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| AVAILABLE 3/22/16!! |
The captain placed a kid-gloved hand over Malfric’s. “Walk a bit with me while I fill you in.”
Malfric got to his feet, leaving the barrel-stool behind and
looped his left hand through the crook of the captain’s arm. As the captain led
him towards the bow of the ship, Malfric tasted currant jam and warm biscuits
on the salty sea air. His favorite.
He stopped the
captain before he could take another step.
“There’s no point in buttering me up, Finch. Just give me the details. If I agree, we can proceed straight to the
repast you have set up in your quarters.
Otherwise, just hand me your purse and we’ll call it even.”
Finch muttered beneath his breath. “Your infernal nose ruins everything. Fine then, have it your way. A job has come up ― not our usual fare, but
the bounty was too good to resist. So I
booked it. But I need a voyeur to get it
done. Naturally, I thought of you.”
Naturally. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch.” Shifting
floorboards belied the captain’s response.
Malfric frowned. “You
wouldn’t have laid out my favorite tea if it were an easy job with no
strings. In fact, you wouldn’t have sent
for me at all...any novice voyeur would have done.”
A snicker came from
his right. Ah, Quantex had followed
them.
The captain’s arm tensed beneath Malfric’s hand. Though he said nothing, Malfric detected the
shift and rustle of his silk coat as he turned to glare at his first mate.
“There’s an artifact.
We were not the only ones hired to find it,” Finch said with a
disgruntled sigh. “The other crew has a
day’s head start.” His voice softened to a conspiratorial whisper, “but we have
an advantage they do not.”
Oh? “And what, pray
tell, is that?”
A sharp intake of breath, a faint whistle through his nose,
and the captain answered. “A body.”
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I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to curl up in the garden with this action-packed novella!
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