Chapter 3It was an effect of his Marine training that he couldn’t help waking up early. So he was up, shaved, showered, and dressed in khakis and the shop polo shirt. He’d made the bed, fixed his breakfast, done the dishes—his apartment had no dishwasher—and brushed his teeth. Then he’d gone around the apartment looking for something to tidy up. And it was only eight o’clock. He had an hour before he needed to be at work.
He’d also learned patience from the Marines. He sat in the chair by the window. The sleek squirrels and fairy-diddles, also early risers, were busy raiding Mrs. Brill’s bird feeder. A pair of cardinals sat in the oak tree voicing their disapproval of the activity in what they clearly saw as their feeder.
It had been four weeks since he’d returned to Higgins and begun li
