A Drug Affair, the seventh Spencer Manning mystery, is done and will be out mid February. It was a challenge, with more plot roadblocks than I am used to. Here’s a preview:
Stosh and I chatted over the rest of the pizza and finished our beer. By the time we were done we had come up with a skeleton of a plan. If a mouse likes cheese, bring him more cheese.
As I motioned for the check my pager vibrated.
“Stosh, it’s Iverson.”
“Go call, kid. I’ll take care of the check.”
I grabbed my jacket and ran to the car. Iverson answered on the second ring.
“I didn’t want to hear from you, Chief.”
“No. They made a run at Billy.”
My stomach turned, and I tried to keep the pizza down.
“Tell me.”
“About an hour ago, a guy walks up the porch steps of your aunt’s inn. No car. Young guy wearing a light jacket and a ball cap. He walks carefully and silently by my man napping on the porch. As he walks into the lobby he pulls out a gun. Then all hell breaks loose from the back of the inn.”
“Two men. Jesus. We should have had two on watch,” I said.
“Another guy went in the back door. He finds Billy in the kitchen sneaking a piece of cherry pie and grabs him by the collar. Billy yells, and your dog appears out of nowhere and clamps onto the guy’s leg. He’s screaming and pulls his gun and is about to shoot the dog when…