I’m running out of options. I head back to the 7-11. As I enter a young boy greets me from behind the counter. I wonder if they told him what happened here when they hired him? My mind sees the dead clerk, blood on the counter. It could have been this kid.
“Anything I can help you with sir?”
“Nah, I’m good. Just going to get a drink.”
I start heading back to the drink cooler where I found Sparrow. I reach in to grab a drink, close my eyes trying to recreate the images I saw that day. Dead clerk, Sparrow leaning against this cooler, broken bottle in her hand, blood on her clothes. I remember my heart racing, the sounds of sirens, the smells of disinfectant, and…….. the shine of the gun a few feet from Sparrow. It’s just laying there on the floor.
“Sir…” the kid is standing beside me. “Are you alright?”
I pull my hand out the freezer.
“Yeah I’m fine.” The kid looks at me like I’m crazy, probably wondering if I just enjoyed opening freezers. Maybe I am nuts. I leave the store without buying anything. How did I miss the gun before?