“Mr. Goodman drew himself up to his impressive full height, and gave me an impeccable Guardsman salute. I was not wearing my shako so could not retu...n the compliment, but held out my hand, which he shook with verve.I confess I was mightily touched by the action of my men.“I had intended spending my birthday alone, but after you taking the trouble to provide me with nine gallons of my favourite ale it would be churlish of me not to invite the two of you share the contents of the cask. You would. Lollard. This is my brother, Stephen. And this is Hal McCoy, my cousin,” the aging Klucker admitted, now quite out of breath.“How old are you?” I asked the man.“Sixty,” Eric admitted.“I see,” I answered, “and can you tell us anything about the other Kluckers in town?”“There’s a dozen more, but all scattered around town. We didn’t prepare for Molotov cocktails. That one scared the piss out of even Floyd, and he’s our Grand Dragon. Once he ran, it was over. Please ... don’t shoot me ... you. Better yet, sit out on the patio.” She turned the water on and began filling the tub as she dropped her panties from under the towel.Tommy had the television on, but muted. Blake was about to join him in the sitting area when Charlene’s request, and maybe hint, he thought, boomed from the sleeping area. Instead of sitting, he motioned for Tommy to follow him out onto the patio. “Grab a chair and come with me,” Blake urged conspiratorially. He led them to a spot on the other end of the deck,. " "You know you can always opt out. We could just go home." "Yes, I know. But now that we've come this far ... I mean, it's taken us a long time." "Perhaps he won't come. Just a time-waster." "It wouldn't really be a solution, would it? We'd just start looking for someone else." "We don't have to." She takes another sip of wine. "But it's what you want, isn't it?" "Don't you?" "Yes. Now I've made up my mind. We talked about it long enough, didn't we?" They sit in silence,.