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I needed to go for a walk. I didn’t know where else to go, so I drove to the mall. I wasn’t thrilled to be around a lot of people, but I needed to be able to just walk and walk.
I was getting pretty frantic. I needed to set up an alibi, some proof that I was nowhere near the Reverend when he died. But I had no idea how to do that. How do you do that?
Perhaps this was a proof of my innocence—the fact that I didn’t know how to create an alibi. A common sinner would be able to snap his fingers and come up with a fake alibi eight ways to Sunday.
Ignoring the people around me, ignoring the storefronts, I tried to think up a place to go. Someone I could turn to. Someone who would vouch for my alibi.
I thought about the boat dealer. They owed me. I’d given them a lot of business. I’d spent a lot of money on that boat.
Ugh. The boat. The boat with the garage-shaped hole in it. What was I going to do about that? I could not very well return the boat for a refund now, could I? If only I had sprung for the insurance. But given the impending Rapture and all, it seemed like a waste of money.
Ugh. The neighbor’s garage. The garage with a boat-shaped hole in it. The Mendels would expect me to pay for it. What was I going to do about that? Maybe I didn’t have boat insurance, but would my home insurance cover it?
Wait—insurance! Of course! That could solve my money trouble lickety-split. Money to pay off the mob. Money to pay off the neighbor’s garage. Maybe a few bucks left over for my trouble.
I looked up to see where I was. An ice-cream place. I went in and spoke with the kid behind the counter. “Do you have a phone book?”
“A phone?”
“A phone book?”
“A whut?”
I tried to smile. Tried to be calm. “I need a telephone book. You know, with all the phone numbers in it?”
The freckled boy adjusted his cap. “We only sell ice cream here.”
I had a little more luck at the next place I tried, a pet store. At the counter, a man and his son were purchasing a big snake. Ugh.
When it was my turn, I gave the woman behind the counter my friendliest smile. “Hi, this may sound weird, but I need a telephone book.”
The lady frowned. It was not attractive. “A phone book?”
“Yes, may I borrow your phone book?”
“Did you try the phone booth? They usually have phone books.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Do they still make phone booths?”
“Why wouldn’t they still make phone booths?”
“Well, you know, everybody has cell phones now.” I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. “See? Everybody has one.”
“I don’t have one.”
“You don’t have a cell phone?”
“There was always—”
I shook my head. “Wait—do you have a phone book? I need to borrow your phone book.”
The lady shrugged and looked under the counter. She pulled out a massive yellow book and plopped it on the counter. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” I grabbed the book and started flipping pages.
BATTERIES-BEAUTY.
ELECTROLYSIS-EMBROIDERY.
GRANITE-GREASE.
Ah—INSURANCE. Now, what was the name of my insurance agent? I started looking through the various agencies. The various company ads. Finally found a name that looked familiar—and, checking the address, saw that it looked familiar too. This seemed like the guy. I looked up at the woman, now answering someone’s questions about lizards. Ugh. “Can I use your phone?”
“But you have a phone.”
“I know, but I don’t know what the reception will be like in here.” But she had already turned her attention back to the topic of lizards. Ugh. I picked up the massive yellow tome and made for the door.
“Hey! I still need that!”
“I’m just going over here.” I went over by the door. I didn’t know how good my cell-phone reception would be in here, so I went out into the mall. I paused by the pet shop’s window, watched the puppies frolic in the display window.
Then I went to the set of benches. Before I had a chance to get situated, my phone chirped. I checked the ID in the little window. The wife. “Hi, honey, I am sort of—”
“Aren’t you even coming to the hospital?”
“Honey, I am in such a—”
“Don’t you even care whether your son lives or dies?”
“I have to do something. Just keep me posted on—”
She hung up on me.
I stared at the phone a second. Trying to remember what I was doing. Wait—insurance. Right. Get set up with the insurance company, they pay off the boat, they pay off the truck, I use the money to pay back the mob, I use the money to pay to repair the Mendels’ garage. Everybody’s happy.
I found my agent in the phone book again, dialed him up. Once we got past the pleasantries, he asked, “What can I do for you?”
“I need to get some insurance on a boat. Do you insure boats?”
“We sure do. Can you give me some details?”
“It’s a 2008 Bayliner 192.”
“Ooh. Those are nice.”
“Tell me about it. It was sweet when I took it out on the lake. I just wish I could still use it.”
“What do you mean?”
“The boy was backing it in the yard and smacked right into the neighbor’s garage.”
“Was there any damage?”
“Oh, it’s pretty smashed up. I also have to pay for the huge hole in the garage too. Does the boat insurance cover that?”
“Let me get this straight—you want to buy insurance for something that’s already been wrecked?”
“Exactly. So, if we can get this deal signed right away—”
“But we can’t do that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t write up a policy on that.”
“Sure you can. You just said.”
“Listen, if you wait until you need the insurance, then it’s too late.”
“How can it be too late? I need the insurance right now.”
“But we can’t do that.”
“Look, are you going to help me out or not?”
“If you have already destroyed your boat, then we can’t help you. You really should have insured it as soon as you knew you were buying it. Now it’s too late.”
I hung up on him. I had to think. I had to figure this out.
I owed the mob a large amount of money.
What was I going to do?
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There are 70 chapters for Tribulation House. You can purchase the whole eBook from Amazon, Apple, Kobo, B&N, and more!
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Tribulation House: Reloaded
Mystery / ThrillerNOW WITH ALL-NEW AUTHOR COMMENTARY! When the world fails to end on schedule, one man discovers that the mob is in no mood to discuss end-times theology. Read this novel on your Kindle Fire, iPad, tablet or smart phone! Get the free app here: http:...
