Page 14 of It Runs in the Family

“You go back to work,” he said. “I’ll take care of this. I’ll call for you when I think I’ve found something.” He started to head to the back, then stopped. “What time did you say this happened?”

I rubbed my forehead. “I think around one-thirty, but trust me, you’ll know him when you see him.”

I went back to work. Several truckers stopped by to gas up, pee, and get coffee. One was super chatty, and I could tell it had been a while since he’d had a lengthy conversation with another person. Tim was middle-aged, divorced, and said he missed his teenage kids. He didn’t give me a creepy vibe, so I chatted with him for about ten minutes before he declared that he needed to hit the road. I could tell he was reluctant to leave, so I said, “It’s been great talking to you, Tim. Feel free to stop by on your next run. I’m here weekday nights.”

A huge smile spread across his face. “I’ll be sure to do that, Iris.”

I waved goodbye as he headed out the door, then saw that Garrett had sent me a text a few minutes prior with a photo of a guy on a grainy computer screen.

This him?

A cold chill ran down my back.

Yep.

The parking lot and store were empty again, so I headed to the back to see what he’d found. The image of the guy was still on the screen, a little clearer than in the texted image.

“Do you recognize him?” I asked.

“No.” He didn’t sound happy about it. “But I’m sending a file of the clip to myself. I’ll print out a photo and show it around.”

“Can you do that?” I was worried.

“It’s not like it’s evidence, and as far as we know, he hasn’t committed a crime. Yet. But if he could murder you so cold-bloodedly in your vision, it stands to reason he’s done it before.

I wrapped my arms over my chest and squeezed. “Yeah. He definitely had the confidence of a man who’d murdered before.”

He looked up at me, worry in his eyes. “I think you should take some time off until we get this sorted out. Or see if you can trade for the day shift.”

I scrunched up my face. “I can’t do that, Garrett. First of all, no one would trade me, and second, I need the money I make on the night shift.”

“What are you given’ up? Fifty bucks? Is that really worth your life?”

“My vision took place somewhere else. Not here. I’m safe here.”

His mouth puckered with irritation. “We both know that vision isn’t set in stone.” He leaned back in the chair for a moment before shifting to study me. “You always that friendly with your customers?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard you out there, talking to that trucker.”

“So? I was carrying on a conversation, Garrett.”

“For over ten minutes?”

I propped a hand on my hip. “You were eavesdropping on my conversation long enough to time it?”

“You had a vision of your fucking murder, Irie. I’m gonna be doin’ a hell of a lot more than eavesdropping.”

I took a breath and narrowed my gaze. “What are you talking about?”

“As soon as I’m done here, I’ll be camping out in my car, watching the store.”

“Watching me.” I was annoyed but also grateful. Other than Granny, Garrett was the only person in my life who cared enough to worry about me this much. I’d seen my mother exactly five times since she left me when I was sixteen, and each time she’d only come back to ask for money. “You have to work tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll get some naps in. I already took one after you left my house. I want to be here if the guy comes back, if for no other reason than to try to find out who he is.” He turned back to the computer screen. “I searched the footage, trying to see if I could get the make and model of his car and maybe even get lucky enough to get his plates, but there doesn’t seem to be any footage of the parking lot. Just the inside.”

“I’m not surprised. The only reason that one is working is because Jimmy’s worried about theft. He’s a damn cheapskate, and he seems to have gotten more paranoid over the last year.”