The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

their brains.Anything to address the responsibility of driving an entire town crazy. But perhaps by driving them a little crazy, she could save some of them from self-destruction: not a bad reason for going to work.
    Gabe "I've got to go too," Theo said, standing up. "Gabe, should I have the county test the water or something? I have to go into San Junipero to the county building today anyway."
    "Not yet. I can do a general toxins and heavy metals test. I do them all the time for the frog population studies."
    "You wanna walk out with me?"
    "I have to order something to go for Skinner."
    "Didn't you say that you had ten rats that diverged from the pack?"
    "Yes, but I could only find six."
    "What happened to the other four?"
    "I don't know. They just disappeared. Funny, these chips are nearly indestructible too. Even if the animals are dead, I should be able to pick them up with the satellites."
    "Out of range maybe?"
    "Not a chance, the coverage is over two hundred miles.More if I look for them."
    "Then where did they go?"
    "They last showed up down by the creek.Near theFly Rod Trailer Court."
    "You're kidding. That's where the Plotznik kid was last seen."
    "You want to see the map?"
    "No, I believe you. I've got to go." Theo turned to leave.
    Gabe caught him by the shoulder. "Theo,is, uh…"
    "What?"
    "Is Val Riordan single?"
    "Divorced."
    "Do you think she likes me?"
    Theo shook his head. "Gabe, I understand. I spend too much time alone too."
    "What? I was just asking."
    "I'll see you."
    "Hey, Theo, you look, uh, well, more alert today."
    "Not stoned, you mean?"
    "Sorry, I didn't mean…"
    "It'sokay, Gabe. Thanks, I think."
    "Hang tough."
    Jenny As Jenny passed Estelle Boyet's table, she heard the old Black gentleman say, "We don't needto tell nobody nothin'. Been fifty years since I seen that thing. Itprobably done gone back to the sea."
    "Still," Estelle said," there's a little boy missing. What if the two are connected?"
    "Ain'tnobody ever called you a crazy nigger, did they?"
    "Not that I can remember."
    "Well, they have me. For some twenty years after I talked about that thing the last time.I ain't sayin' nothin' to no one. It's our secret, girl."
    "I like it when you call me girl," Estelle said. Jenny went off to the kitchen, trying to put the morning together in her mind, pieces of conversations as surreal as a Dali jigsaw puzzle. There was definitely something going on in Pine Cove. fourteen
    Molly Pine Cove was a decorative town – built for show – only one degree more functional than aDisneyland attraction and decidedly lacking in businesses and services that catered to residents rather than tourists. The business district included ten art galleries, five wine-tasting rooms, twenty restaurants, eleven gift and card shops, and one hardware store. The position of hardware clerk in Pine Cove was highly coveted by the town's retired male population, for nowhere else could a man posture well past his prime, pontificate, and generally indulge in the arrogant self-important chest-pounding of an alpha male without having a woman intercede to remind him that he was patently full of shit.
    Crossing the threshold of Pine Cove Hardware and breaking the beam that rang the bell was tantamount to setting off a testosterone alarm, and if they'd had their way, the clerks would have constructed a device to atomize the corners with urine every time the bell tolled. Or at least that's the way it seemed to Molly when she entered that Saturday morning.
    The clerks, three men, broke from their heated argument on the finer points of installing a wax toilet seal ring to stare, snicker, and make snide comments under their breath about the woman who had entered their domain. Molly breezed past the counter, focusing on an aisle display of gopher poison to avoid eye contact. Raucous laughter erupted from the clerks when she turned down the aisle for roofing supplies.
    The clerks, Frank, Bert and Les – all semiretired, balding, paunchy, and generally interchangeable, except that Frank wore a belt to hold up his double knits, while the other two sported suspenders fashioned to look like yellow measuring tape – planned to make Molly beg. Oh, they'd let her wander around for awhile, let her try to comprehend the arcane function of the gizmos, geegaws, and widgets binned and bubble-wrapped around the store. Then she would have to come back to the counter and submit. It was Frank's turn to do the condescending, and he would do his