“Best compliment ever,” I said. I watched her body from where I stood, because a) I was too tired to move and b) I didn’t think I could survive another bluffing. “Eric, are you okay?”

“I think so.” His voice was shaky, with the hint of tears in it.

I made my way around to the opening in the fence and limped my way over to him. I pulled my phone from my bag and flipped it open. Still no juice.

I looked around for Crash, but he was nowhere to be found. Good thing too. I’d have thrown my other knife at him.

I did a quick frisk of Hattie and found a phone. I flicked it on and dialed Darv’s number.

“Bonaventure,” I said when he picked up, and then I dropped the phone back into Hattie’s still body. I pulled my knife out of her back, wiped it on her shirt and tucked it away.

I probably should feel worse about the whole killing another person thing, but remember what I said?

Behold, my field of ducks, and see that it is barren. Absolutely not one duck in sight as far as I could see.

Eric trembled so hard the tips of his fur shook in the limited light of the moon, stars, and the bare coals under the brazier. There was no doubt shock was settling in. I needed to fix this. I’d just rescued him—the last thing I wanted was for him to fall over dead from shock.

“Is that a bottle of whiskey?” I pointed at a sealed bottle of amber liquid that Hattie had set up across from the brazier.

“I think so?” Eric mumbled through chattering teeth.

I stumbled across to the bottle, picked it up, cracked the seal, and tipped it up to my lips. Three big glugs later, I handed it to Eric as the fire burned its way down my throat and into my very empty belly. “Drink.”

By the time Darv arrived, Eric and I were singing the sea shanty from Jaws and the bottle was more than half empty.

“I’m tired and I wanna go hoooooome!” I bellowed as Darv shoved me into the back of the van.

“You saved him, but it would have been nice to find out who she was working with,” Darv snapped as Eric and I fell into a fit of giggles in the back of the van. “We had insiders that were trying to find out who she was with, you little idiot! If the bigfoot had died, it would have sealed the deal!”

I looked up from the floor up the nose of a rather familiar face. “Oh, hey, Corb! You need to shave those long hairs still.” I blinked a few times. “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in jail?”

His jaw ticked. “Out on good behavior.”