Page 63 of The Sixth Spring

Will looked out the front glass doors that were still locked. He’d been out there until almost dawn with Itori, and hadn’t seen anyone else.

He covered a yawn and turned away. He should… focus on not that. He needed to look less guilty; he hadn’t done anything.

“Tired?” Becky asked. “Late night?”

“Uh, no.” Will said, heart shooting up into his throat.

Becky laughed. “Right. Well, c’mon, that new shipment of fruit is comin’ this morning.”

Becky headed for the back of the grocery, and Will followed because he didn’t have a choice. He didn’t know how to take Becky, but couldn’t afford to trust her.

When the delivery arrived, he and Becky helped unload crates of fruit. Usually Farmer’s got their stock locally, but with all the crop death, Adrián had started putting in orders from other counties.

For the thirty minutes before opening, they restocked, tossed what was no longer good, and tidied everything up.

When Will went to unlock the front doors, Adrián was gone, and half the officers had dissipated.

“I’m gonna use the restroom real quick, man the front?” Becky asked.

“Will do,” Will said.

Becky disappeared, and Will leaned against the register with one of the nearly stale donuts he’d taken off the shelf. Adrián didn’t care what happened to bad produce or bakery, so Will grabbed them for himself when he could.

He chewed through the donut as his gaze drifted to the parking lot. He was exhausted from the small bit of sleep he’d gotten last night, but he’d power through. He watched the officers still there, milling around at the end of Mercale.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Becky said when she returned.

Will looked up from the newspaper he’d been perusing. “Hm?”

Becky stopped next to the box of stale donuts. There were still six in the box. “What if we offer our dutiful public servants a little treat?”

“What?” Will looked from the donuts to where Becky was bending down at the register and grabbing something. She ran it through the checkout, pulled out her wallet, and paid for it.

It was a bottle of laxative powder.

After she paid, she cracked it open, swung the top open on the donut box, and gave them all a loose sprinkling.

“Becky!” Will hissed.

“What?” She snapped her gum and grinned. “It’s just a powdered donut.”

Will gaped at her. She couldn’t really–

But then she was putting the top back on the laxative bottle and stowing it under the register. She reclosed the donuts and, before Will could stop her, picked up the box and strode out the front door with it.

Will watched the swish of her ponytail as she went.

Becky crossed the parking lot to where the police car was, and offered the box to one of the officers. It looked like Gary. The man beamed at her, clearly flattered either by the food or the fact that Becky was talking to him.

Nearby, Will watched a semi-truck pull into the lot. In big, bold letters it advertised itself as a rent-a-fence company.

Becky and Gary talked for a few long minutes, then Becky was returning, a bounce in her step.

“More vandalism,” Becky said with a sly smile when she slid back behind the cashier counter. “He wouldn’t say exactly what, but something big went down last night. They’re bringing in fencing to block off the road.”

“Did you seriously just give Gary and them those donuts?” Will asked, unable to look past it.

Becky raised a brow at him. “Yeah. Small town neighborly and all that. Why? Something wrong with them?”