10: The Alchemy’s in BloomHank Steel waited in his car, parked in the lot that his taco shop and Castaway’s Eatery shared. He had to make it look as natural as possible when Floyd arrived to open his restaurant that Hank wasn’t waiting for him. So Hank repeatedly collected a stack of papers, then messed them up, then collected them again.
He recognized the hum of the engine from Floyd’s car and ensured he looked twice as busy for when Floyd drove past. He wanted to time it perfectly, both exiting their cars together, so a conversation didn’t feel planned or forced.
When he heard the engine cut off, Hank swung open his car door and stalled a few more seconds to collect a pile of papers that had nothing to do with anything. He slid from the front seat, stifled another round of hacking coug
