Spencerville

She'd held her hand in his for most of the drive down, and even when he used the floor shift, she kept her hand over his. This reminded him of when they were in high school, on those occasions when he couldn't use the family car, and he had to pick her up in the farm truck, and she'd keep her hand on his as he shifted gears.

Keith said, "It's going to be a beautiful day."

"Yes. I like to see the sun rise." She added, "Especially this one."

"Right." A few minutes later, he said, "Billy Marlon told me you were always nice to him. He appreciated that."

She didn't reply.

Keith said, "He wanted to do what he did. He had a score to settle."

"I know. I know about his wife."

Keith nodded.

A

"That's usually the case."

She asked him, "Would you have killed him? I mean, if you didn't have to kill him in self-defense?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

"I don't think you would have. It's all right. You're a good person. You made me a promise." She added, "I didn't make any such promise to anyone."

He didn't respond to that but changed the subject and said, "We'll stop at a roadside place up ahead near the Interstate. I'll buy you breakfast."

"I look awful. So do you."

"I have to meet someone at the truck stop."

"Oh... the man you called from the lodge?"

"Yes."

"Your friend from Washington?"

"Yes."

She didn't say anything further, and, a few minutes later, Keith pulled into a truck stop off the Ohio Turnpike. She said, "I'll stay here."

"No, I want you to meet Charlie, and I want you to call your sister."

They got out of the pickup truck and went into the coffee shop.

Charlie Adair was sitting in a booth near a window, wearing the first and only British tweed suit in the place, drinking coffee, smoking, and reading a newspaper. He stood as they approached, smiled, and said, "Good morning."

Keith and Charlie shook hands, and Keith said, "Charlie Adair, I'd like you to meet A

He took her hand and said, "I'm very glad you could come."

"Thank you. I'm very glad I could be here."

They all sat, and Charlie ordered two more coffees. He said, "This is a great place. Everyone here smokes." He asked A

A

Charlie lit another cigarette and said to her, "Keith and I had some words before he went up to Michigan, so we wanted to apologize to each other in person."

A

"Absolutely. You're beautiful."

"I am, you know, but not at this moment."

Charlie smiled, then said, "I think you are." He added, "I'm not going to take Keith away, so let's be friends."

"Okay."

Keith said to A

She replied, "I already figured that out."

Charlie smiled again.

The coffee came, and they sipped on it. Charlie said to A

She smiled. "I know that."

Keith said, "I think that's enough." He said to Charlie, "This woman saved my life."

Charlie nodded and said, "You owe her."

A

Keith said again, "Enough."

Charlie asked, "Can Uncle buy you breakfast? No strings attached if it's under ten bucks."

They both shook their heads.

Charlie inquired, "Do you need money?"

Keith replied, "No, we're fine."

Charlie said, "So you've known each other since you were kids. That's great. Who did better in school?"

A

Charlie smiled. "Depends on the subject. He can read Russian. Did you know that?"

"It never came up and probably never will."

Charlie laughed.

They drank their coffee, and Charlie said to A

"I'm sure when I get up to make my phone call, you'll dispense with the small talk."

Charlie looked at her and said, "I used to meet him when he returned from someplace — usually a small cafe in a small town near a nasty border. So this sort of feels like old times." He went on, "We'd have a coffee or a drink, and I'd fill him in on the latest sports news. We'd never discuss his trip until much later. But this time, since I don't think I'll see him again for a while..."

A

Keith and Charlie stood as she left, and every trucker in the place watched.

They sat down again, and Charlie said, "Good woman. Good presence, good eyes, good face, good body. Bad taste in men."

"Apparently."

"You still in love?"

"Yes."

"The inconvenient husband, I imagine, is out of the picture."

"Very much so."

"You need a cleaning service?"

"Yes. He's in the lodge, Billy Marlon is outside."

Charlie nodded.

Keith gave Charlie directions to the lodge and said, "I want everything that's hers taken out of there, I want Marlon's body out of there. You may even decide to burn the place. Your call. Then I guess someone can make an anonymous phone call to the local police. Let them figure it out."

Again, Charlie nodded. "We'll take care of it. How about Marlon's body?"

"Find his next of kin in Spencerville. There's an ex-wife and kids in Fort Wayne, and an ex-wife named Beth in Columbus, Ohio. I want a military funeral with honors in Spencerville."

"Okay. Hey, you feeling good or bad?"

"Both."

"She really save your life?"

"Yes, she brained him with a poker."

"Ouch!" Charlie added, "Aside from him trying to kill you, I guess he deserved it."

"More than we'll ever know."

"How's she doing?"

"Okay."

"It's going to get a little rocky later, you know, when it all hits her. I mean, with her kids and all."

"She'll be all right. But no one else has to know what happened there."

"No one ever will."

"Thanks."

Charlie smiled. "So you did it yourself. But I have to clean up the mess."

"That's what you're good at."

"Is this a free favor I'm doing?"

"Sure is."

"I don't get anything in return?"

"No."

He asked Keith, "You coming back?"

"No."

"That's final?"

"Yes."

"Good. Maybe I'll take the job."

"Serve you right."

A

"Okay." She put out her hand to Charlie and said, "It was very good meeting you. I hope we see you again sometime."

"You most certainly will. I want you to be my guest in Washington."

"That's very kind of you."

Charlie took Keith's hand and said, "Good luck, my friend. We'll meet again under happier circumstances."

"I'm sure we will."

They said their goodbyes, and Keith and A

Keith pulled out onto the highway and asked her, "Did you speak to Terry?"

"Yes. She's happy and relieved. She said to tell you thanks."

"Did you tell her about him?"

"Yes. She said, 'God rest his soul.' "

Keith didn't reply.

They continued south, toward Spencerville. A

"He's very charming."

"He was your boss?"

"Yes, but he never took it too seriously."

She stayed silent awhile, then asked him, "Do you want to go back there?"

"No."

"Why not? I'll bet it was very glamorous and exciting. What could you possibly do after leading that kind of life?"

"Grow corn."

She looked at him and asked, "Keith... do you know about your house?"