Free Kentucky Murders: A Small Town Murder Mystery by Larry Parrott

inhaled.
    His head felt light as a sickening dizziness came over him and then quickly faded. The blood must have temporarily rushed from his head. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. That goddamn son of a bitch! This meant war. There was no way that Zack was stealing his girl. Tommy flipped his cigarette butt out the window and started his truck as the Camaro pulled away.
     
    ---
     
    Later, Zack lay in his hotel bed with his hands clasped behind his head. He thought about their date, about how attracted he was to Kate, and about his new life. An hour later, he fell asleep with a big contented grin on his face.
     
     
    Chapter 15
     
    Kate worked the late afternoon shift on Saturday and would be responsible for closing up the diner at 8:00 pm . Her boss had asked if she would spend an hour inventorying the pantry for an hour of overtime pay after closing, and she had agreed. She had no special plans and figured that a few extra dollars to add to her savings account never hurt.
    She ushered the last customer out the door at 8:02 and locked up. In the back, she took out the inventory sheet and began her count. On Monday, Joe would order new supplies based on Kate’s results.
    She finished her task at a few minutes before 9:00, filled a glass with ice, and went to the soft drink fountain for a Coke. Sitting back in one of the booths, she drank.
    While she had been taking the inventory, she thought of Zack. He hadn’t called or even stopped by the diner. The day after that almost perfect first date, she wondered if he was getting cold feet. That wasn’t the impression she had gotten when he dropped her off the night before. She felt slightly worried because she definitely wanted to continue the relationship and see where it led.
    A few minutes later, Kate dumped the ice into the metal sink and washed the glass, placing it upside down with others on a tray.
    After gathering her purse, she went to the door, turned off the lights, unlocked the door, and stepped outside. She relocked the door and headed home.
    The night was warm, as usual, and, although she heard a thunderclap way off in the distance, the sky seemed clear when she looked up at the stars.
    Again, Zack’s first date and next-day disappearance worried Kate. Maybe he would call or had left a message, which her mother would pass along when Kate arrived home. Or maybe he’d be sitting on her front porch with candy and flowers when she arrived. Maybe.
    She turned the corner and began the last two blocks of her walk home. As she was about to pass through the pitch-black shadow of a large tree overhanging the sidewalk, Tommy stepped out into the light, blocking her path.
    His sudden unexpected appearance took her breath away.
    “Tommy! You scared the hell out of me.”
    “Kate, we have to talk.”
    “We have nothing to say.”
    “But I think we do,” he said.
    “Why can’t you just accept that it’s over, Tommy?” She took a step back. “We had a few good years together, but I don’t feel that same way anymore.” She looked around to see if anyone was within shouting distance, just in case he did something stupid again. But the street was empty, and her house was still more than a block away.
    “Kate, you’re my girl. We just had a fight, and now we can put that behind us and move on.”
    “That wasn’t a fight, Tommy. That was you holding me down and slapping me. Now I just want to go home. Please.”
    She tried to step around him, but he slid to the side to block her path.
    “I saw you last night with Taylor.”
    “What? Are you following me?”
    “He’s just some drifter. You have no future with him. He’ll take what he wants from you and disappear. Kate, I’m your man.”
    Kate said nothing for several seconds, remembering the doubts she just had when Zack had not shown up the day after their date. But right now, that didn’t matter. She was afraid. Would Tommy hurt her like he had done before? She knew she couldn’t run, and so far it