Chapter 2

One morning he’d emerged from a gas station restroom he’d used to wash up, to find the car simply gone. He might have thought it was stolen if he hadn’t looked east and saw it being towed, growing smaller in the distance.

He knew to run after it would be a fool’s errand, hopeless.

And now, tonight, when it seemed everyone in the world had shut their doors to his plight while they celebrated home, hearth, and family, Henry looked despairingly at the relentless snow coming down. It showed no signs of stopping. He wondered if some poor soul would find his frozen body come morning. The prospect contained elements of both terror and relief.

He glanced once more at the house, a neat little bungalow, its windows dark. There was a porch swing out front.