Page 107 of Asher's Assignment
“What?” She stopped beside him.
“I forgot I don’t have my wallet. It was in my car. Now I’m glad you found me. I’d have gotten all the way to the store and had no way to buy the damn phone.”
Edie paused for a beat. “Yeah, we’re doing food first. Recharge those super brain cells of yours.”
He followed her down the sidewalk and into the parking lot, where they got into Esther’s car. Edie pulled out of the parking space and pointed them toward Coos Bay. At this hour, nothing was open in Heron Ridge.
Asher closed his eyes, shutting off his brain for the drive. Edie must have sensed he needed some time to himself, because she didn’t try to make conversation until she pulled into the drive-thru for an all-night burger joint. He gave her his order, then tucked into his food when she passed it to him a few minutes later. In several bites, he’d devoured half of his sandwich.
By the time she’d parked and eaten a few bites of her soft-serve ice cream, he’d finished his burger and fries. With the food on board, he felt more awake and more in control of his thoughts and emotions.
“Thank you for dinner.” He wadded up his trash and stuffed it into the bag. “I haven’t had a decent meal in days.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry. I should have made sure you’d eaten something more than the trail mix earlier.”
“You’re not my keeper, Edie. I don’t need one.”
“I know, but I am your friend. And you made sure I ate. I should’ve had the grace to do the same. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You were worried about Essy and had a myriad of other things on your mind. I’m fed now and I’m fine.”
She studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “All right. Let’s find you a phone, then, shall we?”
“Finish your ice cream first.” He pointed to the cup in her hand. “So we can banish the crankiness.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.” Dutifully, she popped a spoonful into her mouth.
Twelve minutes later, Edie had finished her ice cream, and they’d found a twenty-four-hour department store and purchased a pre-paid phone. He bought a pair of pants, too, to replace his blood-stained ones.
“Where to now?” Edie asked as they got back in the car.
“The hospital. I want another crack at that license plate.”
She cranked the engine. “Didn’t you already get a partial and send it to Stroud?”
“Yeah, but I want to look it up myself. He’s taking too long.”
Edie rolled her eyes as she pulled out of the parking spot. “It’s only been a few hours, Asher.”
“Exactly. Too long.” He rolled his neck. “I wish I had my computers. They’re faster than your laptop. No offense.” He tore open the phone package so he could set up the device.
She held up a hand. “None taken. It works for what I do with it. You brought yours with you, though, right? We could drive back to Heron Ridge. You could work from Esther’s house.”
He grimaced, not liking the idea of being so far away. “Maybe. For now, I’ll make do. Most of my programs are cloud-based, so I can access them anywhere. It’s just the speed your laptop lacks.” He powered on the phone and waited for it to go through its start-up process. “If we do go back to Heron Ridge, we should check out that address where my rental stopped pinging too. See what’s there.” Stroud had let that little tidbit slip earlier. Asher didn’t think he’d realized it, either, and he wasn’t about to inform the detective of what he could do with the information.
“We need to sleep first, Asher. It’s late.”
He glanced at the dashboard clock and blinked in surprise at the hour. His adrenaline was back, feeding his focus. Or maybe it was the food. Something had kicked him back into action.
“How about you drive back to Esther’s and let me have the car? You can catch a ride with the others in the morning, can’t you?”
She gave him a quick side glance. “That’s not the point. You need to rest.”
“I’ve been resting. For three days, I sat in a dank basement with nothing to do but sit around. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
“But you also got shocked, right? Repeatedly. And hit over the head hard enough you were knocked out. That’s probably playing a big part in your absentmindedness.”
“I’m fine. The food helped. If you won’t lend me the car, I’ll call another Uber.” He knew it was a bit underhanded to point out how he could find a workaround, but he didn’t care. Having Esther’s car would make things easier for him.
