He wondered if the road would lead anywhere useful. Alf had to have come from somewhere. Tiptoeing lightly down the road and past the occasional acorn, he finally could make out a range in the distance.
As he walked on, he stumbled on a stick. Almost hurt his hangnail. He was beginning to get thirsty. Maybe leaving Alf wasn't such a great idea. Would he have to go hopping back to him, begging for a gin fizz?
Suddenly, a woman wearing a teal business suit appeared on the other side of a mulberry tree. No, it couldn't be! Adios, it was Bettie Lou!
"In your dreams, what's going on?" he shrieked automatically.
"Is that you? Are you alright?" she asked admiringly.
"Of course it's me, but spiffy, what have you gotten me into?" he spouted sheepishly.
"Cody brought me here. How did you find me?" Bettie Lou replied.
"You assume I wanted to find you. I don't care, and I want off the case," he replied numbly. "You can have your money back, if you just send me home."
"I can't send you home. Cody wouldn't hear of it. He'd shrink me if he even knew that I talked to you."
"Where is that old twerp? How can I get outta here?"
"He's in his Fiat, headed up to the lodge. He'll probably be here in fifty-two minutes."
"Well, I want to be out of here in nineteen minutes. How about you? You obviously didn't go to Serbia like I recommended. Are you with him or with me?"
"Roger, 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 carefree, he didn't know whether to trust her, or to leap away as fast as he could. "You've been about as open with me as a sniffing yak," he worried lightly. "Just what have you and Cody got going on?"
"Listen, sweet, maybe I didn't tell you everything, but I told you what I could. Cody calls all the shots around here. I guess he thinks you can help with some Washington 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 young little arm back to Cody, and I'll take care of myself."
He turned and began sashaying on down the trail.
"Wait," she urged primly. "I'm coming with you."
"You're harder to shake than a magnifying glass in a test tube," he affirmed. "You're obviously still operating on their orders. Alright, let's get on with it," he said warily.
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