40b1ce81e27faee7f7dcd22da99b93e1

“It also has my mom and dad involved. Mom already warned me not to write an article about those letters, or else she’ll never invite me over for dinner again.”

“Yeah, I guess it is all very personal—not to mention very painful for everyone involved.” He couldn’t suppress a grin, though, and soon they were both laughing, as they imagined Tex going door to door to try and get his precious letters back!

“If this had happened to anyone else, Dan would have me writing all about it,” she said. “But seeing as it hits too close to home…”

Just then, her uncle’s phone chimed, and he gave it a furtive look, then glanced through the window in the direction of Town Hall, located across Town Square.

“Message from Charlene?” asked Odelia.

Her uncle nodded.“She’s got a new… project she wants to discuss with me.” He got up with some effort and put his phone in his pocket.

“What project? Something important?”

“Nah, nothing special. You know, just some project. The usual stuff.”

She had a feeling her uncle wasn’t being entirely honest with her, but decided to let it go. Everyone has a right to a private life, much though she would have loved to pry into this love affair between the town’s mayor and chief of police.

Gah. Now that was exactly the trouble when you knew everyone in town: you started to be hampered in your ambitions as an investigative reporter!

[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]

Alec slipped into the Mayor’s office and quietly closed the door behind him. On the desk, the Mayor herself was seated, dressed in a long overcoat. A mysterious smile was playing about her lips. He knew that smile. It meant she was up to something!

“You wanted to see me, Madam Mayor?” he asked politely.

“Yes, Chief Lip,” said the Mayor. “There’s an urgent matter we need to discuss.”

“Is that a fact, Madam Mayor?”

“A matter of life and death, in fact.”

“Oh, my. That sounds important, Madam Mayor.”

“Come here, Chief Lip,” the Mayor summoned. “And be seated.”

The Chief approached the desk, licking his lips as he did.“Yes, Madam Mayor.”

“Did you read the article?”

“I did, Madam Mayor.”

“Then you know the drill. Get down, Chief!”

The Chief got down.

“On the floor! On your hands and knees!”

The Chief proceeded as instructed.

“What are you going to do with me, pray tell?” he asked, looking up at the figure towering over him.

In one swift motion, Charlene threw off the overcoat. Underneath, she was dressed in a black leather outfit. It was a shiny thing she had found on some internet site specializing in BDSM outfits. And as he marveled at how well the getup suited her, she extracted a whip from the recesses of her costume, and slashed the air with it. It made a delicious cracking sound.

“Now kneel, you scum!” the Mayor bellowed, cracking the whip once more.

And so kneel he did.

Just then, the door opened and Charlene’s secretary Imelda entered. When the older woman caught sight of the two of them, Charlene in her leather outfit, and Uncle Alec on the floor, that whip held high above the Mayor’s head, she goggled for a moment, then quickly stepped back again, murmured an apology, and closed the door.

Charlene sighed.“Oh, Alec. I thought you locked the door?”

“I did,” said Alec.

“Looks like I’ll have to get it fixed again.”

He grinned up at her, and she returned the grin, then cracked the whip again.“You’re going to get punished for this, you know that, right?”

“Can’t wait, my love,” said Alec softly.

CHAPTER 13

[Êàðòèíêà: img_2]

Marge was bored. Afternoons were usually her busiest time, with plenty of her regulars coming in and checking out their favorite books. Now, though, she hadn’t seen anyone for the past hour. Not even Mrs. Samson, who came in every day. Maybe reading that letter Tex wrote yesterday had spooked the old lady.

Thinking about that letter had Marge silently fuming again. Tex had apologized, but only after she had made it clear how humiliating the experience was, or how hurtful that he would simply throw out the letters that had established their relationship in the first place. How unthinkingly unkind.

Tex had assured her he hadn’t wanted to throw out those letters. That they must have accidentally ended up on the sidewalk. Or maybe Chase had put them out, thinking it was just some old junk. Still, it was perhaps a sign? A sign that their relationship had seen better days and wasn’t what it used to be?

And as she turned the events round and round in her mind, who would suddenly walk in but Gary Rapp! The same guy who’d been in yesterday, making such flattering and complimentary comments. Now here was a man who knew how to make a woman feel good about herself. A man, in other words, who was the exact opposite of Marge’s husband, who simply took her for granted, and even went so far as to throw the foundation stone of their marriage into the garbage.

“Well, hello,” said Gary as he approached the desk. He was carrying the books she’d given him yesterday.

“You finished those already?” she asked.