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.Headed for Parsons, Michigan.”Parsons, Michigan.Stitch reached over to the Garmin GPS system mounted on his dash.He pushed the voice activation button.“Parsons, Michigan,” he said.“Beginning navigation,” the GPS replied.Almost immediately the screen lit up with the route to Parsons.Damn, he liked voice recognition.He never could figure out all those keys.Parsons was highlighted 174 miles south of him.1,242 people lived in Parsons, the machine told him.A few miles off I-75.Near the Granville River.So he’s not in the Upper Peninsula after all, Stitch thought.So much for that lead.Unless he’s trying to throw me off.“One more thing,” the guard added.“He had a companion.”Stitch grabbed the notepad out of his shirt pocket.“Shoot.”“Ms.Didi Anderson.Secretary.”Stitch scribbled the information and returned the book to his pocket.He looked up at the guard.“Officer, if there weren’t a hundred cars behind us, I’d get out and give you a hug.But it might not look good.”The man grunted good-naturedly.“If you got out and gave me a hug I’d knock you unconscious with my billy club.I don’t much like gays.”Surprise, surprise, Stitch thought.“Well, in that case I’ll just thank you profusely.”The border guard took a business card and handed it to Stitch.“If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”“Thanks, Officer.” Stitch slipped a US$50 dollar bill into his passport.He pushed it through the car window again.“Just have another look.To make sure everything is in order.”The man opened the book and slid out the bill.He handed the passport back, grinning.“Looks good to me.”Stitch took the passport and set it on the passenger seat.He nodded to the guard and drove on, looking for the sign pointing to I-75.CHAPTER 6ParsonsJust before entering the interstate, Stitch pulled off onto the shoulder.He studied the GPS map.Pretty much a straight run down 75.Maybe three hours.Stitch pushed the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel.A beep came out of the speaker mounted on the roof.“Say a name,” a vaguely feminine voice ordered.“Office,” Stitch said loudly.“Oliver Barker,” the voice said.“Dialing.”“No, you twit,” Stitch yelled as he stabbed the call button again.“Office!”“Sorry,” the voice went on calmly.“Did you say Oscar Pizzeria?”“No, I did not!” Stitch yelled again.He took a deep breath and sat back.What the hell was he doing? Yelling at a machine?He pushed the button again.After the beep, he tried again.He made sure his voice was clear but not screaming.“My office.”“My office,” the voice repeated.“Dialing,”The phone rang twice before Erin picked it up.“Robinson Investigations.”“Erin, it’s Stitch.”Erin’s voice brightened.“Oh, hi, Stitch,” she said cheerily.Always in a good mood.Cute too.Too bad she was half his age.And married.“Where are you?”“Just crossed the border.Erin, I need you to check out a name for me.Didi Anderson.I don’t know much more about her.Says she’s a secretary.She’s probably the woman the bartender saw Maxwell with before he disappeared.If so, she’s built like a model with a boob job.Bleached blond hair.About 5’7”.“Any place you want me to start?” Erin asked.“Yeah, check court records.I got a hunch Didi is no secretary.Also, give Carl a call at the RCMP.See what you can get out of him.He owes me one.”“OK, Stitch.Will do.I’ll get back to you with what I have in an hour or two.”“Thanks, Erin.Talk to you soon.”“Oh, Stitch!” Erin said hurriedly.“Daffy called.All hell’s breaking loose at Farley’s Bog.A group is blockading the road to the construction site.Set up tents and everything.Two guys are in canoes on the water.They have a huge banner spread between them that says, ‘Stop Venam from Destroying Our Wetlands!’ Cops are there.It’s quite a scene.”Stitch sighed.“And I suppose Daffy is defending everyone in sight that’s been arrested.Pro bono.”“Not only that,” Erin said.“He’s been arrested himself.Chained himself to a D-9 Cat!”“Aw, jeez,” Stitch groaned.“Well, that’s my Daffy.What’s he want with me?”“Not sure.He said he’s got some information for you.Has to do with the Maxwell case.Didn’t want to give it to me over the phone.He said he’d send it to your Blackberry as soon as he gets out of jail.”“Thanks again, Erin.I’m off to Parsons, Michigan.That’s between you and me.”“Yes, sir!” Erin said jokingly.“It’ll take torture to get that out of me.” She laughed her cute little laugh [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]