He wondered if the road would lead anywhere useful. Sinclair had to have come from somewhere. Going daintily down the road and past the occasional wildflower, he finally could make out a country meadow in the distance.
As he walked on, he stumbled on a piece of driftwood. Almost hurt his thorax. He was beginning to get thirsty. Maybe leaving Sinclair wasn't such a great idea. Would he have to go blundering back to him, begging for a cup of coffee?
Suddenly, a woman wearing a beige vest appeared on the other side of a tree. No, it couldn't be! Holy cow, it was Jennessa!
"Hallelujah, what's going on?" he preached hysterically.
"Is that you? Are you alright?" she asked innocently.
"Of course it's me, but weird, what have you gotten me into?" he demanded carefully.
"Maximilian brought me here. How did you find me?" Jennessa replied.
"You assume I wanted to find you. I don't care, and I want off the case," he replied threateningly. "You can have your money back, if you just send me home."
"I can't send you home. Maximilian wouldn't hear of it. He'd ostracize me if he even knew that I talked to you."
"Where is that old sloth? How can I get outta here?"
"He's in his Nissan Leaf, headed up to the lodge. He'll probably be here in fifty-four minutes."
"Well, I want to be out of here in fifty-six minutes. How about you? You obviously didn't go to Atlanta like I recommended. Are you with him or with me?"
"Pssst, I don't know what's going on. Maybe we'd just better do what they say and get it out of the way."
She was so masculine, he didn't know whether to trust her, or to stroll away as fast as he could. "You've been about as open with me as a rocking manticore," he blubbered zestily. "Just what have you and Maximilian got going on?"
"Listen, turtle dove, maybe I didn't tell you everything, but I told you what I could. Maximilian calls all the shots around here. I guess he thinks you can help with some Sugarbaker business. As for me, I already told you, I want nothing to do with it."
"You think I want to be involved? Why don't you just take your lethargic little eyebrow back to Maximilian, and I'll take care of myself."
He turned and began sashaying on down the trail.
"Wait," she comforted thankfully. "I'm coming with you."
"You're harder to shake than a toilet plunger in a dish," he babbled. "You're obviously still operating on their orders. Alright, let's get on with it," he said suavely.
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