Chapter 2: The Walmart **

As I walked away from Layami and her cousins, I re-entered the Walmart. I had noticed they had a local bank near the front of the store and since I needed to exchange Euros for Dollars, that’s where I headed. It wasn’t as painful as I thought it was going to be and I think they gave me a good rate of exchange.

That done, I grabbed a local newspaper, The Austin American-Statesman, and a local Auto-Trader magazine, and headed for the in-store chain restaurant. Then, while I nibbled on chicken nuggets and fries, along with another Coke, I began going through the classifieds, looking for a car and a job.

Cynthiana had given me $1,000 cash (US dollars) on finishing the golf tournament a few weeks ago, and Jeanne had given me $400 (in Euros) for expenses in getting Layami to her cousins. I had used most of the $400 getting this far today. And after exchanging the Euros I found in the Windsong’s safe, I now had about $4,300 American dollars.

I also had a Foundation credit card that I dared not use unless I was ready for Cynthiana to know where I was. I also had the credit card that came along with my new identity from Dr. Weinstein and my mom last year. I had never used that card and had been debating the wisdom of even trying it, ever since I left the Isle of Céleste. I finally decided to wait until it was absolutely necessary before trying it.

Unlike Europe, there is very little mass transportation in Central Texas. I think it may even have been a law that a guy HAD TO have a car to get around here. So that’s where I started. I went through the classifieds and made a couple of calls, but everything was either already sold or way overpriced.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was just after two o’clock when I started on the Auto Trader. There were more choices in the bi-weekly magazine, but the prices all tended to be even more overpriced and it was hard to tell the condition by just a picture. Still, I called and talked to a half dozen sellers who all thought that their used car should contribute significantly towards their trip-around-the-world, or other nonsense funds.

I was finding the whole process of buying a car frustrating; not to mention the pressure to get something accomplished so I wouldn’t have to dip into my precious reserves or sleep on the street tonight.

It had now been two weeks since Cécile had been murdered and the Serendipity destroyed, and ten days since I disappeared. And I was still no closer to finding her killer today than I had been two weeks ago.

“Ugggh!” I grunted in frustration.

About three-thirty, the Walmart security guard stuck his head in the restaurant and saw me still sitting where I had been the last three times he had looked in. This time though, seeing my obvious despair, he started walking towards me.

I figured he was going to ask me to leave, but I was surprised when he just sat down and looked at the newspaper and magazine I had spread out in front of me.

“Hey, pardner. You okay?” he asked.

I don’t know why. Maybe it was just my instincts kicking in, but when I answered, I told him the truth.

“I just arrived here this morning on the bus and had hoped to find a car and a job and eventually see about getting into UT (University of Texas). But I’ve been here for a couple of hours...”

“Try four,” he supplied.

“Okay. Four hours then. And I’m no closer to finding a car than I was when I started. Much less a job.”

“Care to tell me what you’re looking for?” he asked.

“You gonna run me off for sitting here too long?” I asked.

“Hell, you can sit here ‘til closing for all I care. As long as you bought something and don’t make any trouble,” he said with an easy smile. “I was just wondering what kind of vehicle (he pronounced it ‘Vee-hick-eL’) you were wanting.”

“I’m kinda open,” I told him. “I need something that runs decent, but don’t cost too much. I don’t have a lot of money.”

“You looking for sporty?” he asked.

“Not really. I’d like something with a back seat big enough to sleep in, in case I can’t find a job soon,” I replied.

“My name’s Elliot, but most folks call me Lot,” he told me. “Would you mind steppin’ back to my office with me?”

Following my instincts, I did as he asked and followed him to the back of the store. There, next to the Layaways, was a small unmarked door where he punched in a code in a keypad and opened the door. I followed him in.

There were two desks and a few chairs scattered around the small room. At one desk, an older man, wearing a leather vest and cowboy boots looked up from his typing for a moment and then resumed what he was doing without a word.

“As I told you, my name’s Lot,” he said as he extended his hand.

“Daniel. Daniel Williams,” I told him as I reached for his hand.

“Well, Mr. Williams, I don’t know if this is what you’re looking for...” he said as he reached behind him and removed a family snapshot from the corkboard behind his desk and handed it to me.

It was snapshot of a woman and three young boys, aged from four or so, up to around ten years of age.

“That’s my wife and boys,” he supplied.

I looked up at him, unsure what he was trying to say.

He laughed at my confusion. “No. Not my family. You definitely couldn’t afford them!” he said as he continued to chuckle. “The van in the background. Look at the van behind them.”

“Oh!” I said, relived.

“We just bought my wife a new SUV but the dealer didn’t want to give me anything for the mini-van, so I kept it. But the wife’s been after me to sell it because she says it looks ugly and is taking up space in the driveway.”

He went on to describe a ten year old Dodge Caravan with over 150,000 miles on it. He said it ran okay, had fairly new tires, and he had all the service records, but the inside was a little rough. “Three wild injuns!” he explained.

It did look a little ugly. The Texas sun had bleached the original red to something more brownish than red, but if it ran okay and the tires were good, I could put up with ugly. Besides, it looked big enough to sleep in, if necessary.

“How much?” I asked.

“I was wanting twelve hundred,” he said almost apologetically.

“I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t have that much. I could maybe do a thousand, if it runs okay.”