Read Resolution: Evan Warner Book 1 for Free Online Page A

big truck. But perfectly comfortable and functional.
    Tommy was standing by the ice chest near the store’s doorway. Which meant I had to pass him to gain entrance. He spends a lot of time at the store, because his girlfriend works there. The store and the post office are both gathering places. Little social venues for a town of people greatly outnumbered by trees. Unwanted meetings at one of these venues is one of the few drawbacks of living in a sleepy town of barely nine hundred.
    Or maybe it’s just Murphy’s Law at work.
    Tommy was talking to Marge Horne, one of the town’s selected officials. I saw him notice me approaching. He kept on speaking with Marge. Trying to ignore me. Which was wise on his part. He’s half my size. I could end his life with my bare hands in under thirty seconds.
    “Tommy boy,” I interrupted. Just to be obnoxious. And because he hates being called that. “Working hard or hardly working?”
    He flipped me the bird and tried to stay focused on his conversation. But he couldn’t keep it going, because Marge didn’t cooperate. She looked away from him to me.
    “Evan, is it true? Did you save a little boy?”
    “Save? Not even close.”
    “But, I heard there was a kidnapping attempt.”
    “There was.”
    “You stopped it?”
    “We did, yeah.”
    “Wow,” she exhaled. “That’s amazing. Thank goodness you were there.”
    “Thank Frank,” I said. “Goodness didn’t stop the guy.”
    Tommy shook his head. He wanted very badly to say something. Probably something derogatory about my dog. But he knew better.
    Marge stood there staring at me with wide eyes full of questions.
    Instead of giving her further details, I said, “Guess what Tommy did?”
    “What?”
    “He killed our pet rabbit in first grade.”
    “He what ?”
    “Yeah, he killed her for the fun of it. Snowball was her name.”
    Marge’s mouth hung open.
    Tommy shook his head. Clenched his jaw.
    “Enjoy,” I said and left them with that awkward mess to wade through.
    I walked on by the ice chest and entered the store. Found Amy Cutler behind the counter, as she often is. The store was quiet and she was leaning against the shelves of cigarette cartons. Watching the parking lot through the big side window.
    “Did Thomas just flip you off?”
    “Yeah,” I answered sullenly.
    “I told him to stop that.”
    “Well, Amy, unlike you, some people are just ugly and mean.”
    A little smile spread across her face. She was a decent-looking girl with a nice smile. A social butterfly. The sort of girl that managers and customers love. She had a way of speaking loudly but somehow did so in a pleasant, humorous way. Her job was hardly a job to her. She genuinely enjoys talking with anyone and everyone.
    “He flipped me off because he hates the truth,” I said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “He killed Snowball. Remember?”
    She sighed, “Not that again.”
    In first grade Snowball was our class pet. Not exactly a mascot, the real purpose of having her was to teach us responsibility and compassion. Each of us kids took turns bringing Snowball home on Friday nights. The experiment went smoothly for the first few months. Until it was Tommy’s turn. The following Monday, Snowball’s empty cage was all that made it back to school.
    “I’ll never forget it,” I told Amy. “Tommy stood there at the front of the class smiling while Miss Garner told us the sad news. He wasn’t sorry. He was proud of himself.”
    “He smiles when he’s nervous,” she informed me.
    “Or because he’s a complete asshole.”
    “You don’t know him like I do.”
    She was right about that much. I didn’t know him like she did. And I didn’t want to.
    I said, “Give me a pack of Marlboro’s. Please.”
    She got the cigarettes and rang me up. I paid with my card. She watched me swiping and punching the numbers. I was wearing clear vinyl gloves, as I usually do. Because the world outside my cabin is a troubling and germy