BKN01
DINER RECEIPT
RECEIPT NUMBER: BKN01
RECEIPT DATE: 9 23 19XX
MANAGER TITLE: TRUSTED ASSOCIATE
RECEIPT NOTES:
Of course. Of course, of course. It was never really about Mr. Min. Or about Death Valley. It was about… us. Or, I suspect, one of us—la dame, or my trusted associate, mon nouvel ami.
Early this morning, in the dark hours just before dawn, there were multiple reports of strange lights above Long Beach and across the greater Los Angeles area. The same lights we saw in Death Valley. It seems they’re following us, no? Or more likely, following one of us.
Now—I can’t rule out that these lights might be here because of me, some unintended consequence of mine. After all, I know a great many secrets. And in my youth, I dabbled in… questionable hat tricks, taboo hat tricks. But if this were the fallout of my younger escapades, the lights are years too late, no? That leaves us with two possibilities: the lights might be trailing mon nouvel ami or la dame.
And the simplest explanation, to me, is that they’re drawn to la dame—perhaps even to her siblings? It’s certainly a thread worth pulling. With the Birds flying south for winter, perhaps the lights are seeking a “next in line”? If there’s any sentience behind them, eh? I’d like to think there is, in any case.
But the other possibility is that the lights are following mon nouvel ami. Baltimore. And as to why? I can only speculate. Still, I know the look of someone weighed down by a secret that’s larger than himself. It’s a look I’ve seen reflected in my own mirror for decades. I’d hardly miss it on someone else.
…Mon nouvel ami, you can tell us whatever it is that’s troubling you. Whatever you’ve done… or perhaps… whatever you’ve seen? We’re a Cafe and Diner, all together, no? Of course, it’s possible this is unrelated to any of us, but it’s a theory we can easily test with another road trip.