Gravity Box and Other Spaces Read Free

day.
    â€œYes, I am.”
    The one on the left, on the end, nodded. “Did you see Menlow’s burn down?”
    His question caused an uneasy stir in Egan’s gut. “I drove by what’s left on my way here. There wasn’t much.”
    â€œYou didn’t see nobody around didn’t belong there?”
    â€œHal,” one of the others said. “Drop it, why don’t you? Lookin’ for trouble won’t solve nothin’.”
    â€œKeep your opinion to yourself,” Hal growled and looked back at Egan. “Did you?”
    â€œHow would I know? I’m new here.”
    Hal continued to stare at him for a time, and then he took a long drink from his bottle.
    â€œThe sheriff told me someone survived.” Egan didn’t know why he was trying to keep the conversation going.
    Hal nodded. “Frank’s boy. He’s stayin’ with me.”
    â€œYou’re a relative?”
    â€œFrank was my brother.”
    â€œOh. My condolences. Does anyone know what started the fire?”
    Hal grunted. “Brice Miller’s bitch wife.”
    â€œYou got no proof of that, Hal,” one of the others said.
    â€œHow much you need? She runs off. Reverend Cady shoots hisself. Drucker’s prize bull gores itself on a combine, and my brother’s dead. It ain’t rained since she took off, and every damn one of you’s been havin’ one thing or another bust or go wrong and don’t you say otherwise. You know it’s been like that.”
    Egan stared at the man trying to make sense of what he was saying. He recognized the words, but their meaning was lost on him, as if he were watching a foreign movie and the subtitles were wrong.
    â€œWait,” he said. “Excuse me. Your local minister shot himself?”
    The man in the right-hand corner made an impatient gesture. “Cady was a crackpot. All that talk about organizin’ principles and animistic chaos. I’m surprised he hadn’t done it long before now.”
    â€œA crackpot you listened to, Sam,” another said, and they all laughed. “Hell, I couldn’t of repeated all that stuff if you’d paid me.”
    â€œIt was entertainin’,” Sam admitted. “But he was always a bit tetched. Can’t blame the inevitable on Esther Miller. And as for Drucker’s bull, the damn fool shouldaknew better than to let it run loose in the same field. Damn thing was special, but it was still just a stupid animal.”
    â€œAnd Frank?” Hal challenged.
    Sam looked down at his glass. “Well.”
    â€œAnd all the other stuff?”
    â€œCoincidence.”
    â€œMy ass, ‘coincidence’.”
    â€œIs everyone looking for this guy’s wife?” Egan asked.
    The men all nodded. “‘Bout seven weeks now, ain’t it?” Sam asked.
    â€œSeven weeks,” Egan said, chuckling. “Anyone stop to think she’s left the area?”
    â€œNo,” Hal said. “She ain’t gone. She’s still lookin’ for a ride out. That’s what she wanted with Frank. She’s got to have a ride out.”
    Egan suppressed another laugh. The expressions they all wore were grim, perfectly serious, as if contemplating an unpleasant truth and hoping someone would change the subject.
    â€œHere you go, Egan,” Bert said behind him, setting a plate down on the bar. He turned, and she winked at him. “Made this with my special sauce.”
    Egan was happy to turn away from the conversation. The food smelled wonderful. “I’m honored.”
    â€œYou may well be.”
    He finished his cheeseburger, then ordered another, and chased them with more beers. Egan knew how to nurse his drinks to make it look as if he was having too much, but he rarely lost control to the point of inebriation. He stayed and talked with Bert. They laughed, and he stayed longer, almost till full night. She joked that he should not drive