Chapter 27

          I outfitted Morgan with a walkie talkie and a bag of jerky. 

          “I’m not hungry,” she protested.

          “Don’t be silly,” I replied, stuffing the greasy meat into her purse.  “You might be there all night.  Protein is important for alertness.”  I considered the oily mess in her bag and added, “You might want to take a napkin or two.”  She glanced at her bag and gasped.

          “This is Prada!” she wailed.

          “The leather on that will taste like Slim Jims now, you know,” I offered helpfully.

          We went our separate ways, Morgan with strict instructions to check in with me at quarter-hour intervals.  “Your code name is Rover One,” I informed her.  “I’ll be Double-O-Whigle.  Can you remember that?”

          “Do I need to?” Morgan asked. “Will anyone else be on this frequency?”

          I didn’t have time to give her a Detecting 101 lesson, so I simply said, “You can never be too careful.”  Actually that is a Detecting 101 lesson, come to think of it.

I arrived at Sinty and Samantha’s apartment and hit the horn twice.  They dashed out of the lobby, paws laden with supplies.  We spent several minutes trying to rearrange our provisions to make room, eventually deciding to lighten the load by eating a batch of the cocktail weenies.  We were forced to tie the cleft sticks to the bumper, in spite of Samantha’s protests that we might not be able to access them promptly in a time of need.  We carefully arranged blankets and pillows for Sinty in the backseat, and Samantha rode shotgun.  Finally, we were ready.

          “Who’s sleek and speedy in a Jaguar?  My name is Lyle, I’m driving a car!” I sang proudly as we sped to the restaurant.  I had the top down and was enjoying the wind in my ears.  Samantha was grumbling and fiddling with the radio.

          “Are you going to sing like that the whole way?” she growled.

          “I might,” I replied.  “Unless I can make up another verse—then I’ll sing that.  Any ideas?”

          “No!” barked Samantha.

          From the back seat Sinty piped up.  “Have a Pop Tart, Samantha.  You’ll feel better.”  Samantha grudgingly took one, and it did seem to brighten her mood.  I was beginning to see the wisdom of bringing Sinty along. 

          As we approached the restaurant, we scoured the street for the best place to park that afforded us a view of the restaurant with minimum exposure.  We found a spot a short way down the block under a broken streetlight.  Samantha got out to fire up the Hibachi grill and I radioed Morgan.

          “Double-O-Whigle to Rover One.  Do you copy?”

          “I’m here, Mr. L.  Nothing’s happening yet,” she replied.

          “It’s Double-O-Whigle, Rover One, and you forgot to say ‘Over and out.’  Over and out.”

          “Roger that, Double Loo.”

          I sighed and turned off my radio.  There was nothing to do now but wait.  The steaks wouldn’t be ready for at least twenty minutes.

Chapter 28        

I was in a jovial mood as we watched the steaks begin to sizzle.  The only disappointment was the lack of electricity.  If we had access to a power source, I could have fired up my trusty Fry Daddy and whipped up a batch of steak fries.  The night was just one outlet short of perfection.  No matter, I convinced myself, and turned my attention to the grill.  Samantha was tending the meat; she appeared to be in good spirits and was actually humming.

“What’s that song?” I asked, cocking my head closer to her.

She lifted her head abruptly and stopped humming.  “Nothing,” she replied, looking embarrassed.

“No, I recognize the tune,” I mused.  After a moment, it came to me.  “You’re singing my song!  Who’s sleek and speedy…Ha!  Admit it, it’s catchy.”

“It needs work,” she replied. 

“Come on!  Sing it!” I insisted.  A stake out, a cook out, and a sing along:  could the night be any better?

Samantha reluctantly began to sing, quietly at first, but then more enthusiastically.  “Who's sleek and speedy in a Jaguar?  His name is Lyle and he drives the fastest car.”

“Wait!” I interrupted.  “I want to do the next verse.”  I thought for a moment.  “What rhymes with ‘fun’?”

“How about ‘gun’?” Sinty offered.

“Hm.  That works.  I'm faster that a bullet from a gun!  Driving for me is super-duper fun.”

We went on this way until the steaks were nearly ready.  Together we sang, “My trunk is full of steaks and yummy food.  With Sinty and Samantha I feel good.  Happy stakeout here we come!  Watch out gangsta, watch out scum!”   I was just about to repeat the ‘happy stakeout’ line, my favorite, when Sinty interrupted with a sharp hiss.  “Shhhh!”

“What?  Are the steaks ready?” Samantha asked, dashing to the grill.

“Quiet!” Sinty snapped.  I could feel our celebratory spirit dissolving more as each moment elapsed.  I wasn’t willing to give up on the sing along, so I elbowed Samantha and gave her a surreptitious wink.  “Sing with me,” I whispered.  “Sinty's grumpy, we don't know why.  She's bothered by something—is it a fly?  Come on Sint', don't make a fuss!  Have a steak and sing with us.”  We rolled on the ground, doubled up with laughter. 

Sinty glared at us through narrowed eyes, her ears flicking back and forth like crazed satellite dishes.  “Hush, you two!  I heard something.”

My heart skipped a beat.  The stake out!  Had we blown our cover?  Did we miss the rendezvous?  I rose up on one paw and peeked through the windows of the car to the restaurant beyond.  Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.  I listened intently for the noise that had captured Sinty’s attention.  Suddenly I heard it and sighed with relief.  It was my two way radio, left on the dashboard, and Morgan was checking in.  I reached in and grabbed the walkie talkie.  It was only then that I noticed the tension in Morgan’s voice.

“Lyle!  Come in, Lyle!  Please!  Oh, come on, you’re not really doing this, are you?  For crying out loud.  Double-O-Whigle, this is Rover One.  Do you copy?”

I was so proud of her.  I replied immediately.  “Rover One, this is Double-O-Whigle.  What’s up?”
          “Finally.  Where were you?  What have you been doing?”

“Singing,” I replied. “Want to join in?  I can hold the little button down so you can hear us but I don’t think we’ll be able to hear you.”

“Singing?  Us?  Who’s with you?” 

“Samantha is here, and her friend Sinty.  We have steaks on the grill.  Did you eat your jerky?” I inquired solicitously.

“I’m on a stakeout, not having a lawn party,” she replied icily.  “I followed Star and Cassie to Sadie’s house.  They’re all inside.  I’m going to sneak up to the window to see what’s going on.  I’ll call you back.”

“Roger, Rover!”  I turned to look at Sinty and Samantha.  Their eyes were wide with anticipation:  our steaks were ready.