Chapter 26

The morning reminded Alex how different his life was living in Conclave. Boomer was busy watering all the plants as Alex let his head fall back so the morning sun would warm his face. In the distance, he heard a mourning dove and nothing else. It was a stark contrast from living in South Philly, where you could always hear something, be it a siren, the throaty voice of a diesel bus, or the neighbors getting their day started.

Times like this, he could see why people chose to live here.

Then he would have a craving for a genuine Philly cheesesteak or be reminded that anything he could want was no longer only a few blocks away. Everything he missed so much about home would all come rushing back. The main thing he missed was his dad.

The thought of his dad having to cope with living in Tulsa made him want to laugh and cry. Maybe Sheriff Conly could loan Stretch a cowboy hat.

He heard a car pull up, followed by a door closing. Toenails clicked on the driveway, telling him Snickers was tearing around the house, followed by Grace hollering, “Slow down! Where do you think you’re going?”

Alex squatted down and let the wiggling fur-ball rush into his arms.

Boomer bumped into his back to remind him that the giant poodle needed attention as well.

“Coffee should be ready,” Alex called, letting Grace know he had Snickers in hand.

She gave him a wave as she walked in the back door.

“Come on. Janice probably has breakfast ready,” Alex said.

Snickers and Boomer raced to see which could reach the back door first. When Alex opened it, they bounded down the hall to where everyone was.

As he came into the kitchen, Lyric handed him a glass of milk and pointed to a plate of pancakes at his seat at the kitchen table.

“Thank you,” Alex said, wondering why his foster sister was being nice.

“We tracked your dad to the mall in Tulsa via his cell phone, but he turned it off, so we lost the trail,” Grace said as he sat down.

“He switched phones,” Alex guessed.

It would’ve been what Alex would have done because your phone could get you caught. He’d learned that lesson from his father. Stretch would have guessed that Alex would have his phone apps turned on to infect his cell. Leaving it on until he arrived in Tulsa was his dad’s way of letting Alex know where he was.

“We know where he was and the time of day. We could do the same thing we did to find him at the church,” Lyric said.

“The difference is that his new phone would be one of hundreds at the mall, and we would have to track down each one to find him. At least at the church, we could see who went where and rule out the locals,” Janice said.

Alex figured it wouldn’t be that hard to find his dad, even if there were thousands of phones. It would just take time and effort to sort through the phone numbers and eliminate those with names associated with them. His dad would be using a burner phone, and there would probably only be a handful of those. From there, law enforcement could show up and ID each person.

“We’re not being paid to look for him; we need to focus on paying jobs,” Grace said.

Alex’s spidey senses kicked in. Janice and Grace would give almost anything to nab his dad.

“Whatev,” Alex said, letting them know he was on to them. “I need another day off.”

All three women gave him a curious look.

“I’ve just not had any time off since the summer started, and I thought I would take a day to work on my tan,” Alex said innocently.

“Maybe Lyric should join you,” Janice said, throwing a wrench into his plans for the day.

“I am looking a bit pale,” Lyric admitted.

“Snickers could use some sun, too,” Grace said.

“Then that’s settled,” Janice said and turned to Grace. “Maybe we can grab lunch.”

“I’d like that.”

The two older women left for work, leaving Lyric and Alex to clean up.

“What time does Maddie get here?” Lyric innocently asked.

’F-me,’ Alex thought.

Alex wasn’t surprised when Maddie pulled up with Dawn riding shotgun. It looked like the three girls would tag along if he wanted to do anything that could be borderline dangerous. Make that four when Snickers jumped in the back with Alex and Lyric.

“What is that beast doing in my truck?” Maddie asked.

“She’s our muscle if we need it. At least she’ll stick by my side if anything goes down ... unlike you three,” Alex teased.

“You told us to leave,” Dawn fired back.

“Settle down. If trouble kicks off today, I’ll want you to do the same,” Alex said.

He would rather the girls get home safe and leave him and Snickers to deal with any bad actors.

“Where to?” Maddie asked.

“The feed store.”

The girls all looked at each other. Maddie stopped the truck when they didn’t have a clue, then turned and asked him, “Why?”

“Those old men who hang out at the old grain store are the worst gossips in town. I want to ask them about a farm near Chester,” Alex said.

“This I have to see,” Maddie said, then put the truck into gear and drove.

When they pulled up, Alex said, “You gals wait in the truck. I’ll be right back.”

“Not in a million years,” Dawn said as she and the other girls got out.

Alex walked around the back, where trucks pulled up to get supplies. There were six old wooden chairs, with five of them full. Each of the old men had a cup of coffee and turned when Alex and his entourage came around the side of the building.

“Alex!” two of them called out.

“Morning,” Alex drawled.

Dawn gave Lyric a confused look.

“He’s blending in,” Lyric stage whispered to explain how he’d said ‘Morning.’

“We’re not deaf,” the oldest on the end said.

“Please ignore them,” Alex said. “I need your help. There’s a farm south of Chester that doesn’t seem to be a farm. There are several travel trailers out back, and it has a parking lot in the front.”

“That’s Melissa’s. It’s where you go to get the chrome sucked off your trailer hitch,” the youngest one, who had to be seventy, said.

Alex had no idea what that meant.

“Frank, he’s a city boy. Sucking the chrome off your ... uhm.”

“Dick,” Dawn supplied. “It’s a whorehouse.”

“Why would you need to go there if you have these three?” Frank asked with a big grin.

“Do you really need to ask? Women, right?” Alex asked.

“When his balls finally drop, maybe they’ll help him out,” the oldest guy suggested.

Alex didn’t see the humor in it, but everyone else did.

“Come on, Alex. Let’s go get your trailer hitch polished,” Maddie said.

He’d promised himself that he would never use these girls again for a job. The only problem with that was he didn’t have a driver’s license. His birthday couldn’t get here fast enough.

They parked about a half mile from Melissa’s. Lyric pulled up the satellite view of the converted farm. Alex looked at the display and pointed to the barn.

“I want to look inside and confirm it isn’t what I think it is.”

To this point, he hadn’t revealed why he was on his scouting mission.

“What are you looking for?” Dawn asked.

Alex glanced at Maddie before he said, “The medical marijuana that was stolen.”

“What the heck, Alex!” Maddie exclaimed. “Do you plan to tell the police?”

“Not exactly. I’m using it to guarantee my dad’s safety. The South Philly crew will kill him if they ever find him. I’m buying off the Russians to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“But—” Maddie began, but Alex interrupted her.

“We don’t have a lot of time. Carl Cooper was taken into custody yesterday, and if he or one of his crew cuts a deal...” he trailed off.

“The police will seize the drugs,” Dawn finished. “Wouldn’t that be the best outcome?”

Not for his dad, but he could see her logic.

“We can talk about this later,” Alex said, kicking the can down the road.

The girls looked unhappy but didn’t object. He made sure they remembered what they should do if trouble showed up. He could find his own way home if need be.

When he got out of the truck, Snickers jumped out and wouldn’t get back in.

“Fine, but you have to stay quiet,” Alex said as he started into the woods behind the barn.