Outside, night was just coming on and the sky had turned a mixture of dark blue and gray. Rain poured down from the overcast sky and heavy fogs shrouded the hills to the south. As they got in the car, Griswold, putting her gloves on, asked if they could stop by the local Kroger so she could buy a few things before meeting the dealer. They drove a few streets south until they found the store and then waited while Griswold did her shopping. She came back with a box of plastic sandwich bags, as well as Rolaids, caffeine pills, instant Folgers, talcum powder, chili powder, and a small backpack. As they drove to the bridge, Griswold put the Rolaids, caffeine pills, and a few coffee granules in a bag and crushed them to make a fine powder with a few solid pieces scattered throughout. She then mixed in a dash of chili powder followed by lots of talcum powder to temper the mixture’s color. She then poured the remaining talcum powder in several sandwich bags, and put them in the backpack.

            “What on earth are you doing?” Jamie asked as they pulled under the bridge.

            “What do you think I’m doing?” Griswold replied. “I’m making a prop for when I talk to the dealer. I’ve got to look legitimate, after all.”

            “Yeah…” Jamie said, turning the headlights off. “But what happens when he tests it? He’s gonna know it’s not real.”

            A look of panic crossed Griswold’s face. “They test it!?” she said.

            “Yeah, what did you think they did?” Jamie replied.

            “I don’t know! Honor system!?” Griswold said hyperventilating.

            “How the fuck did you not know this?” Jamie asked incredulously.

            Just then, they saw a lone man with shoulder-length brown hair and pasty skin stumble under the bridge and lean against one of the pylons. He stood there, obviously drunk, mumbling to himself and trying to keep his balance. The three didn’t think much of him until another car pulled up next to him. He handed the driver a plastic bag containing a mystery substance and got a wad of cash in return.

            Jamie sighed. “I guess this is him then?” she said.

            “Yep,” said Bill.

            After the other car drove away, Griswold lightly elbowed Jamie. “I’m going in,” she said. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the car with Tickler, the backpack, and her specially-made bag of “drugs.”

            “Bill,” Jamie said, “you may want to lay on the floor for this.”

            Jamie rolled her window down and anxiously watched as Griswold walked up to the dealer, who seemed startled by her sudden appearance.

            “What the fffuck!?” he stammered. “Wh-where’d you come ffffrom?”

            Griswold took another deep breath and began her spiel about having a delivery from Valden. The dealer’s eyes glazed over as she talked and he seemed to be more focused on not throwing up than what she said. Despite this, though, all was going well…at least until Griswold, much to Jamie’s horror, said, “Wanna try some?” and handed the dealer the whole bag of “drugs.”

            Jamie watched carefully, worried she would have to intervene. The dealer then unsuccessfully tried to pour a bump of Griswold’s powder on the back of his hand only to spill it all at his feet. Then he dropped to his hands and knees and tried to sniff the powder directly from the ground. As he did so, Griswold flashed Jamie a dopey grin and a thumbs-up.

            The dealer got up, a mustache of tan powder on his upper lip, and talked with Griswold as she wrote something down in her pocket notebook. She then turned and walked back to Jamie and Bill. As she got in the car, she waved her notebook in front of Jamie and said with pride, “Lookie what I got!” On a page in the notebook was a phone number.

            Jamie took the notebook from her and thought for a minute. “Can I use your phone?” she asked.

            “Sure,” Griswold said. “Why do you need it?”

             Reaching into the backseat and grabbing the phone, Jamie replied, “To test the number.” She dialed and waited a few seconds, before a voice answered, “This is Giovanni’s Pizza. How may I help you?”

            Jamie hung up and said, “Fake number. I’ll go find him.” 

            “Is there anything I can do to help?” Griswold asked.

            “Not right now,” Jamie said as she got out of the car. “This situation may require my set of skills. I’ll be back in a second.”

             She didn’t have to go far before finding the man passed out in a puddle of his own vomit. After putting on a pair of latex gloves, she searched his pockets and found a small notebook that contained a long list of phone numbers. Flipping through it rapidly, she eventually came upon Valden’s real number. She returned to the car, read the number aloud, and had Griswold write it down. Jamie then threw the notebook, along with the dealer’s cell phone that she found in a different pocket, into the river. Finally, she got back in the car and the three drove away.

*****

            After driving around town to lose anyone who might have followed them, Jamie, Griswold, and Bill finally returned to their motel and sat in the parking lot for a few minutes. Jamie looked over at Griswold, who was silent and staring blankly out her window. Before long, Griswold asked, “Be honest with me. How terribly did that go?”

           Jamie paused before answering, “You really want me to be honest?”

“Yes,” Griswold responded.

          “It was…not great,” Jamie sighed. “If that guy hadn’t been sloshed out of his mind, we would’ve been in deep shit.”

          “Yep,” said Griswold. “That’s what I figured.”

          “Maybe I should do the talking in the future,” suggested Jamie.

          “That would work in certain scenarios,” said Griswold, “but what about when you have to beat up goons or be the getaway driver? I’ll likely need you to do one of those things as part of our plan to catch Valden and you can’t be in two places at once.”

          “Well…let’s give it some time,” said Jamie. “Maybe you’ll think of something later.”

          They then walked up to their room. There, Bill and Jamie relaxed and watched some TV while Griswold took a shower. She came out twenty minutes later wearing a bathrobe she had packed from home and was grinning. True to Jamie’s prediction, she exclaimed, “I’ve got it! I’ve come up with a plan! I tell you, there’s nothing that a hot shower can’t help with!”

         “You’ve got a work-around?” Jamie asked.

         “Better!” Griswold said. “A plan for dealing with social interactions!”

         “Okay,” Jamie said. “Not what I had in mind, but let’s hear it!”

         “It’s quite simple. All I have to do is create a flowchart of how I want the conversation to proceed, come up with sufficient answers to any and all possible questions, and memorize the chart for when the conversation actually takes place! Although, I must admit that I may need your help for some parts. What do you think?”

         “It’s…not what I expected, but if it works for you and helps us out, I’m all for it.”

         “Splendid! I’ll get started right away!”

         With that, Griswold took a notebook and pencil into the bathroom and, for the next hour, worked on her flowchart. She would occasionally come out to ask Jamie for clarification about what the most likely response to what she said would be, to make sure that one of her questions asked what she meant, or just to run through it and make sure that the chart made sense. Although Jamie did find the constant questions irritating at times, she could tell Griswold really was trying her best and found she couldn’t be mad at her. Eventually, Griswold revealed a version of her chart that Jamie, upon reading it, found to be the most well-written and thorough. “I think you’re set,” she said as she nodded her head in approval. Griswold then took out her phone to call Valden.

         Having dialed the number, Griswold gestured for Jamie and Bill to be quiet. Bill turned the TV off and they waited patiently.

         “Hello, good sir,” Griswold said as she looked at her notes, “this is Sylvan Thunderstone...no, I’m not a stripper! I didn’t even know your friends had - we’re getting off topic! The point is, I have something that you desperately want….No! Again, I’m not a stripper! However, I do know that you hired some men to steal a certain necklace from the police. Well, it just so happens that I got there first and it is now in my possession....Obviously, I stole it to show you that I mean business and that I want in on your particular trade....If you don’t let me join, then I’ll sell the necklace faster than you can say ‘legal proceedings’…now you’re listening….I was thinking about seventy-five pounds of your best product. And make sure it’s all there….Don’t worry, I can handle that much! I’ve done this before….I’m doing this because I’m running low on cash and ‘supplies,’ and the other guy I worked for got arrested….No, I had nothing to do with it! Anyway, as for the deal, we need to set up a meeting place and time. Be at Turkey Creek Lake the day after tomorrow, 8:00 P.M. sharp! You’ll find me at Slate Hollow. Look for a plastic bag full of mud hanging from a tree….Good. It’s been a pleasure doing business, sir.”

           She hung up and grinned at Jamie. “How was that?’ she asked.

           “It sounds like it went well!” Jamie said. “But ‘Sylvan Thunderstone?’ Really?”

           “I thought it sounded sexy and cool!” Griswold said.

           “You know,” Jamie replied, “I’m not even going to comment on that.”

           “Thank you, madam. Unfortunately, I’ll have to make another flowchart for this fake drug deal and memorize it so I don’t look suspicious holding it. Anyway, that’s tomorrow’s problem. I need some sleep. By the way, at some point, I need one of you to tip off the police about this drug deal. I’d do it myself, but…you know…on the off chance that someone recognizes my voice, I don’t want the police to think I’ve been investigating anything.”

            Griswold and Jamie then got ready for bed while Bill, in a disguised voice, called the police to inform them of the drug deal that had been arranged. Griswold, however, had Bill say that it would occur at 8:15 P.M., hoping to give herself enough time to set Valden up. They all went to bed after that. Griswold and Bill fell asleep almost immediately while it took Jamie a bit longer. “Far too much excitement in too short a time,” she thought to herself.