Here is an excerpt from Devils Dump ... hope it peaks your interest:
Over at the Koffee Kup, Janet was in the back cleaning up. She was thinking about all the pregnant women in town. She was not thinking happy thoughts about them either. At least one of her pals had always hung around while she cleaned up for the day but now they’d all deserted her to be with the mothers to be. She missed the gossip sessions and being able to pig out on the day’s left over pastries … when she was stuffing her face with friends it didn’t seem so bad, but filling up on pastries in private filled her with guilt.
She’d been on a diet for over 20 years but just kept gaining weight. It didn’t make sense. She had 3 cups of coffee a day; a sandwich for lunch and nothing for dinner. She should be down to a size 0 instead of a size 44. She faithfully counted every calorie she ate … except of course for the pastries at the end of the day … they were throw-a-ways and you don’t count the calories in trash.
Janet was trying to decide if she should wipe down the counters with disinfectant or go home for the day and finish in the morning. As she was considering the ramifications of her two choices she felt a chill run through her whole body. She turned around to see if maybe she had left the freezer door open but it was shut tight just as she knew it would be.
Being in the Koffee Kup always made her feel warm and cozy, but over the past few days, whenever she was alone here she felt ill at ease. Nothing she could put her finger on, just the feeling something was not quite as it should be.
She grabbed her coat deciding the counters could wait till morning. She was half way across the kitchen to the dining area when she heard the front door open. The little bell that always made her feel nostalgic jingled when it should not be jingling. She knew she had locked the door. There was no doubts, no maybes no nothing … with the way she’d been feeling she knew she would not have left the door unlocked.
Nobody else had a key. She liked her employees well enough, but when it came to her livelihood she didn’t trust anyone enough to give them total access to what belonged to her. As much as she fantasized about a relationship with Pete, she wouldn’t give him a key either.
She sucked air deep into her chest, picked up a broom for what little protection it might provide and boldly strode through the dining room door…and came to a complete stop. The room was empty. The Koffee Kup was actually a café so it wasn’t large with lots of hiding places. The only possible place for someone to hide would be behind the counter, but from where she was standing she could see no one was lurking there to jump out at her.
Janet hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until she heard it leaving her lungs with a sense of relief. She tried to further encourage herself with a chuckle as she scurried towards the door, because suddenly she wanted more than anything to be out of the Koffee Kup. She almost made it too….but what is it they say about ‘almost’ … oh yeah, ‘almost’ only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.
She’d been on a diet for over 20 years but just kept gaining weight. It didn’t make sense. She had 3 cups of coffee a day; a sandwich for lunch and nothing for dinner. She should be down to a size 0 instead of a size 44. She faithfully counted every calorie she ate … except of course for the pastries at the end of the day … they were throw-a-ways and you don’t count the calories in trash.
Janet was trying to decide if she should wipe down the counters with disinfectant or go home for the day and finish in the morning. As she was considering the ramifications of her two choices she felt a chill run through her whole body. She turned around to see if maybe she had left the freezer door open but it was shut tight just as she knew it would be.
Being in the Koffee Kup always made her feel warm and cozy, but over the past few days, whenever she was alone here she felt ill at ease. Nothing she could put her finger on, just the feeling something was not quite as it should be.
She grabbed her coat deciding the counters could wait till morning. She was half way across the kitchen to the dining area when she heard the front door open. The little bell that always made her feel nostalgic jingled when it should not be jingling. She knew she had locked the door. There was no doubts, no maybes no nothing … with the way she’d been feeling she knew she would not have left the door unlocked.
Nobody else had a key. She liked her employees well enough, but when it came to her livelihood she didn’t trust anyone enough to give them total access to what belonged to her. As much as she fantasized about a relationship with Pete, she wouldn’t give him a key either.
She sucked air deep into her chest, picked up a broom for what little protection it might provide and boldly strode through the dining room door…and came to a complete stop. The room was empty. The Koffee Kup was actually a café so it wasn’t large with lots of hiding places. The only possible place for someone to hide would be behind the counter, but from where she was standing she could see no one was lurking there to jump out at her.
Janet hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until she heard it leaving her lungs with a sense of relief. She tried to further encourage herself with a chuckle as she scurried towards the door, because suddenly she wanted more than anything to be out of the Koffee Kup. She almost made it too….but what is it they say about ‘almost’ … oh yeah, ‘almost’ only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.
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