In Hell: When Love Kills A Small Town Mystery

Chapter 11

"You have landed in the Twilight Zone. No other humans have survived."

The sound of her voice was small comfort. She looked up at the white sky overhead. Not a breath of wind. Not a sound. Even the birds were taking a siesta. It was well past noon and no sign of her car or the doughboy who promised to see about getting it fixed. No sign of a lift to the grocery store either. Lori wanted to crawl out of her skin. This place might be holy, but she couldn't help feeling it had a bad vibe. Perhaps, it was the last words of warning from the old man that made her feel this way. Those words hung in her head like a curtain. She left the sanctuary for the shelter of the shed out back, but there was no sense of peace in that close, hot room either.

She weighed her options.

Diving under the bed, she retrieved the brown envelope and pulled a couple of twenties from the wad of bills. Storing the envelope securely in the far corner, she moved a small dresser on top it and ran her fingers through her disheveled hair.

As she walked down the road, she turned back and stared at the shed. Maybe she should bury that money. It would be safer than storing it under the bed. But she didn't relish trying to break hard ground with a stick. And what if that blind man was watching the place?

She chuckled at the thought.

Not him, but maybe a partner that she didn't know about who would light on the buried money like white on rice. She shook her head. The best thing to do was to leave it where it was. She walked about a mile down the road when the rumble of a motorcycle came roaring up beside her. The bike stopped beside her, and the driver pulled off his helmet.

Lori smiled. It was the hunk from the café.

"Do you like walking in my backyard, baby? I bet you dream of mounting a hog like this."

Lori burst into laughter.

"That's the dumbest pickup line I've ever heard? Did you practice that in front of a mirror or did you just make that up?"

His smile was iridescent.

"I'll never tell. Wanna lift?"

"Yes. I'm ready to pass out from hunger. Any dumps that serve edible chow nearby?"

"Hop on," he said, handing her a helmet.

She readjusted the strap of her helmet. He gunned the engine, and she grabbed for his waist. Her laughter was like a song. She let her fingers knead the leather jacket, feeling his rippled abdomen underneath the material. The engine roared louder as they flew down the highway.

The sun sinking toward the tree line was turning the sky the color of blood.