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Backyard Aliens

Page 21

by Persun, Terry


  “You asked to make deliveries today,” Carl said.

  “I needed the exercise.”

  Carl didn’t take his eyes from Keith, which made him feel uncomfortable. “You were late, but credited, for work yesterday. Is there something you need to tell me?”

  Keith knew that he could be credited for work for any number of reasons, and that Carl would not have access to police records unless it had to be entered into Goods and Services. He had no idea what Carl suspected, but wasn’t about to tell him the truth, which might spawn another emotional shift. But it wasn’t like that hadn’t happened several times already today. The police would probably be lounging at his apartment now, just waiting for the workday to end in several more hours.

  “Keith?”

  “Sorry, Carl. There’s nothing you need to know.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Keith looked away from his supervisor. “I’m sure.” He squeezed by and sat in his chair. “I have a lot to go through,” he said.

  Carl tapped the top of Keith’s desk and put his hand in his pocket. “Carry on,” he said before he left the office.

  Keith took a moment and read through the report before he moved on. There were several door latch replacements in that particular place in the last month. Flipping through other security reports, Keith noticed that other doors were prone to damage as well. He didn’t know what it meant, but he figured that security was monitoring the situation. It would be fine.

  He carried on for the rest of the day, the boy with the bullet hole in his forehead remained on his mind, though, and he couldn’t help but worry that the police would either rush into his office and take him away or be waiting for him when he got home that evening. Either way, he wasn’t in for a pleasant evening.

  Thank you for reading this excerpt from Cathedral of Dreams. You can find the novel wherever books and ebooks are sold.

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