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

there.”
    Max didn’t return his smile, but his mouth moved in what Zack took to be hi. Max immediately went back to his work.
    Frank slapped Zack on the back, saying, “That’s enough for today. Zack, unless you call to let me know you can’t, I need you to try to be here at seven sharp to punch in. You can learn the rest as you go along.”
    After shaking his hand again, Zack left for the front office to complete the other paperwork and take the written forklift test, a basic test that could probably be passed without any forklift experience at all. It contained mostly safety questions, which probably meant they would keep it in his file to cover the factory in case he had an accident. He’d found out that the job paid about half of what he had made back in Detroit, but the cost of living seemed to be much lower in Michaeltown. He remembered the quarter parking meter and the prices at the diner.
    He drove toward town in search of the hotel Frank had recommended. According to Frank, the owner kept one room upstairs that had been converted into a bachelor-type studio apartment for the occasional long-term tenant. The bedroom/ living room with kitchenette and private bath arrangement would suit Zack fine until he found something more permanent.
    Frank seemed nice enough. That comment he’d made about the laid-off autoworkers seemed a little narrow-minded, but he didn’t know any better. Sure Zack had taken to the road in search of a job, and, sure, some men took advantage of the system, but there were thousands of others with hungry kids to feed. They would have a hard time picking up and moving, even though some of them had done just that. Most of them couldn’t afford to take some lower-paying job while they waited to be recalled. He’d seen friends lose cars, houses, furniture, and everything else they owned because they just couldn’t make the payments. No, Frank’s neat little theory wasn’t quite right, but Zack wasn’t about to sit him down and explain his error. No, he’d made a good impression and had gotten the job. That’s all that mattered.
    As he reentered town, he remembered Kate’s words “if you get the job, we’ll have time to get to know each other better.” He smiled and turned in at the hotel.
     
     
    Chapter 13
     
    On the following Wednesday, Zack tried again to interest Kate in dinner. “How about going out with me this weekend?”
    Kate looked up from behind the counter at Zack, who was sitting in the same place as on the day they met, almost a week before. “You’ve eaten here, what, four times? If you add up all the short conversations we’ve had, that’s maybe a couple hours, and now you think I know you well enough to go out with you?” she said doubtfully, while taking a thoughtful puff on her cigarette. “For all I know, you’re a serial killer.” She smiled.
    “I’ve eaten here five times,” he gently reminded her, smiling and crossing the first two fingers on each hand for good luck so that she would see. “And I wouldn’t kill a fly. Please?”
    She looked at him carefully, trying to judge if he was trustworthy and sincere. “You sure are persistent, and it hurts me to see you beg,” she said, turning to deliver a tray of double cheeseburgers and shakes to a booth full of teenagers. She kept glancing back at Zack from across the diner, and he winked back each time. She returned a minute later. “Oh,” she said with a sigh. “Okay, I’ll go out with you.”
    “You’ll be glad you agreed, Kate. You’ll enjoy this date more than you think … I promise.”
    “Wait a minute. This is just our first date. Let’s take it nice and slow.” She pulled a menu from a metal rack and handed it to a teenage boy seated on a stool farther down the counter. She served him a glass of ice water before returning to Zack.
    Kate didn’t seem to be used to fast-paced life like Detroit, where he had grown up. Zack figured he shouldn’t try to push her too fast, but he