Skin in the Game by Michael Prescott

Author:Michael Prescott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michael Prescott
Published: 2021-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

21

Bonnie parked the Jeep a half block from Wonderland and sat there thinking it through.

She remembered noticing the carny just before she’d gone into Mulligan’s to have her talk with Bill Mitter. Then in her conversation with Walt Churchland, she’d found herself talking about Arizona. And thinking about it on the ride to her house.

Subconsciously she must have recognized him right away. The fact that she’d been tailing an errant husband probably helped. It was the same job she’d taken in Palm Garden.

Even so, it hadn’t registered until just now. She still found it hard to believe.

Ed Goodman, two thousand miles from his old haunt. Was Edna still with him? And were they still playing their little game?

She had to confirm the sighting. She was ninety percent certain, but ninety percent wasn’t good enough.

Wonderland was still open. She could do it now. But if it really was Ed Goodman and she could recognize him after eleven years, there was an equal chance he would recognize her.

She pulled up the hood of her windbreaker, bunching her hair underneath. It helped, but it wouldn’t be enough. In the litter of crap Kyle had tossed from the glove box she found a pair of sunglasses. She popped out the lenses and snugged the frames over her ears. In the rearview mirror she checked out her disguise. She was dismayed to see that the glasses really did make her look smarter.

In Wonderland the crowds had thinned considerably. The place would close for the night only about only fifteen minutes from now. Some booths were already shutting down. Luckily, the shooting gallery wasn’t one of them.

No one was playing the game, but the carny was still there, sullenly eyeing the passersby as if they had personally offended him. He didn’t seem interested in attracting new business.

Most of these midway types kept up a brisk patter. Not this guy. He was almost antisocial. That wasn’t like Ed Goodman. She remembered how he’d chatted up the customers in his diner. But years had passed. He could have changed. Turned taciturn and grumpy. If he was still married to Edna, he had plenty to be grumpy about.

Bonnie had been hoping for a crowd—it was less likely she would be recognized that way—but with time running out, she would have to play solo if she wanted to play at all.

As she approached the shooting gallery, she felt her heart pumping a little harder. There was a slow slide of nausea in her belly and a weakness in her knees. She wasn’t overly concerned about being identified. It was simply the prospect of seeing Ed Goodman again, coming face to face with the man who …

Don’t think about it. Let it go. Center yourself, be in the moment, all that Deepak Chopra crap.

Good advice, but tough to follow. The memory of her last encounter with Ed and Edna was etched too deeply in her brain. Mere proximity to Ed—if it really was Ed—was enough to start shorting out her neurons.

“Try

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