“I’m never sure what my favorite season is, but autumn is hard to beat. In the city, I hardly noticed the changes. Here, there’s something different every day.”
“You don’t miss your old life?” Orville asked.
“Hardly,” she said firmly. “Oh, sure, there are perks. But on the whole, I can’t imagine going back to that. Funny that Bradley Marvel thought the mere mention of the city would get my interest….”
“Wait, what?”
Whoops. So far, Vera had deliberately avoided telling Orville the details of the wolf’s clumsy maneuverings, mostly to avoid bloodshed. But with Marvel now safely out of the area—and hopefully back in the big city—she could tell all now. So, she gave Orville a shortened but truthful account of events. His expression grew fiercer with every revelation.
“He wanted you to leave Shady Hollow and work as a…flunky? For him?”
“Oh, and to date him as well.” Vera shrugged. “It was not a compelling offer, and I told him so. Then I told him to get out of town.”
“Wise.” Orville’s voice took on the growl he got when he felt strongly about things. “And better tell Lenore that he should wait a good long while until he comes through on another book tour.”
She laughed. “I will. Despite the sales, I think Lenore would prefer to not see him in the shop ever again.”
They walked through the quiet town, through a patch of woodland, and then onto the neighborhood nestled on the shore of Mirror Lake. The sky clouded over as they walked, drawing the color out of the world.
Without speaking a word about it, their path took them to that grand house where Dorothy Springfield now lived alone. It was too early for a social call, so they simply continued toward the lake shore.
It was very quiet this morning, since most creatures chose to nestle into the warmth of their homes, enjoying a leisurely breakfast or sipping hot cocoa by the fire. Vera noticed only a few well-bundled residents hurrying to and fro.
Over the silver, silken surface of Mirror Lake, little white flakes began to kiss the quiet water. Vera gazed up into the new mass of clouds above. She murmured, “Lenore said snow was on the way.”
“She’d know,” said Orville. “Trust a bird to give you the weather right.”
“That’s not all she’s good at predicting,” Vera replied, smiling at him. “She knew you’d win the election!”
The giant bear actually looked bashful. “Might be better to say Meade lost it. Folks wanted a change.”
“They wanted a chief,” she countered. “You’re the one they turn to when they get scared. You brought a murderer to justice. A very slippery murderer, at that.”
Now Orville gave a snort. “Didn’t do all that on my own. Folks know that Miss Vera Vixen will solve any case she gets her cute little nose into.”
She sighed happily, thinking that they did make a good team.
After a moment, Orville said, “Suppose I got to get to work sometime today. Let’s walk back to Shady Hollow proper. Before I go to the station, we can stop at Joe’s for a cup of coffee and a slice of pie. I’m buying.”
“Oh, no,” Vera said. “As a reporter, I can’t let the law pay for my treat. What will folks think of me then?”
“All right, you buy my pie and coffee, and I’ll buy yours. And if anyone asks, we’ll say we did the opposite.”
“Collusion?”
“Compromise.”
She smiled. “It’s a deal.”
the end
* * * *
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