A Shadow of Death in The Woods by Albert Sisson Read Free Book Online

to satisfy a discussion but in reality she only had feelings one way or the other. It was right-brain thinking rather than the logical, data-based left-brain thinking. Her feelings in this case were strong and in favor of letting Jack live.
    Jane on the other hand was a basket case. She was overwhelmed with what happened in the woods. She was so glad to be alive and have Bob alive that she was ready to worship Jack. You couldn’t depend on anything that Jane thought at the moment. However, it was something to be said in Jack’s favor for saving their lives just because it seemed to him the right thing to do. You don’t see much of that anymore. Years ago before the U.S. had gone from rural to mostly urban, it was common for people to help their neighbors and friends in time of crisis or need. Nowadays everyone wants to avoid becoming involved and they want the government to solve their problems. Jack didn’t have a lot to say on the matter but you could tell he came from the old school and was willing to help a person in need. Maybe Jane was right but you couldn’t tell with her being in such an understandable state.
    Paul wasn’t sure what to think or do. He was going to have to wait until morning and see what kind of data Mike’s guys could dig up on a Saturday night. Meanwhile he would talk carefully with Liz to get her true feelings. God, what a mess.

Chapter 5
    Live or Die
     
    Everyone knows, more or less, that they are going to die sometime. Mostly, it is less. No one really thinks it is going to happen. Not to them. Probably happen to other people. Or maybe in the future. Now when the words “this afternoon” or “tomorrow” are added to “you are going to die,” it gets your attention. Your mortality becomes a real thing that you can almost taste or smell. It was Sunday but I didn’t think that fact was going to change my circumstances or my chances of living. Today I would live or die, go home or stay in West Virginia forever.
    I got up around 6 a . m . I usually rise earlier but all the drinking last night made me sleep longer. I wasn’t hung over much because I drank a quart of water before going to sleep. That helps counterbalance the dehydrating effect of the alcohol although it means you are probably going to have to get up in the night to pee.
    I showered, shaved and got dressed. I made my way down to the kitchen as quietly as I could, not knowing if others were asleep or up. I found Momma in the kitchen. She seemed in a good mood and was busy getting ready to prepare breakfast.
    The night before I made arrangements with her that I would cook cream filled crepes with the choice of strawberries or bananas for breakfast. She was a little concerned that Bob wouldn’t like it since he was paying her for making breakfast. I told her that Bob and I were good friends and that it would be fine. She knew that I was stretching the fabric of truth but she went along with it. Momma knew how to get along.
    She was busy making fresh squeezed orange juice. I started the cream cheese filling for the crepes. It took the longest to cook and you could let it sit for a while. After that I would make the batter for the crepes while the grill was heating up. I loved cooking for a hobby but would hate to do it for a living.
    Momma kept a sharp eye on me. I didn’t know whether she was trying to steal my recipe or if she didn’t trust me to make a fine breakfast. She was a professional and had been hired by Bob so she wasn’t about to abandon the breakfast preparation to a bumbling bum off the street, or, in this case, off the highway.
    I had her put the glasses in the refrigerator to cool them for the orange juice and I had her put eight plates in the warming oven to warm them. It is senseless to put hot or warm food on cold plates. It just sucks the heat out of the food. At the same time you don’t want the plates to be too hot and burn your guests. And crisscross, you want cool items to go into cool dishes. We