Angels Fall Read Free Page B

Reece checked the peep, scanned the empty hall. She checked her locks twice, cursed herself and checked a third time before she went back to her kit to tear a piece of Scotch tape off her roll. She pressed it over the door, well below eye level, before she walked to the door for the stairs.
    She jogged down, counting as she went. After a quick debate, she left her car parked. Walking would save her gas money, even though it would be dark when she finished her shift.
    Couple of blocks, that was all. Still, she fingered her key chain, and the panic button on it.
    Maybe she should go back and get the car, just in case. Stupid, she told herself. She was nearly there. Think about now, not about later. When nerves began to bubble, she pictured herself at the grill, food strong kitchen light, music from the jukebox, voices from the tables. Familiar sounds, smells, motion.
    Maybe her palm was clammy when she reached for the door of Joanie's, but she opened it. And she went inside.
    The same waitress she'd spoken to during the lunch shift spotted her, wiggled her fingers in a come-over motion. Reece stopped by the booth where the woman was refilling the condiment caddy.
    "Joanie's back in the storeroom. She said I should give you a quick orientation when you came in. We got a lull, then the early birds will start coming in soon. I'm Linda-gail."
    "Reece."
    "First warning, Joanie doesn't tolerate idle hands. She catches you loitering, she'll jump straight down your back and bite your ass." She grinned when she said it in a way that made her bright blue eyes twinkle, deepened dimples in her cheeks. She had doll-baby blond hair to go with it, worn in smooth French braids.
    She had on jeans, a red shirt with white piping. Silver and turquoise earrings dangled from her ears. She looked, Reece thought, like a western milkmaid.
    "I like to work."
    "You will, believe me. This being Saturday night, we'll be busy. You'll have two other wait staff working—Bebe and Juanita. Matt'll bus, and Pete's the dishwasher. You and Joanie'll be manning the kitchen, and she'll have a hawk eye on you. You need a break, you tell her, and you take it. I here's a place in the back for your coat and purse. No purse?"
    "No, I didn't bring it."
    "God, I can't step a foot outside the house without mine. Come on then, I'll show you around. She's got the forms you need to fill out in the back. I guess you've done this kind of work before, the way you jumped in with both feet today."
    "Yeah, I have."
    "Restrooms. We clean the bathrooms on rotation. You've got a couple of weeks before you have that pleasure."
    "Can't wait."
    Linda-gail grinned. "You got family around here?"
    "No. I'm from back East." Didn't want to talk about that, didn't want to think about that. "Who handles the fountain drinks?"
    "Wait staff. We get crunched, you can fill drink orders. We serve-wine and beer, too. But mostly people want to drink, they do it over at Clancy's. That's about it. Anything else you want to know, just give me a holler. I've got to finish the setups or Joanie'll squawk. Welcome aboard."
    "Thanks."
    Reece moved into the kitchen, took an apron.
    A good, wide solid ledge, she told herself. A good place to stand until it was time to move again.

Chapter 2
     
    LINDA GAIL was right, they were busy. Locals, tourists, hikers, a scatter of people from a nearby campground who wanted an indoor meal. She and Joanie worked with little conversation while the fryers pumped out steam and the grill spewed heat.
    At some point, Joanie stuck a bowl under Reece's nose. "Eat."
    "Oh, thanks, but—"
    "You got something against my soup?"
    "No."
    "Sit down at the counter and eat. It's slowed down some and you've got a break coming. I'll put it on your tab."
    "Okay, thanks."The fact was, now that she thought about eating food instead of just preparing it, she realized she was starving. A good sign. Recce decided as she took a seat at the end of the counter.
    It gave her a view of the diner, and