I drove up to the park the next day around noon. Hazel had never specified a time for our encounter, but if I had to guess it would be around now—after all, this was typically when Jack had a meeting or was simply busy with work, so it made it especially easy for her to leave without him knowing.
The park was rather big, however, and even if Hazel was there, I didn’t know how I was going to find her. I figured I’d eliminate the trail as an option, as it was bustling with people—she likely wasn’t part of such a huge crowd, especially not for an occasion such as now.
The only other person place I could think of was the row of benches right besides the woods. It was often deserted, typically a place for young people to sell whatever illegal substance was hot at the moment, but on days such as today where the park was more crowded than usual, it wasn’t uncommon to see a few people taking a breather in that area.