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We got the first call from Pearl thirty minutes after Bernie Faulks had let us know that all of the homes had been cleared out.

“Jase, that man is vile,” Pearl said.

“Pearl, hold on, let me connect everyone before you keep talking,” I said.

“I can’t stop talking. My first husband’s second cousin, who was put away for life, gave me a better feeling than this Viktor fella,” Pearl continued.

I connected Lettie, Little Grandma, Ruby and Florence. “Are you talking about Ray-Bob?” Florence asked.

“That’s the one. Florence, this man is a snake. He made me shiver. I could barely hold my pen and paper, and you know me, I can talk to anyone, but this man is pure evil. He came in with two other men. Big men. Bigger than even you, Jase.”

Jase and I looked at one another. That was not what we had expected.

“Did you talk to him?” Ruby asked.

“Of course I did,” Pearl snapped. “He might have been vile, but I knew what was at stake.”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything else,” Little Grandma soothed. “What did you do? What happened?”

“I took his damn order, that’s what I did.”

“That’s good. That was exactly right,” Jase said.

“Of course it was. I wasn’t going to let our town down,” Pearl bit out. “He tried to act all smooth, but he won’t be able to fool any of us.”

I looked over at Jase, who was sitting at the dining room table in the sparse cabin. He did not have his normal at-ease expression when listening to the ladies. “What did you end up telling him, Pearl?” Jase asked.

“First, there was a problem. He came during rush hour, so it was Becky who set him up with water to begin with. It was a mess. It took me more than a minute to get over to him, but I did.”

“That’s real good,” Little Grandma said.

“What did he say about the change?” Ruby asked.

“He gave me an odd look to begin with, but I explained we were backed up, and I was helping out Becky in her section. He seemed to believe it. It wasn’t until I served each of them their sandwiches that he had his phone out on the table with a picture of Kit showing.”

“That was smooth,” Florence said, awe clear in her voice.

“It was.” Pearl agreed. “I pointed to the phone and asked him if he was a fan. He said that he was. Not just of her, but of Angelica Drakos too. He said he had heard a rumor that they were spending time decompressing in this part of the country.”

“How did you respond, dear?” Little Grandma asked.

“I asked him if he needed anything else to go with his sandwich.”

Ruby laughed. “That’s perfect, Pearl. You made him work for it.”

“Damn right I did.”

“What did he say then?”

“He pulled out his wallet and put two hundred-dollar bills on the table. I told him our sandwiches don’t cost that much.”

Little Grandma laughed.

“He told me that good food like mine is worth it; so is just a little bit of information. I picked up the bills and put them in my apron. Then I told him that Kit and Angelica had found a secluded cabin a little ways up the mountain and that’s all I knew.”

Little Grandma giggled. “Pearl, you’re a genius. What did he do then?”