Between the Lanterns(23)

The chief looked down at the highly emotional Samantha with a puzzled look on his face and said, “Ma’am, you do have Montek.Loss Insurance, right? It says here that you do.”

“Yes, of course, she does,” August said. “I’m sorry, Chief, but could you just talk to me right now, sir? She’s not doin’ so well, as you can see.”

The chief scratched his head, still looking baffled, and added, “Well, if y’all have insurance, the place will be rebuilt in a few days. Better than before, even. Superior new walls and roof, much more fire -resistant. Probably with AutoHydrants in the ceiling, too.”

August looked up at the heavy-set man with an annoyed look plastered across his face, and said, “Yessir, and what is your point?”

“My point,” the Chief shouted, “is why is she so dang upset? It’s all paid for!”

Samantha stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes – smearing soot and make-up alike – stared the Chief down with a look that could scare the Devil back to Hell, and said, “Why am I upset? The woman who built this diner is dead. She was like a parent to me, sir. She gave this diner to me. It was the last real diner in New Dothan. It was the only place in town with real meat loaf, green beans, chocolate pie, and a mess of other wonderful food. Nothing you can buy down at Montek.Mart can come close to cooking that real food. Why am I so upset?”

“Yeah,” he said, throwing his arms up in exasperation, “what do you care, Mrs. Lurie? It don’t matter.”

Samantha looked as if she was ready to fight the Chief, and August was just about to pull her away, when another firefighter walked up and said, “Sir, it looks like only two things survived the fire. The Nutricator seems intact – dirty but intact. And there is a Montek.Automaton in the back that seems mostly ok.”

“Thanks, Joshua,” the Chief said, his tone dismissing the young man. But the firefighter stood there awkwardly as if he wanted to say more, so the Chief asked, “Is there anything else?”

Joshua looked at the Luries and said, “Well, there is something else…”

The chief looked impatiently at the young firefighter and motioned for him to get on with it.

“Well, sir, there is a charred skeleton next to the automaton, sir,” Joshua muttered.

Samantha’s heart began racing with fear. Only one person could have been in the diner after closing. And there was one of those automatons in there? Didn’t Tara say she had bought one? Samantha had never seen it, probably because she had expressed such displeasure with Tara for wasting Credit on it. But why would it be at the diner? Why would she be inside with it? Did she mention something about it being delivered today?

“Sir,” she said, her tone no longer angry, “I’m sorry if we have a disagreement about how I feel at the loss of the most important place to ever have been a part of my life, but you never answered my husband’s question earlier. Did you call my partner, Tara?”

The chief looked from the young man over to Samantha, and nodded, saying, “We did, but there was no answer on the line provided listed in your registered emergency numbers.”

Samantha rummaged through August’s pockets and found his cell, quickly opened it, and looked through his contacts for Tara’s number. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer before hitting the call button.

It rang three times before being picked up.

“Oh thank the heavens, she answered,” Samantha said under her breath.

“I’m sorry but the Montek.Communication customer you are trying to call cannot be reached. The SmartChip attached to this account is no longer functional.”

Samantha closed the cell slowly. Tears fell from her eyes once more. August had overheard the automated message and knew what it most likely meant.

“Chief,” August said, “if there is nothin’ more we can do I am goin’ to take my wife home. Is that alright?”

The Chief shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn’t care any less whether Samantha and August went home or died in a fire.

“Up to y’all,” he answered coldly. “Insurance man will be in touch tomorrow, I reckon.”

They rode back home in silence, except for the occasional sniffle and sob from Samantha. August picked her up and carried her inside once they arrived home. He put her on the sofa and went directly to the kitchen to make Samantha a cup of her favorite tea.

She held the scalding cup in both hands and sipped gingerly at the too hot contents. August always made the tea too hot. He never remembered to add just a little cold water at the end, the way she liked it.

“It’s too hot, sweets,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

“Damn,” he said, slapping his head. “I forgot to add the cold water again. I’m sorry, love. I…”

He never finished the sentence as Samantha dropped the hot tea on the carpet and threw her arms around his neck. She squeezed as if her life depended on it. It hurt, but August let her go for it. She needed to let it all out, and he would let her crush the life from his body if it made her feel any better.

“Maybe it’s not her, love,” he whispered in Sam’s ear. “Maybe it was a burglar.”

“No, sweets. I have a feeling… and I trust my feelings. It’s Tara,” Samantha said, her voice muffled against August’s shoulder. “She’s gone. I just wish I knew why she was there with that damned tin can.”