Today’s excerpt is from Monster’s
Palace, a standalone book featuring new character Clyde Feegle. On discovering Jo has moved out taking her
expensive artworks with her, Clyde springs into action to protect her less
costly items. Enjoy and have a wonderful day.
m.j.
By then Merrill had returned, after putting the computer
tower in the SUV with Floyd. He, too,
was shaking his head, et cetera, as he helped Candi with her job. Just as Clyde started to help them, a large
moving truck, not van, pulled up out front.
The man on the passenger side of the truck hopped out and came into the
store. “We’re gonna catch hell parking
out in the street, as narrow as it is.
There a back way into this place?”
Clyde tilted his toward Candi. “She’ll show you. I’ll go open the back door at the loading
ramp.”
Candi started to object about not staying with Clyde, but
shrugged and went with the man. When the
truck pulled up behind the building, Clyde was standing there, with the large
loading ramp door open. The driver of
the truck backed partway up the ramp, set his brakes, and got out. He and his helper pulled the loading ramp out
from the rear of the truck, until it was flush with the loading dock.
When they came into the workshop, Clyde reached into the money
belt he had thought ahead to have and extracted a thousand dollars in hundred
dollar bills. He handed each man two of
the bills. “You guys manage to get
everything loaded up and delivered without breaking anything, there’s another
three hundred bonus each for your help.
Help yourself to any of the wrapping material you need here in our
workshop. Everything, artwork—not
fixtures—goes. We’re gonna totally
re-design the store, and don’t want anything broken by the workers who’ll be
plowing through here.”
Then he turned to Candi, with his back to the two men. He winked.
“Jo, show them where everything is.”
Candi was nothing if not quick-witted. She nodded.
“Come on, fellas.”
The helper asked, “I thought you were closed…according to
the sign on the front door.”
Clyde nodded. “We’re
gonna open under a new name. Plan to
have higher-end art works as the feature—just have these cheaper items around
until they’re sold. Get with it,
men…I’ve got a lot on my plate today.”
While the loading process was going on under the watchful
eyes of “Jo” and Merrill, Clyde went into the office, searched around for the
information he needed, and paid an estimated sum to the phone and utilities
companies to cover a period of two years.
After the truck was loaded, Clyde asked Merrill to join
Floyd in the SUV and have him drive around the back. Clyde then locked the front door with a
latch-type locking device before he and Candi went to the workroom, shut the
large door, and exited through a self-locking side door. He told the movers where they were going and
climbed in the SUV with Candi. “Follow
that truck, Floyd.”
Floyd muttered, “Yeah, just like in the movies—except you’re
supposed to say ‘follow that car’.”
When everything had been moved into the storage unit, Clyde
gave both movers the promised three hundred dollar each, and those heading back
to CIA Headquarters were on their way.
During the drive Clyde thanked his three companions for their help, only
to receive a good deal of kidding about his efforts.
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