Page 105 of Not That Impossible

After an awkward thirty seconds of silence during which I stared at her hopefully and she stared back, I said, “Need any help with that? I can bring them in for you.” I flexed my arm and pointed at my biceps, like a dick.

She almost smiled. “No, thanks,” she said. “I have my routine. I’ll get to it in a minute.”

Her routine apparently involved sitting behind the counter, sipping tea and gazing placidly into space.

I picked up a magazine without bothering to check what it was, and stood there pretending to be absorbed byThe Economist.My pulse continued to race.

Eventually, she got up and went into the back.

I quivered on the spot.

She came back in toting a stack of papers, thumped them down on the floor beside the counter, and briefly sorted through them. She straightened, holding one out. “I assume this is what you’re after?” she said. “Local Man Arrested On Suspicion of Murder. What Is He Doing With All The Bodies? Are There More???”

Oh, god. It sounded even worse when someone said it out loud.

“I haven’t had a chance to read it yet—” she began, and blinked when I talked over her.

“How much?” I said.

“A pound twenty.”

“No. For all of them.” I waved my arms at the stack. “Every copy.”

“Of every paper? Or just theChipping Fairford Inquirer?”

“Just theInquirer.”

“I am not selling you every copy. Most of these are reserved. People have already paid for them. Besides. You do realise this isn’t the only place that stocks theInquirer, don’t you?”

“Right.” Of course. I knew that. But this surely accounted for a big chunk of the copies floating around town.

She continued to hold it out. “Do you want one or not?” she said.

“Uh. Yes. Thanks.” I crossed over to the counter, tapped my card to the reader, wished her a good day, and left.

I ran to my car, threw myself in, and smoothed the paper out on the steering wheel.

It probably wasn’t as bad as I’d been remembering it.

The headline was still not entirely accurate.

The picture was good, though? It really helped tell the story; Ralph had chosen one where itdidlook like Ray was being arrested. Liam had a hand on the top of Ray’s head as he ducked into the car.

I read the article, folded the paper in half and set it carefully on the passenger seat.

Well.

Okay.

I was fucked.

I turned the car on, put it into gear, and drove slowly home.

I went for my usual morning run, got to the gym three minutes before my first class started to avoid having to talk to anyone in the break room, and worked the class so hard that they didn’t have any time for talking, either.

Classes done, I showered, and bravely dragged myself to the coffee shop.

I could only avoid the fallout for so long.

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