Lord of the Wings

Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews Read Free Book Online Page A

Book: Lord of the Wings by Donna Andrews Read Free Book Online
Authors: Donna Andrews
a couple of buttons.
    â€œHow’s it going?” he asked whoever he was talking to. “Good. Can you send someone in here with a net to fish out this fake foot? No, that’s fine. It’s not as if the gators are likely to eat the evidence.”
    He hung up and turned to me.
    â€œAs it happens,” he said, “I had a few words with your brother earlier today on the subject of tasteless pranks. Given his somewhat exuberant sense of humor, I considered him a prime suspect when word of the first couple of fake body part findings reached me. I suppose I shall have to apologize to him.”
    â€œI wouldn’t go that far,” I said. “He did equip all our guest bathrooms with those creepy soaps shaped like severed fingers. He’s probably not responsible for all the tasteless pranks, but I doubt if he’s completely innocent.”
    â€œPoint taken,” the chief said. “Though Rob did assure me that he had been far too busy with his Goblin Patrol work to celebrate the Halloween season with his usual enthusiasm. You know, I don’t want to second-guess the county board, but I wonder if they really thought through the ramifications of this Halloween Festival thing. I know the annual Christmas in Caerphilly celebrations have been quite successful. They’re helping to get the town back on its feet financially.”
    â€œBut the Christmas festival attracts a very different kind of visitor,” I said. “More family oriented.”
    â€œTraditional,” Michael put in. “Sentimental.”
    â€œPrecisely,” the chief said. “With this Halloween thing, we’re trying to appeal to two very different audiences.”
    â€œNot just different,” Michael said. “Antagonistic.”
    â€œWe should have come down on one side or the other,” I said. “Either made it a completely wholesome, G-rated, family-friendly event or warned the parents to keep their kiddies away and gone full-bore with the zombies and vampires. The mad scramble twice a day to switch between the Day Side and the Night Side is insane.”
    â€œI see I’m preaching to the choir,” the chief said.
    â€œAnd not saying anything that wasn’t said in the town council and county board meetings before they approved Randall’s plans,” Michael added.
    â€œWell, it doesn’t matter now what we think of the festival, or whether we approve of having it next year,” the chief said. “We’re stuck with it. We invited all these people here and we owe it to them to do our best to keep them safe while they’re having whatever kind of good time they’re looking for.”
    â€œProvided their idea of a good time doesn’t break the law or interfere with the other tourists’ good times,” I said.
    The chief nodded.
    Just then, my friend Aida Butler, who was one of the chief’s deputies, strode in. She was carrying a net with a telescoping handle, just like the one we used to skim leaves out of our pool.
    â€œThat was quick,” the chief said. “Thank you.”
    â€œI didn’t have to go far,” Aida said. “They keep a couple of these handy. Apparently the tourists are always dropping things into the ponds.”
    We all watched as Aida extended the pole to about ten feet and then maneuvered the net under the floating foot. Several more sets of alligator eyes surfaced to observe the process, but the pond’s legitimate inhabitants kept their distance.
    Aida carefully pulled in the net and held the fake foot out for the chief to inspect. He was right—close up it wasn’t nearly as scary, and in proper lighting we’d probably find it ludicrously unrealistic. But so far, to my relief, the chief was respecting the swamp creatures’ need for their normal dim night conditions. He probably wouldn’t have if it had been a real severed foot, so perhaps we should be grateful to Justin for

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