Chapter 73

“What did FedEx bring us?” Carlton said from the adjacent desk.

“It’s from the UGA Press, so it must be copies of my book. As soon as I can find a pair of scissors, I’ll open it.”

“Here, use this,” Carlton said, and handed Eric a pocketknife.

“Thanks.”

Eric made short work of slicing through the tape that secured the box. Then he quickly retrieved two copies of the book and handed one to Carlton.

Carlton examined the book. “The dust jacket looks great, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. I was never quite satisfied with that photograph of me, though.”

“What’s not to like. You look great in that photo.”

“I look like I just smelled something bad.”

“Nonsense,” Carlton said. “You look just fine.”

“Want to drive over to Hawthorne tomorrow morning, after I get my crew started on their first job?”

“Why? Oh, you want to go to the Historical Society, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, Hawthorne it is, first thing tomorrow.”

* * * *