Page 38 of No Plan B

“Oh.” Jed was struggling to keep his thoughts straight. “Thank you. I guess.”

The guy was staring at Jed. His expression wasn’t friendly. “Tell me something. And don’t lie. Are you scamming me?”

“What? No. Wait. I don’t understand.”

“You say you’ll pay. You order the food. Then you stick me with the check.”

“Not deliberately.”

“The whole collapsing thing? You should get an Oscar for that.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You really thought you had the money?”

“I do have the money. I did have. Now it’s gone.”

“How much did you have?”

“Three hundred dollars.”

“In what? Tens? Twenties? Fifties?”

“Twenties.”

The guy shook his head. “So quite a roll. When did you last have it?”

Jed thought for a moment. “In El Paso. I got some water. No. Wait. That was from a machine. I used coins. It must have been in L.A. On Tuesday. I bought my ticket and a burger.”

“Did you pull out the whole roll? Or just what you needed?”

Jed shrugged. “The whole roll, I guess.”

“You put what you didn’t spend in your pocket?”

“Right.”

“Did anyone see which pocket you put it in?”

“I don’t know. Probably. The bus station was pretty busy.”

“Did anyone come close to you? Bump into you? Come into contact in any other way?”

“No. Wait. Yes. The guy who found my ticket. I dropped it and…oh.”

“Ohis right. So. This guy. Did you talk to him? Did he ask you any questions?”

“We chatted a little, I guess. He said he was getting on my bus. But then he didn’t. Now I know why.”

“Did you tell him where you were going?”

“Not exactly. I was pretty vague. Why?”

“Doesn’t matter. Now, come on. Eat. Before this mess goes cold.”

—

The other guycleared his plate then waited for Jed to catch up.

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