Page 58 of Saved by Him

A door at the end of the short corridor to my right opened, and a portly man with wisps of gray hair came out.

“Gus Mauricio?” I held out my hand as I stepped forward. He nodded as he gave me a quick shake. “I’m Rona Quick. I’m a private investigator with Burkart Investigations.”

“Pats sent you, didn’t she?” He looked slightly sheepish, as if he knew exactly what circumstances had led to me being there.

“She did.” I’d already planned on being straightforward about this, but the fact that he already knew that his wife had hired me eased some of my anxiety. “Mr. Mauricio, I’ll be honest, I really think the best way for me to do what your wife asked is to just come out and ask rather than skulking around trying to figure out what you’re doing. She’s worried about you not eating at home, and I’d like to be able to go back to her with a reasonable explanation.”

He glanced at his friend and nervously ran his hand over what little bit of hair he had. “Venison,” he mumbled.

“What was that?”

“We’re making venison jerky,” he blurted out. “Taylor and me, we got this idea for new spices to add to the venison jerky he makes every year. We’re going into business together, and I didn’t tell Pats because I knew she’d tell me it was crazy to invest in something like pickled herring flavored jerky, but it’s going to be huge. I know it.”

For the third time that day, I was speechless.

Fortunately, he kept talking. “We’ve been experimenting with different flavors which means we have to taste test them. By the time I go home, I’m so full, I can’t eat another bite. Not even Pats’ cooking.” He grabbed my hand in earnest. “Please, you can’t tell Pats. She’ll be angry at me for not talking to her about it first.”

“I can’t keep it from my client,” I said. His face fell. “But I can offer to give you until six o’clock tonight to tell her yourself.”

I wasn’t sure which terrified him more, the thought of me telling his wife or the thought of having to tell her himself, but he agreed to talk to her as soon as he got home. I managed to hold in the laughter until I was safely in my car.

Venison jerky.

Some people.

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