But even in the dimness, I could see that she looked pretty shaken up. Freaked out would probably be more accurate.

“This date is going pretty great so far, huh?” I said jokingly to cheer her up.

But I guess I needed to work on my material because she only laughed politely and said nothing more as I got in line behind the construction workers and followed them outside.

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