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will do with the tap water! What are you doing out in this weather anyway?”
     
    I answered as I watched Barney become suddenly awake and animated. He devoured the contents of the bowl and even let Mack pet him like they were old pals.
     
    “We're heading to Nebraska to locate a friend.” I explained.
     
    Mack and Jimbo exchanged glances. Mack asked, “In this? You should have checked the weather before you left home. Where is home for you?”
     
    “California. I live in a little sleepy town named Lake Villa, where everyone practically knows everyone else in town, except for the few people that live in the mega mansions on the outskirts of town. Very few of us ever get to mingle with the likes of them, unless we're employed by them in some capacity.” I just loved my little town, so much so that I could talk about it forever.
     
    Mack didn't seem so amused. He turned his head back to the television as I spoke.
     
    I looked up at the screen to see what was so interesting. “Are you watching the weather report?” I asked.
     
    Mack turned up the volume. “That and all the other stuff going on around here.”
     
    I looked up at the screen again. The reporter finished her report, stating that the station would keep viewers updated.
     
    “What is she talking about?” I asked.
     
    Mack bent down to pet Mack again. “People have gone crazy. Storms will make you do desperate things, I guess, but I've never been that desperate. Thank the stars.”
     
    I still didn't understand. “What are people doing that has the local media riled up?” I asked.
     
    Jimbo came out of the kitchen again with a platter of food for me. I almost cried at the sight of it. Completing forgetting my manners, I grabbed a fork and started eating. I didn't even bother to sit down. I needed food.
     
    Mack and Jimbo both took a seat at the counter while I ate.
     
    Mack said, “There's bank robbers running loose. The news claims that they kidnapped some old guy and are heading our way, but I don't see that as a wise plan. We have all this flooding and Nebraska, where they are supposedly coming from, got hit with a major snowstorm yesterday. Plus, there's some report about the coyotes going wild. It's that time of year for them. They start acting up every year this time.”
     
    I swallowed a mouthful of food, without bothering to chew it. Did he say that the bank robbers kidnapped an old man?
     
    “What were you saying about bank robbers?” I pretended like I hadn't heard him correctly.
     
    Mack and Jimbo exchanged glances again.
     
    Jimbo shrugged, then Mack spoke. “Some fellows with guns, robbed a bank and who knows what other damage they did, then they took off, right in the middle of that snowstorm. The police out that way are few and far between, so that and the fact that the roads are probably a mess, made it difficult for anyone to catch up to them. I guess some farmer claimed to have seen them near his farm and said that they were dragging a man into their getaway car.”
     
    I started to shake. “Nubbin,” I whimpered.
     
    Jimbo said, “Yeah, that's what the reporter was saying. Something about some old guy by the name of Nubbin, who went missing from an old folk's home. The sheriff over there thinks it was him that they kidnapped. Did you hear about that too?”
     
    I dropped my fork on the floor. “Did they say the name Nubbin?” I asked, my voice shaking with fear. I moved only inches from Jimbo's face, the pungent smell of grease and cigars nearly overcoming me. “Where did you hear that name?”
     
    He backed away, surprised by my reaction. “Uh, they said it on the news. How else would I know that name? Why? Do you know him?”
     
    My chest heaved. My breathing more labored than I'd ever remembered it to be. “That's who I'm looking for. I used to... I know him. He's not in good health. That's why I risked driving out here from California. I need to find him before something horrible