♫Don't give us none of your aggravation♫
♫We had it with your discipline♫
♫Saturday night's alright for fighting♫
♫Get a little action in♫

I knew the Crystals of Power would be a big hit, but  I didn't realize all of the marketing opportunities I was forgetting.  My smart friend Skye suggested that I should sell them on the Home Shopping Network.  Add some sparkly things and Wha-La!  Trendy jewelry.  I might even add Little Bit's Crystals of Infection...I mean Crystals of Wisdom for variety.  I have some leftover duct tape so I'm sure I can put together something snazzy.

Little Bit spilled my beans (mmm...beans) and told everybody about my mugging.  Yep, that's right, I was mugged.  I wasn't even carrying any money because it was before I started selling the Crystals of Power.  But now that I am going to be rich I should be more careful.  I am going to take self-defense lessons.   I'm hoping Seva will teach me martial arts.  In the meantime I have several tough buddies who have offered to help as my bodyguard/hired thug.  Sergei, Francis Rocks, Lexey and Rio are all nice dogs who can pack a punch.  Or at least look like they could.  Good enough for me. 

I guess I am going to be busy.  I also have that novel to finish.  Gwen tells me that I am a shoo-in for the Pullet Surprise with this one.  How cool is that?  An award and a prize package, which I am sure comes with CHICKEN.  Mmm...Pullet Surprise!  I can hardly wait.

You won't need to wait any longer:

High Stakes
Chapter 20

            Seva excused herself and left me standing outside her closed office door.  I was breathless with the realization that a break in the case could be happening before my very eyes.  Well, it would be, if I could see through doors, but I can’t, so I pressed my ear up tightly against it instead.  I could only make out fragments of conversation.  Seva seemed agitated and the two shady characters sounded as if they were trying to press her for payment for something.

          I thought I heard Seva say, “Nothing until after delivery.”  Next they argued in low voices I couldn’t decipher and then I distinctly heard one of the thugs say, “Tonight.”

          My mind was reeling as I was processing these bits of information so I didn’t realize that the reason the voices had become clearer was that they were preparing to leave.  One of them opened the door rather briskly and I was sent tumbling tail over teakettle across the hallway.  I pretended to be napping. 

          “Monsieur Pate?” Seva’s voice sounded incredulous.  “Are you…awake?  I am so sorry.  I had no idea I was away for so long.”

          I opened one eye in time to catch another glimpse of the beagle and Lab as they shuffled out of the building.  I yawned and tried to look sleepy.  Since I really had no explanation for having supposedly fallen asleep during her brief conversation, I decided distraction would be the best course of action.  I struggled for an appropriate French phrase, but having skipped the “Impressing the Ladies” section of my translator, I was relegated to cobbling together something from the kitchen section.

          “Vous etes aussi belle qu'une cote de boeuf,” I told her, punctuating the sentence with my most winning smile.  She looked at me curiously, then eventually returned the smile and offered me a dainty paw to help me up from the floor.  Clearly, she was charmed, so I turned up the wattage on my smile and added, “Vos pattes sont assez douces que du beurre fondu.”  She actually giggled as I stood and shook myself.  I followed her into her office and took a seat.  “Thank you so much for your warm welcome this morning,” I said.  “I told your chef earlier, but I’d like to tell you also:  je suis bete, mais j'ai aussi un coeur d'or.” 

          Seva laughed again and replied, thankfully in English, “I can see that is true.”  I was exceedingly proud of how I’d handled the language challenge of my disguise and gave myself a mental pat on the back and settled down to the business of my visit.