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“Damn,” Demmy said. “We should walk in the woods more often.”
“Uh, you guys have a friend,” Ollie said before sliding in behind the wheel and starting his car. He and Clarabell were laughing as he drove off down the trail.
“It can’t be,” Demmy said, still standing close and looking up at him.
“You know it is,” Cody said.
He regretfully released Demmy and walked around the back of his truck. Staring back at him was the masked face of the raccoon, whiskers twitching, hands wringing.
“I think it’s inevitable he come live with us,” Demmy said.
“We’ve already got one freeloader staying at the house this week,” Cody said. “We can’t afford a second one.”
Demmy squeezed his ass and kissed his shoulder before heading for his own truck. “Well, good luck. Do you want me to place your order at Margie’s?”
“That’s it? You’re just leaving me here to deal with this thing myself?”
“He chose your truck. And you know the routine. If both our trucks are here, it will just take us twice as long to be rid of him.”
“Fine. On your way, text Jugs and see if he wants to meet us. He was handling another bird job this morning.”
Demmy waved and climbed into the cab of his truck. As he drove off down the trail, Cody could hear him singing to some popular love song, and he glared at the raccoon.
“Don’t think you’re wearing me down. If anything, you’re making my resolve to keep you out here stronger.” Cody pulled the net from its place secured along the side of his truck bed. “Okay, raccoon, let’s dance.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jugs had declined Demetrius’s lunch invitation, saying he needed some time to himself after “dealing with all those fucking birds.” Demetrius sat at a booth by himself, texting with Cody to determine his order, and then sending a message to Amelia to assure her they were okay and nothing unusual was going on. Well, nothing more unusual than usual.
When another text buzzed on his phone, Demetrius expected it to be Cody, but found it was from Oliver. He’d sent a photo of his hand inside one of the white cotton gloves required to touch the majority of the books in the library archives. His text read: It’s like I had to dress formally to read about monsters!
Apparently, Oliver and Clarabell had somehow convinced Tracey to let them into the library’s environmentally controlled room. And touch the books. He could still remember how he’d felt the first time he’d stepped inside the room, and he smiled as he imagined Clarabell and Oliver losing themselves in all of that history of the unusual. It would be hours before they’d come out.
Hours.
He sent a text to Cody: When you’re done playing with the raccoon, meet me at the house instead of Margie’s. I’ll get the food to go.
The response was almost immediate: Playing?!
Demetrius grinned, hearing Cody’s indignant tone in his mind, then he got up and leaned over the long counter that ran the full length of one wall. “Margie?”
She pushed open one of the swinging doors and looked at his empty table, then to where he stood at the counter. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Demetrius gave her a gentle smile. “Nothing’s wrong. I’d just like Cody’s and my order to go instead, please. Something’s, um… something’s come up.”
“Nothing urgent? Everyone’s okay?” Margie asked, already gathering the things needed to make their orders take away.
Well, it was a little urgent, Demetrius thought, but said, “Oh, we’re all fine. Just need to eat on the run. You know how it is.”
“Owning a small business is hard work, I know,” Margie said, then she patted his hand and gave him a smile. “It’ll be ready in a jiffy.”
“Thanks, Margie.”
She hustled out of sight into the kitchen, and Demetrius looked around the sparsely populated dining area. It was just after twelve on a Saturday, and Margie’s should be packed. But only half of the tables were occupied, and the orders waiting to be picked up were nowhere near the usual number. While it was difficult to watch their own business decline, it was heartbreaking to witness Margie’s take a hit because she had stood up for them. Maybe it would be better for everyone if they just shut down Critter Catchers and took jobs somewhere else. Or even moved to a new city and started over.
His phone buzzed. It was a text from Cody, and all it included was a selfie of his sweaty and dirt-streaked face with a big smile. His hair was a crazy mess because he’d stuck his head out the window of his truck and taken the picture as he drove down the trail. In the background of the photo, Demetrius could see a round, gray and black shape bursting through a dust cloud thrown up by the truck’s tires as it chased after him.
Demetrius was amazed Cody hadn’t driven himself into the pond as he took the photo.
