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laugh.”
“You out sang Brad at Karaoke.”
    “And I didn’t need the words.” Freddy sighed. “We are always the life of the party. We’ll be the life of … what is the name if this town?”
    “Lodi.”
    “Yes, Lodi. We’ll be the life of Lodi. You and I.” He opened the door for Grace. “The worst is over. It’s on to better things.”

    +++

    “What are you doing?” Lou Carlotta asked his son with a hint of annoyance, maybe even concern.
    Al had left work and never returned after his visit with Gregory Benson.
    Alfonzo sat behind the computer in the office, overlooking the pool area.
    “Al?”
    “Not giving up.”
    Lou exhaled. “You just hired two private investigators to find her.”
    “I can’t lose her.”
    “She just left. Give her a day or two to contact you.”
    Al shook his head.
    “Did it cross your mind, at all, that maybe she doesn’t want to contact you?’
    Al looked offended. “She loves me.”
    “She also witnessed you popping someone,” Lou said. “That may be a hamper on your relationship.”
    “Right now, yeah …”
    “Right now, yeah.” Lou shook his head. “You may also have to face the fact that we might have to get rid of her. Fuck, I put the order out right away.”
    Al shot a fast look to his father.
    “Hold on.” Lou held up his hand. “I rescinded. Temporary hold, until we see what she’s going to do.”
    “She’s thinking,” Al said.
    “How do you know?”
    “I spoke to her father. He’s worried about where she is. Wants to know as bad as I do. He said she needed to clear her mind, find herself, something like that. Took money from the bank and ran. And she spoke to him after she took the money. Didn’t mention me at all. She tells her father everything.”
    “What if Benson knows. What if she told him and he’s just not telling you.”
    Al laughed.
    “What? What’s so funny?”
    “Gregory Benson is a red neck in a three piece suit.   Hell, if he knew I killed someone in front of his daughter, and she was in danger, he would have opened the door and blasted a hole in my chest with that Remington 870 Marine Magnum shotgun he carries around for the hell of it. And he’d do it before I said a word. Trespassing. I can see it.”
    “Crazy coot. You’re right. He doesn’t give a shit.”
    Al nodded.
    “Ok, so you have two investigators on finding her. Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you hold off on them for a few days? Maybe Benson will hear from her and let you know. Wherever she is, she’s staying. And we both know Grace. Follow Starbucks and resorts, and there she is.”
    Al facially agreed.
    Lou continued, “Because Grace is spoiled. I don’t care how scared she is, how much she needs to find herself, she’s going where the going is good. The best food, best accommodations. No way, no how, even on the run, she’ll give up her charmed life.”

    ++++

    The thin paper napkin shredded in his hands from the grease, but Freddy didn’t care. He just tossed it aside and grabbed another one. “Do you suppose.” He leaned into the dining table toward Grace. He swallowed, sipped his Starbucks and lifted his fork. “Do you suppose it’s the absorption of Lodi and the trailer that is making Popeye’s chicken taste so good? Or is it the fact that we’re both starving. Because this just tastes delicious.”
    “It does, doesn’t it,” Grace said. “I think it’s because it is so good. I can not believe I have never had Popeye’s chicken.”
    “You’ve never had fast food. If you did, it was served to you on a normal plate.”
    “True.”
    “Ever have McDonald’s?”
    “Once. I think. I’ve never been in one.”
    “Oh, then we have to go to one. New experience. Pass me the slaw.”
    Grace moved the container Freddy’s way. “You know the more I look at this place, the more I like it. It’s actually really nice.”
    “I misjudged,” Freddy said. “It’s like a cabin in the woods. I think trailer, I think paneling.”
    Both