Chapter 19

“Do I make myself clear, Mr. Dupree?”

“About as clear as a crystal tumbler filled with gasoline, my friend,” I answered, grinning

Clifton was just about to say something jarring and threatening, but Casey climbed out of his Fusion and observed the cowboy with me in the shell drive.

“What do we have here?”

“Clifton was just leaving,” I said to Casey. “He just stopped by to answer a few questions I had about the fire and murder.”

“Yes,” the bogus cowboy said. “I was just leaving.”

He turned away from me and climbed into his massive truck. Before I knew it, he backed out of the shell drive and left, which gave me some private time with my boyfriend, the Chinese food, and our naked bodies entwined as one.

* * * *

As expected, Casey and I made love again in his bedroom. Thereafter, we showered, enjoyed bottles of chilled beer, and watched the sun set, which turned the horizon into a tranquil black. Around eleven o’clock, we turned in for the night.