Joe swung by and put a brimming plastic cup beside my plate. “You look like you need this,” he said and kept going. It was another g&t, just as stiff as the last one. I silently thanked him.
Well, this was pleasant and pretty soon, stomach full and mildly intoxicated, I became an observer of the human condition, rather than an active participant. I sat at the table, my chin resting on my hands and just watched Fillmore County do its thing. What I saw of greatest interest was Sam Haxby, his two boys, and Ted Brescoe. Ted was up on his toes delivering a lecture and Sam and sons were listening and didn’t appear to like what they were hearing. I guessed Ted was giving them another what-for about their BLM. Then, I saw none other than Cade Morgan, or maybe Morgan Cade, appear or, as I liked to think of it, slither into view accompanied by good old Toby. Now that I had a moment to think about it, I decided Toby looked like Mister Clean’s evil twin. He even had the gold earring.
Cade and Toby looked around, took note of Ted and the Haxbys, took two steps toward them, then unfortunately noticed yours truly and came over and sat down across from me. “A great day, isn’t it, Mike?” Cade asked me. Toby didn’t say anything. He just stared at me, sort of menacingly, which he was very good at.
When I didn’t reply, Cade continued, saying, “So, how are things out at the dino dig?”
“We haven’t found anything,” I said, hoping to make him go away. “A dry hole.”
“I do not believe you,” Toby said.
“We might come out to see for ourselves,” Cade said.
“You already did,” I pointed out, “and you know we’re digging up a Triceratops.”
“What about the Tyrannosaur?” Toby demanded. “This is what we would like to hear.”
“Tyrannosaur?” I spotted Joe and raised my cup. “I don’t know nothing about no stinking Tyrannosaur.”
Cade said, “You know, Mike, I really don’t know much about you. I mean, your economic situation and all.”
“I know all about you,” I said, letting the gin do the talking. “Shock and Awe. But is your name Cade Morgan or Morgan Cade?”
Cade or Morgan didn’t seem bothered that I had checked up on him. He smiled. “Well, it paid the bills, Mike. You do what you have to do. In Hollywood, I was Morgan Cade. Here, I’m Cade Morgan. I hope you’ll keep my little secret. No use getting the folks upset. I want to be a good neighbor.”
Joe swung by, left another cup, took my empty one, and disappeared. “How about you, Toby?” I asked after another swallow of the transparent miracle drug. “What’s your real name? Ivan? Yuri? Sergei? Are you a member of the Russian mob? Just wondering.”
“My name is Toby,” he said with a look that could kill. I was glad it was just the look. His muscles could probably do the real thing.
“Toby is Russian,” Cade said. “But part of the mob? Does he look like a criminal to you?”
“Why, yes, Cade, he does,” I said.
“Well, looks are deceiving,” Cade replied, amiably.
“Now, let’s talk money, OK? All you have to do is let us know the progress of the dig. What was found, what Pick says about it, that kind of thing.”
“OK. How much?”
“Twenty bucks a day.”
I whistled. “Hello, big spender.”
“Fifty,” Toby said. “How about a hundred?”
“Done,” Cade said.
“I’ll take the first hundred days in advance,” I said. “Ten thousand dollars. Pay up.”
This provoked Toby, don’t ask me why. He crashed his huge fist on the table, rattling my plate and nearly tipping over my drink. I caught it just in time. “You are not serious!”
“Toby, you are absolutely correct,” I confessed. I looked him in the eye and then did the same with Cade. “You want me to be a spy. What I can’t figure out is why?”
“It’s nothing sinister, Mike,” Cade said. “We’re just interested. If there’s a valuable dinosaur on Jeanette’s property, maybe there’s one on mine. If so, I’d like to hire Pick to come look. That’s all. Just idle curiosity.”
This I doubted but I didn’t get to express it because Ted Brescoe swung by, apparently through threatening the Haxbys with me next on his list. He was feeling his oats that day, I guess. “I got more to say to you, Mike,” he said.
I made my regrets to Cade and Toby, who looked properly chagrined that I was leaving their company to consult with our local BLM agent. “What’s going on out there?” Ted asked. “What have you found?”