Grave Shadows Read Online Free Page B

what he did.”
    “He have problems at work?”
    “Didn’t like his job, but he needed the money for car payments. He always talked about winning the lottery.”
    The store manager moved around behind us, and Darren shifted in his chair.
    “I’d better go,” I said, standing and moving to the front counter. Darren followed and took the money for the batteries. “Any idea where he might have gone in the mountains?”
    He shook his head.
    “Was his Jeep muddy when he came back?”
    He thought for a minute as he handed me my change. “He kept that thing spotless. I don’t ever remember him coming back with dirt on it.”
    I thanked him and left. I looked back as I walked through the parking lot and saw Darren watching me through the window.

Chapter 18

    The next day was Jeff’s dad’s turn for a surprise. Just as Jeff and I were hitting the driveway on the bike, he pulled in front of us, hopped out, and grabbed something from the backseat. “These just came in. Try them on.”
    “Dad, we already have helmets,” Jeff said.
    “Not like these,” he said.
    They looked like regular helmets, except they had little microphones. “You guys won’t have to yell at each other during your rides with these.”
    We pulled the helmets on and flicked the switch for the microphone. I could hear every word Jeff said, even when he whispered.
    We thanked his dad, and as we pedaled away I said, “Pretty neat, huh?”
    “Dad’s having a hard time.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “He didn’t want me to do this bike trip until Mom convinced him. I guess he’s entitled to have a hard time, though. Dad’s gotta let go of me a lot sooner than most.”
    Jeff talked about his dad until we reached the Santa Fe Trail.
    “Ready to kick up some dust?” I said.
    “Hit it,” Jeff said.
    We flew down the trail all the way to the Air Force Academy. The ride back was harder, especially for Jeff, but we made it in our fastest time yet. The trip was a little farther than we’d ride our first full day.
    We stopped to have a drink. Each day I was feeling stronger, and my rear was getting used to the seat. Jeff went into a jiffy toilet and kept his helmet on. We found we could walk a long way away from each other and still talk through the microphones. I asked if there’d been any weird people at his house helping the family.
    “That Denise girl is strange,” he said. “I don’t know why she comes over. She doesn’t want to be there—either her parents make her or she thinks bringing food to sick people will help her get into heaven.”
    “How often does she come?”
    “Every few days. And then there’s the lady who cleans our place. Mom says her family’s pretty poor. She takes one look at me and starts crying. I just go to my room when she shows up.”

Chapter 19

    I met Hayley at Red Rock Lake, about halfway between our houses. We sat in the gazebo and fed the ducks bread crumbs. The lake’s been fed by an underground spring, and they’ve never had problems. But this year something must have happened to the spring because the water level keeps going down. They finally decided to just drain the whole thing.
    I told Hayley what I had found out from Darren. She pulled out her cell phone and called information for the number of Gunnar’s old girlfriend, Taryn. She wrote it down and handed it to me.
    “Before we call, I need to know if you’re serious about finding your cousin.”
    “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “Because it took you a while to even tell me about it. And some things bother me about this. He left without his dog. Didn’t tell his mother anything. Told the people where he worked he would be right there and then didn’t show up. There’s a chance that something really bad happened.”
    “Knowing is a lot better than not knowing.”
    I dialed Taryn’s number, and an answering machine picked up. I asked her to call me and left my home number.
    Hayley walked to the water’s edge and rooted around in