Run into Trouble

dispatch him. I’d volunteer to drop the blade on his neck.”
    “Speaking of Blade, he made a prediction. He predicted that Casey’s life expectancy on his island would be about six months. I didn’t ask any questions.”
    “That makes me feel a lot better.”
    “I never knew you were so bloodthirsty. You need a vacation.”
    In spite of his sadness about Slick and losing the chance at the big money and multiple aches from his fall, Drake suddenly felt good about the world. “It’s such a fantastic day. I’ve never seen a day like this in San Francisco. It’s a good omen.”
    They were running across the Golden Gate Bridge under a warm sun. The bright orange towers contrasted with the sparkling blue waters of the bay. It was a day in which anything was possible in a free country. Anything.
    Drake turned to Melody. “Now that we’ve helped to save the world, we both deserve a vacation. We’ve already seen the coast. How about we go off into the mountains together?”
    “‘Will you walk into my parlor?’ said the spider to the fly.”
    “Assuming that the mountains can be regarded as a parlor, I guess that’s an apt analogy. Will you?”
    “Anything’s possible.”

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    After spending more than a quarter of a century as a pioneer in the computer industry, Alan Cook is well into his second career as a writer.

    The Hayloft: a 1950s mystery and prize-winning Honeymoon for Three feature Gary Blanchard, first as a high school senior who has to solve the murder of his cousin, and ten years later as a bridegroom who gets more than he bargained for on his honeymoon.

    Hotline to Murder takes place at a crisis hotline in Bonita Beach, California. When a listener is murdered, Tony and Shahla team up to uncover the strange worlds of their callers and find the killer.

    His Lillian Morgan mysteries, Catch a Falling Knife and Thirteen Diamonds , explore the secrets of retirement communities. Lillian, a retired mathematics professor from North Carolina, is smart, opinionated, and loves to solve puzzles, even when they involve murder.
    Alan splits his time between writing and walking, another passion. His inspirational, prize-winning book, Walking the World: Memories and Adventures , has information and adventure in equal parts. He is also the author of Walking to Denver , a light-hearted, fictional account of a walk he did.

    Freedom’s Light: Quotations from History’s Champions of Freedom , contains quotations from some of our favorite historical figures about personal freedom. The Saga of Bill the Hermit is a narrative poem about a hermit who decides that the single life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

    Alan lives with his wife, Bonny, on a hill in Southern California. His website is alancook.50megs.com .