Absolutely, Positively

you're not a big fan of popcorn and hot dogs.”

    “No, I'm not.” He took her hand and started toward a cluster of aging trailers. “Look, this interview with Uncle Leon is not going to be pleasant. Do you think you can find something else to do until it's over?”

    “No problem. I'll tour the exhibits.”

    “Don't get conned into buying any of the juicer-grater-slicer-dicer machines from the guys who do the demonstrations. The gadgets are all junk.”

    “Don't be silly,” Molly said. “I'm a businesswoman, remember? I'm not likely to be taken in by someone else's sales pitch.”

    Harry gave her a pitying look. “Haven't you ever heard that the easiest person to sell to is a person who is in sales?”

    “Hah. I don't believe it. I've never heard that particular bit of wisdom. It sounds like more of your paranoid philosophy, and I am not going to listen to it. Now, how will I find you after you've finished speaking to your uncle?”

    Harry smiled faintly. “Somewhere on the midway you'll find a fortune-teller's tent. Look for a sign advertising Madam Evangeline. I'll meet you there around one o'clock.”

    “Got it.” She touched his arm in a light, fleeting gesture, and then she walked off toward the gate.

    Harry waited until she disappeared into the crowd. He still didn't understand why he had brought her with him today, but he was glad he had.

    He walked through the encampment until he found the aging trailer Leon called home. It was parked near a tree. Leon's old truck stood nearby.

    Harry pounded on the screen door of the trailer. “Leon, you inside?”

    “Who the hell…?” Leon came to the door of the trailer. He squinted against the sunlight. When he saw Harry his teeth flashed in the Trevelyan grin. “Shit. So you finally got here. You're late. Figured you'd show up yesterday.”

    “If I'd known you were so eager to see me again, I'd have waited a little longer.”

    “The hell you would have waited.” Leon opened the screen door. “When it comes to this kind of thing, you're as predictable as the sunrise. One of your bad habits, boy. Come on in.”

    Harry stepped into the shadowy confines of the trailer. The blinds were shut. It took a brief moment for his eyes to make the transition from the sun-drenched parking lot to the close darkness inside the metal hulk.

    “Beer?” Leon asked casually from somewhere off to the left.

    The cold, damp can came hurtling out of the gloom before Harry could reply. He opened his hand without thinking about it. The beer can landed firmly in his grasp. Things had a way of doing that.

    “Thanks,” Harry said absently.

    Leon grinned. “Still fast as ever, I see. Damn shame you didn't use those talented Trevelyan hands for something a little more useful than writin' dull books.”

    Harry peeled back the ring on the beer can. “Reflexes have a way of going on a man as he gets older. I prefer to rely on my brains.”

    “That Stratton blood of yours ruined you.” Leon sprawled on the battered sofa that was built into the curved rear wall of the trailer. He gestured with his beer can. “Have a seat.”

    Harry sank down onto the ripped vinyl bench that framed the eating nook. He glanced around without much interest.

    Little had changed, either in the decor or in Leon, over the years. Trailer and owner appeared to have bonded in some indefinable manner. The stained linoleum on the floor had a counterpart in Leon's faded shirt and ancient, low-slung jeans. The torn curtains on the small windows smelled of tobacco and booze. So did Leon.

    Harry decided that, on the whole, Leon was holding up better than his trailer. That was due to the sturdy Trevelyan genes, not anything resembling good health habits.

    Leon was in his sixties, but he still possessed the lean build and broad shoulders that were characteristic of Trevelyan males. He was as handsome as Harry's father had been. Harry knew Leon still traded shamelessly on his looks. His uncle went through women as though they were lollipops. Willy had had the same approach to the opposite sex.

    Harry was satisfied that Josh was not going to follow in their footsteps in that regard. For all his good-natured teasing about the unused box of condoms in the bathroom cupboard, Josh had more common sense and innate integrity about such matters at twenty than his father and grandfather had ever had in their entire lives. Harry had made sure of it.

    Leon took a long, deep swallow of beer. “So