And here's a little taste...
A 200 year old manor house, a disputed suicide,
and a cache of stolen jewelry. Somebody’s willing to kill to keep Adam from figuring
it all out!
Mink
climbed out of the little car and stood, his handsome face alight with
delighted disgust as it turned to take in his surroundings. “Good god, I’ve
been picked up and plopped down right smack in the middle of Deliverance. I’ll
bet the bugs are big enough to carry you away out here. Did you see those
attack birds? They look prehistoric. What are those things called…pterodactyls?
They’re huge! Doesn’t anybody have a rifle? You should kill those mothers
before they hurt somebody. I’ll do it if you don’t have the stomach.” He turned
a look back toward the pond, where said prehistoric monsters appeared to be
tending to their extremely ruffled feathers and enjoying a ray of sun at the
edge of the water. “It would be my pleasure.”
“You’re
not killing Mike and Sue.” Adam told him in a bemused voice.
Beside
Adam, Maddy appeared to be choking.
Adam
leaned against his truck and covered his mouth with one hand.
Walter
sauntered up from a visit to the side yard and screeched to a stop beside Adam,
his nails scratching ruts in the sun-softened asphalt. The big dog whined.
Cocked his head. And then started barking, his thick fringe of a tail drooping
between his back legs.
Mink
frowned. “What’s wrong with Walter?”
Maddy’s
choking worsened, to the point where Adam thought he might have to smack her on
the back, if he didn’t choke to death himself first. “What exactly are you
wearing Mink?”
Mink’s
eyes widened and he looked down, as if surprised he was wearing anything at
all. “Oh, these, yeah, I figured it would be pretty wild out here so I dressed
for it.”
Maddy’s
choking finally emerged in a laugh. “This isn’t a flood zone.”
Mink
frowned, obviously not catching her meaning.
Adam
jabbed his partner with an elbow. “What she means, Mink, old buddy, is that
you’re wearing fishing waders. They’re meant for wading into creeks, not
walking around country manors.”
Mink
glared at them. “I’m not stupid…”
Maddy
doubled over in an apparent fit of coughing.
Walter
inched closer, a low growl throbbing in his throat.
“I
know they’re fishing waders. But they’re also impervious to bugs, snakes, and
raccoon teeth. Ted’s Sports was selling them at fifty percent off. I couldn’t
resist.”
“Next
time resist!” Maddy managed in a strangled voice before snorting in a less than
ladylike way.
Standing
just about as far away as he could and still reach Mink, Walter poked his nose
way out and sniffed the thick green rubber of the realtor’s footwear.
“You
think you’re gonna be attacked by a raccoon? In broad daylight?” Adam gave in
and laughed with Maddy. “You’re a kook.”
Mink
rolled his eyes. “Only the rabid ones. They wander around during the day until
some kind soul puts them out of their misery. So…we’re back to that gun.”
Walter’s
tail finally started wagging and he stepped closer, sniffing all up and down
Mink’s legs.
“You’re
very bloodthirsty today, Mink.” Maddy said, drying her eyes.
Mink
shrugged. “I’m a little out of my comfort zone in the country. You might have noticed.”
Mink’s natural good humor asserted itself and He grinned.
Walter
lifted his leg on one of the tall, rubber trees and peed.
Mink
was oblivious.
“I
suppose the dumb-fuck hat is part of your anti-rodent, anti-reptile protection
too?” Adam threw Maddy a grin as she snorted out another laugh.
Mink
wore a dark blue, large billed hat that tied beneath his chin. It looked like
something a woman might wear on a boat at sea…if she didn’t care that she
looked like an idiot.
“Blood
sucking ticks,” Mink clarified with a nod.
Adam
knew he shouldn’t do it but he couldn’t resist. “There’s nothing there to
protect you from coyotes.”
Mink’s
gray-blue eyes widened and he grew pale under the dumb-fuck hat. “Coyotes?”
“Stop
it, Adam.” Maddy strode forward and took Mink’s arm. “He’s just teasing you.
There aren’t any coyotes around here.” She threw Adam a warning look. “I’m
really glad you’re here, though. We just found out there’s an old slave cabin
somewhere on the property. Adam and I are going to go try and find it.”
Mink’s
face flared into horror. “Out there!” He threw an arm covered in long denim sleeves
vaguely in the direction of the woods. “You want me to go into the wild and
wooly wilderness to look for the rotted remains of a cabin?”
Adam
wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “That’s exactly what we want you
to do. Besides, look at you. Nothing could possibly get to you through all
those clothes and…things.”
“But
aren’t you going to show me the house first?” Mink asked in a slightly
hysterical tone.
Maddy
shook her head. “You can’t go into the house just yet. Not until your rubber
dries.”
“My
rubber…what the hell are you talking about, Mads?”
Adam
and Maddy just laughed.
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