Page 25 of Grave Danger

“No, not that kind of weird. Less terrifying and more just… weird.”

Cody let out a breath. “Well, that’s a nice change. What happened?”

Demetrius told him about the possum turning into a raccoon, and Cody gasped then swore.

“That fucking raccoon! I don’t fucking believe it. He let the possum out and got into the cage himself.”

“What?”

Cody explained about the raccoon he’d caught and tried to release, and Demetrius shifted position to be able to see into the cage at the raccoon staring back at him.

“That’s insane,” Demetrius said once Cody had finished.

“You’ll never get that raccoon out of the cage. Just lock the cage door, start the truck, get it backed out on the road, and leave the engine running. Put the cage out in the woods, open the door, and run like hell back to the truck and drive off without looking back.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Demetrius said.

“Do you want to eat lunch before midnight?”

“This is crazy.”

“I’m telling you,” Cody said. “Do it exactly as I told you or you’ll be out there for hours.”

“Fine.” Demetrius let out a sigh. “Order me an iced tea and a chef’s salad, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Good luck. Oh, I invited Ollie to join us, and he’s invited Dave.”

“Wait, you invited Oliver?”

“Yeah, that’s another long story.”

Demetrius eyed the raccoon inside the cage. “Seems to be the day for long stories.”

“You have no idea. Remember, do everything like I explained, and you’ll get away.”

“I still say this is crazy, but all right.”

“Good luck. I love you.”

“I love you, too. See you soon.”

“I hope so.”

Cody disconnected, and Demetrius shook his head as he stuffed his phone in his pocket. He got down from the truck bed and looked into the cage. The raccoon looked out at him, crouched in the very back.

“All right, big guy, I’m pretty damn hungry, so I’m going to do what Cody told me. Hopefully you and I can both move on from this.”

He closed the cage door then started the truck and backed out onto the trail. Leaving the engine running, he got out and carried the cage off into the trees. After going farther than usual, even farther than where he’d found the net, he set the cage down with the front facing out into the woods. He stood behind it and reached over the top to open the lock and eased the door open slightly. Turning, he ran quickly back to the truck and jumped in. As he drove toward the road, he looked into the mirror and thought he saw a gray and black bundle of fur chasing after him, but the dust from his tires made it impossible to be certain.

When he arrived at Margie’s, Cody’s big smile upon seeing him lit Demetrius up. He didn’t think he’d ever grow tired of Cody’s reaction to his arrival.

“You got away,” Cody said. “You did that faster than I did.”

“Your directions helped. That was nuts.” Demetrius slid in beside Cody and leaned closer for a quick kiss before smiling across the table at Oliver and Dave. “How are you guys?”

Oliver glanced at Cody before nodding. “We’re good.”

Demetrius looked between them. “Uh oh. What’s happened?”