Page 6 of Shadow Running
I snorted.“So, you’ve met Benny?Yes, he’s the friend I’m talking about.”
Patricia relaxed a little.She let out a long sigh.“I wouldn’t brag about being friends with a goblin, but he seems okay.And yes, it’s well known here that Greg and Benny are buddies.”
“Trust me, I was surprised as well.Benny’s okay, once you get to know him.And if you watch him around your money.”I grinned.“He’s actually got something of a conscience.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Patricia said.“Anyway, I’m not surprised he’s worried about Greg—theyarepretty tight.”
“So, do you know what happened to Greg?”I asked, shading my eyes as a semi passed the camp, the shiny cargo hold sending a ray of sunlight to blind us.“Bright,” I said.
Patricia squinted.“I guess it’s better than rain.”
“I imagine so.”I glanced around at the array of tents set up.There were a couple communal picnic-type tables with benches, a fire pit that was big enough for a good-sized group to gather around it.The smell was rank, but it looked like the inhabitants did their best to corral the garbage and keep it bagged and set to the side.
“I’m not sure where Greg went.He hasn’t been around for days, that I know of.When somebody here vanishes, you… Well, you look the other way.”
“You don’t call the cops?”
Patricia rolled her eyes.“That’s seldom an option.You learn to make friends for the moment, because eventually, everybody vanishes.Whether it’s to another encampment, or they die, or somehow—thanks to a miracle—they get off the streets.But one way or another, everybody moves on.”She looked so resolute that I wondered how she had ended up here.
“What do you think, though?Speculate?”
After a moment, Patricia leaned forward.“I’ve been concerned for a couple weeks now—well, a couple weeks before he vanished.I don’t want to say too much—it’s never safe.But I will tell you to look into an organization that calls itself theGive A Hand Up.Greg was talking to them a lot.”A look flashed in her eyes, and my first impulse was to think she was afraid.
“Who are they?”I asked, but she shook her head.
“They filled his head with hopes that he hasn’t had for years.Greg’s a veteran—both from the military and from being here for so long.He made life bearable for the new vets coming in.”Patricia was obvious uncomfortable talking to me, but she also seemed relieved to have someone to confide in.
I jotted down the name.“Give A Hand Up…it sounds like some sort of rescue organization.”
“Savior mentality.They tried to encourage me to join but I don’t want their help.I get motivational speaker vibes from them and that makes me nervous.My brother joined an MLM and now he’s a religious freak and spouts off a lot of inaccurate health advice, last I heard.”
The more she spoke, the more I wondered what Patricia was doing out here.How had she ended up homeless?She was smart, she was well-spoken.She seemed clear-headed and capable.I knew that not everybody who was homeless struggled with mental health or addiction issues, but then again, you never really knew what was beneath the surface.Civilization and society both wore thin veneers, often tissue-paper thin.
“What are you thinking?”she asked.“You have an odd look on your face.”
I took a deep breath.“You want my honest answer?”
She nodded.“I’d prefer that.”
“How did you…why areyouhere?You seem so smart and so capable.I’m not sure how to ask this without sounding rude.”
Patrica paused, then she let out a breath that was almost a laugh.“What’s a woman like me doing in a place like this?”
I nodded, blushing.
“A lot of smart and capable people end up under a bridge.”
“I know, and I didn’t mean it to sound that way,” I said.
“How did I end up here?Well, it started when I came home for a two week leave from the service one day to find that my husband had left me and took our little girl with him.I didn’t know anything was wrong till I found the house empty.I went to court and fought him for custody, but given I was still on deployment, the judge gave him custody and I got the right to see her on my leaves.I was heartbroken, and threw myself into my job.”She gave me a painful shrug.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.“What happened then?”
“Sandra, my daughter, fell in love with her new mother.The cun—bitch was always around.I’d only seen her for a few months after her birth and then only sporadic visits.I finally got it.She didn’t know me, and my ex did nothing to keep my memory alive to her.So I focused on my career and I made Second Lieutenant.I was put in charge of a unit of soldiers and we were sweeping an abandoned village for survivors.I ordered my men to check out what we thought was a deserted building.”
I grimaced.“And it wasn’t?”
“Oh, it was empty.But I wasn’t thinking.I was upset over a letter from my ex telling me his new wife wanted to adopt Sandra.I didn’t think to have them sweep it for bombs first—we can detect a lot of them now.The enemy had left a series of booby traps and when the men were inside, the building exploded.Thirteen of my men died, and ten more were injured, seriously.All because I was too upset to think clearly.”She leaned forward, elbows on knees, staring at the ground.
