Page 13 of Grave Danger

She giggled again. “Are you boys busy today?”

“Not right now,” Demetrius said. “We’ve got an open morning, actually. Do you need something?”

“I do. I have a critter that needs to be caught.”

“Uh oh, you should probably call someone about that,” Cody said.

“Well, I thought I had.”

“What kind of critter?” Demetrius asked.

“I’m not sure, but it’s digging through my flowerbed, and I want it caught and relocated. It’s just barely June, and I can’t have my flowerbeds molested so early in the season.”

“Molested?” Demetrius repeated and exchanged a smirk with Cody.

“That’s the only word I have for it,” Amelia said with a sniff. “Just wait until you see what that beastly thing has done. So, if you’ve got some time, I’d really appreciate it if you could stop by. I’m more than happy to feed you some lunch.”

“Lunch, eh?” Cody said. “Are we talking fast food or something home cooked?”

“Cody Bower, have I ever fed you fast food when you’ve been to my house?”

“No, ma’am,” Cody said, sounding scolded.

“Darn tootin’ I haven’t, and I’m not about to start. Now, when can I expect you?”

“Let us stop off at the office and check on things there, then we’ll come over,” Demetrius said.

“That sounds good. Thank you,” Amelia said.

“Before you go,” Cody said quickly. “What kind of lunch are we talking about here?”

“A surprise lunch. See you soon, boys.”

The call disconnected, and Demetrius felt a surge of warm affection for both Aunt Amelia and Cody’s satisfied smirk.

“Think she’s got a mole?” Demetrius asked.

“She should probably have it checked by a professional.” Cody looked at him and waggled his eyebrows.

“Ugh, dad jokes already?”

“Hey, we’ve already done enough today. It feels later than it really is.” He let out a long breath and steered with one hand while he gripped his forearm with the other. Demetrius recognized it as Cody’s ‘thinking and bracing for bad news’ posture, so he wasn’t surprised when Cody continued.

“What do you think about the condition of the mayor’s grave?”

“I think we’re in the first act of a George Romero movie.”

Cody made a face. “Only the first act?”

“Yep. We’re the intrepid heroes just starting to put things together.”

“Can I just admit right now that I’m tired of being so intrepid all the time?”

“I understand,” Demetrius said. “And I’m right there with you.”

They were quiet the rest of the way to the strip mall where the Critter Catchers office was located. It wasn’t a bad location, but they didn’t get a lot of foot traffic this far outside of town. Set a short distance from downtown on Route 118, their office space was at the far end of the strip which also contained a hydroponics shop, a candle shop, a clothing shop they’d never seen anyone enter or leave, and, just recently added, a small but bustling fitness space.

The Critter Catchers office itself was long and narrow, thirty steps from the front door to the back wall, and fifteen feet side to side. A large window by the door let in a good amount of natural light. Their desks were arranged facing each other with one side right up against the wall. Since Cody wasn’t able to stay seated for very long and inevitably ended up pacing or sitting in different places, his desk was situated with his back to the door. A small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and a light fixture that flickered no matter how many different bulbs they tried or how often they fiddled with it was situated off an even more narrow back hall that led to the rear exit. Across from the bathroom door was a tiny break room with just enough space for a café table and two chairs, a mini fridge, a mini microwave on which the white plastic had already started to yellow, a coffeepot, and a sink Cody referred to as “fancy” because it had a food disposal.