Page 169 of Just One More Thing

I wave to Miss Hattie farther down the loop. She presses both hands over her heart and shakes her head.

Inside Tall Tales, Hank gets his cookie before I say a word.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Walt says.

“Thought I’d surprise Emory with a coffee.” I glance toward the menu board, then back at him. “She hasn’t been in yet, has she?”

Walt just looks at me.

“Walt.”

He clears his throat. “No. She hasn’t.”

“Good. Let me get her usual.”

When Walt hands the coffee over, I look down at the cup.

Blank. “No words of wisdom today?”

He shakes his head and turns away to wipe down the espresso wand. I stand there for a second looking at him. Then I take the coffee and leave.

Hank and I head to Holey Moley.

The place is packed. I can hear people talking before I even reach the door. When we walk in, every head turns, and the room goes dead still.

Nobody says good morning. Nobody says anything.

“Morning, all.” Nothing. Not a smile. Not a nod. Not even Mr. Humphrey’s usual hmph.

What the hell.

I look down, wondering if I forgot to put on pants or something.

Maddy looks up from behind the counter.

“Out,” she says to the room. “Everybody out.”

The shop erupts all at once. Chairs scrape. People start moving.

Even Mrs. Kravitz doesn’t linger.

A minute later, it’s just me, Hank, and Maddy standing there.

“Maddy?”

She walks around from behind the counter. “Jake…”

I lift the coffee cup a little. “I brought this for Mo. She upstairs?”

Maddy looks at the cup.

Then at me.

“No, Jake. She’s not.”

I wait. My heart starts beating harder. Hard enough I can feel it in my throat. “When will she be back?”

Maddy’s eyes start welling up. Maddy doesn’t cry easy. She’ll cuss, threaten bodily harm, and reorganize an entire crisis into an actionable list, but she does not cry easy.