Free The Devlin Deception: Book One of The Devlin Quatrology by Jake Devlin, (with Bonnie Springs) Page B

"Deal."
    Jake said, "Okay. Now go have fun. But be careful where that
thing goes."
    The teen and his buddy consulted briefly, then moved a long way down
the beach.
    Pam said, "Is that really a beach rule?"
    Jake shrugged. "Naw, I just made that up, maybe a year ago; but
it works. So far I've got maybe six or seven footballs and nine or
ten frisbees at home."
    Pam laughed, "Verbal contract, huh?"
    "Yup."
    "Good idea.”
    "Thanks. And I used that kind of contract in the book.”
    "Really? How?
    "Two ways that I can think of. First, anyone who comes in to
see Donne has to sign a release that says if they lie, dissemble,
deflect, demonize, demagogue or hyperbolate to him, they face big
penalties; and second, in a tradeoff with business guys, he quits
micro-inspecting and micro-regulating their operations, but if they
screw up and don't take care of the damages and fix whatever problem
caused the screwup, BIG penalties, tripled if they try to cover it
up.”
    "Interesting,” Pam said. “Let me think about that
for a minute.”
    Jake said, "Take your time," reached into his beach bag and
pulled out a cigarette and a magnifying glass, sat up on his lounge,
facing the Gulf, and stretched his shoulders, rotating his neck and
head right and left. Then he focused the sunlight onto the end of
the cigarette, which almost immediately began to smoke. Once it got
going well, in about six or seven seconds, Jake puffed on it and put
the glass back in his bag.
    Pam said, "That's cool. May I try it?"
    Jake handed her the magnifier and said, "Go for it."
    Pam aimed her ciggie at the sun, put the glass right on the end of it
and then pulled it up until the focal point got very small and smoke
started. In a few seconds, she puffed on it and gave Jake the glass
back. “Thanks.”
    Jake said, "You know, Pam, you're the first person I've ever
seen who's done that right the first time."
    Pam shrugged and said, "It's just optics." She smiled and
said, "I'll let you in on a little secret, Jake. I may be
blonde, but I ain't dumb."
    Jake smiled. "Didn't that blonde country singer say that?"
    Pam said, "Not quite, but close. Someone asked her if she was
offended by dumb blonde jokes, and she replied, 'Naw, 'cause I ain't
dumb ... and I ain't blonde.'"
    Jake laughed. "I'd forgotten that one. But that reminds me of
the blonde joke to end all blonde jokes. Wanna hear it?”
    ”Sure.”
    ”Okay. Why are blonde jokes so short?”
    “Why?”
    “So brunettes and redheads can remember them.”
    Pam laughed. “Oh, I've gotta remember that.” Then she
laughed harder, uncontrollably.
    Jake joined her, not quite understanding why, but her laughter WAS
contagious.
    Finally, with tears running down her cheeks, she managed to burble
out, "Stevie Bruce, Ginny May. Sorry; can't get that outa my
head."
    Jake also managed to control himself and said, "Don't forget
about Frannie May," and that set Pam off again. “And
Lurlene.”
    After a solid minute of gales of laughter, they both breathed deeply
and controlled themselves, at least for the moment. Pam took off
her sunglasses, set them on Jake's cooler, pulled a small towel out
of her bag and began wiping her face. Jake picked up her sunglasses,
opened his cooler and offered her her bottle of water. As she
swigged from it, he took a closer look at her sunglasses, then handed
them to her as she gave him the bottle, which he put back in the
cooler. After a bit more stretching, he put his cigarette out, put
the butt in an empty pack, then reached into his cooler and pulled
out a container of ice cream, took one spoonful, and then a gulp of
water, put some more lip balm on and lay back down.
    “Ahhh. I think the main reason I smoke is to give me an excuse
to use some ice cream to soothe my throat after each one.”
    Pam, chuckling and smiling, said, "Can I ask you something,
Jake? Something I've been wondering about since I sat down."
    "Sure; go ahead."
    "How did you get that scar on your left thigh? Looks like a
knife