Aww. Thanks for all the nice reviews guys! They really motivate me.
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Saugatuck, Michigan. Population 2,306. And it looked it. As the agents drove down Main Street they saw very few people at all.
"Its not really tourist season yet, so I guess there's not many people around." Myka observed happily, knowing that fewer tourists meant they had a better chance of finding the culprits of the various pranks.
"I think its just because its after 8pm, Myka." Pete interjected wryly. He saw 'closed' signs in all the darkened store windows, and mentally noted the placement of the bookstore, the jewelry store, and the best looking ice cream shop. It never hurts to be prepared, right?
Myka sighed, knowing they'd get nothing accomplished on small town hours tonight. "I guess we should just focus on finding somewhere to stay."
They saw no hotels; as the town was not corporately developed, and everything seemed privately owned. There was a whole street of darling looking Bed and Breakfasts; they just had to pick one.
They found an out-of-the-way parking spot for the truck and walked down Ottowa Avenue. Pete looked up and down the street, mentally tallying the Victorian-era mansions. "Seven. Shall we eeny-meeny-miney-moe?"
Myka grinned. "Sure, Pete. Or you could just spin in a circle with your eyes closed and pick one that way." She secretly hoped he would take her jokingly made suggestion seriously.
He did take it seriously, just tweaked it a bit.
Pete grasped Myka by the shoulders so fast she couldn't even resist and started spinning her around and around and around-- He laughed and sing-songed, "Around and around she goes, and where she stops nobody knows!"
After about ten turns he let her go, but she didn't slow and point to a house; she immediately tackled him to the ground.
He lay, winded, on his back, in the grass with a dizzy and recovering Myka sitting on his chest and pinning his arms down. She saw two Petes, and she was equally annoyed at both of them.
"God, Pete! Never do that again!"
After a second, she rolled off into the grass next to him and began to giggle, at nothing in particular. The reality of her current life situation, the warehouse and the annoying but nevertheless intriguing man-child assigned as her partner had all suddenly begun to catch up with her. Pete loved the sound of her laughter; it made him feel so comfortable. He looked backwards to judge their surroundings; they had landed on a pristinely manicured lawn, which sloped upwards to a lovely three story blue and white Victorian mansion.
"The Wilder Inn. Nice choice Myka."
Finally regaining her balance enough to sit up and turn around she looked up at the inviting windows with satisfaction. "Oh, what a beautiful house" she breathed. Pete, who was already up on his feet, took her by the elbow and hoisted her up, plucking a leaf out of her dark curls. "I'm glad you picked it."
She rolled her eyes as she dusted off her jacket. "If anything I think both of us had a significant hand in the picking."
He placed a finger to the side of his nose, making her roll her eyes once again, but with a smile on her lips this time. Pete started up the long stone path, with Myka following close behind. About halfway he stopped her and asked: "Should we play this low key?"
"Low key?" She queried dubiously.
"Yea, undercover, so they don't spread the word that the 'Feds' are here. In places like this gossip is king, and it travels lightning fast. They may not give us much if they think we're here to bust one of them."
Myka was, for once, in agreement. "Yea, I get that; the whole small-town-charm thing. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to downplay our presence here at least until we find something."
"So do you want to be Mr. and Mrs. Lattimer or Mr. and Mrs. Bering? Or are you one of those 'keep your last name' kinda feminist gals?"
Myka's eyes widened. "I never said we could play married! Just say I'm your sister. We look similar enough to pull that off."
Now it was Pete who rolled his eyes. "And how do I explain why we are traveling together, sans spouses or girlfriends, to a random tiny tourist destination in Nowheresville Michigan?"
Myka wrinkled her nose in scrutiny. "Well when you say it that way it does seem kind of sketchy." She sighed, waving him on up the hill. "Fine. 'Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lattimer' it is."
When they reached the large oaken door, it was Myka who rang the doorbell, which emitted a nearly deafening series of bells.
"Well they definitely know we're here then." Pete said satirically, looking over at his partner who was covering her ears and wincing.
The door swung open and two friendly faces met the agents.
The tall older gentleman reminded Myka of her grandfather, who had long since passed away; and strangely enough, the short, plump woman reminded Pete of the singing teapot from Beauty and the Beast.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Wilder!" cried the woman. "You're our first visitors of the season, and boy are we going to take good care of you! Aren't we Bill?"
The man smiled lovingly down at his enthusiastic wife and agreed heartily. "Yes, of course we are. I'm Bill and this is my wife Myrna. Please come in."
Pete hooked an arm around a surprised, but smiling Myka's waist and stepped inside. "My name is Pete Lattimer and this is my better half Myka." Pete saw the lurking unease in Myka's eyes and took the ruse to the next level. "Isn't this place beautiful, Sweetheart? I'm so happy you picked it."
"Yes, it's charming…" gritting a reluctant "dear." to the end and pinching his hip slightly to tone him down. She saw his face contort in an emotion between pain and amusement and knew she had gotten through. Myka turned her attention back to their two hosts.
"It really is lovely. We don't know how long we'll be staying, probably a few days to a week. My Pete here has a job that is a little unpredictable at times."
Myrna beamed at them sweetly. "Now that's just fine my dears, you just let us know when you have to leave us and it will all be arranged." She led them to a comfortable looking sofa in the living room and motioned for them to sit. "Have you ever been around here before?"
Pete was first to speak, "Nope, we heard about your 'ghost town' from a friend of ours and decided to come check it out for ourselves." He was sitting quite close to Myka, and furthered their illusion by reaching around her elbow and lacing their fingers together; an unexpected chill ran up Myka's spine. Pete felt this and smiled to himself, continuing his conversation with Bill and Myrna, "The wife and I are quite the history buffs; we love all the old kooky stories that come along with long-established towns like Saugatuck."
Bill seemed very pleased at this. "Well there certainly are lots of good stories in our history. We love to share them with our guests, and you'll be no exception." He stood up and picked a large brown ledger up off the desk. "Now you two will have your pick of rooms, since our only other guest is a Mr. D'Arcy, who is working on his new mystery novel: you won't see him much. We have a few themed rooms, one of which, you two in particular might like, is the 'Old Bank' room. It has lots of antiques relating to the most interesting of the old Singapore stories."
Myrna frowned slightly, "but honey, that room has two queen beds. I'm sure our lovely couple here would like a king-sized bed all to themselves."
Pete smirked and nudged the toe of Myka's boot. He hadn't thought of that. He'd never run out of jokes if he got to share a bed with her for a week. Apparently this had crossed Myka's mind, and she spoke up before Bill could make a one-bedded room suggestion, skillfully gaining them a less awkward sleeping arrangement. She placed a hand on Pete's knee and interrupted. "Myrna, that's very sweet of you, but we actually would love the two queens. Pete can be quite the kicker in his sleep, he used to play soccer and he just never grew out of it, so sometimes I take a vacation from the trauma." She smiled wickedly in his direction. "And the historical atmosphere is exactly what we are looking for."
The older couple shared a laugh at Pete's expense, and agreed upon the room. Pete made the trek down the hill to get the bags from the truck, while Myka had a cup of hot chocolate with Myrna and Bill read his newspaper.
Myka dug her thumbnail in between two sections of the rough-hewn and whitewashed kitchen table and fidgeted with her mug, trying to figure out how to act like a wife. She didn't have much actual field experience doing undercover work, unlike Pete, and just knew what she had learned in training. She figured she should start small, build the relationship with their amiable hosts and then maybe gain some valuable information later on.
She threw a warm smile across the table and asked Myrna how they had met. Myrna obliged with an adorable, yet lengthy, story about Bill being her high school sweetheart. The anecdote lasted just long enough for Pete to return with the bags. As he entered the kitchen, Myka let out an inaudible sigh of relief. She hadn't realized how out of her depth she had been without him until he was again within her sights.
Myrna offered Pete a cup of cocoa and some cookies, which he immediately accepted.
Mouth-stuffed-full-of-cookie would be Pete's Indian name, Myka decided as she watched him eat one after another. Myrna announced that she would be heading to bed and that she would see the 'lovebirds' for breakfast the next morning. Pete tried to ignore Myka's adorable answering blush and instead turned to Bill, who was again behind his newspaper. "Hey Bill, if you're up for it think we could hear the old bank story before we spend our first night in our 'Old Bank' room?"
The paper was folded within seconds, revealing a pleasantly smiling Bill from behind it. "Up for it? Of course! This story is one of my favorites, and it is especially fitting for a dark cloudy night like this one. Let's move into the den though, the chairs are infinitely more comfortable and the fire is great for storytelling." He led them to the aforementioned den, where Bill sat in a large green armchair, Myka sat on the end of the overstuffed denim sofa, and Pete decided to sit dangerously close to his 'wife', who was inwardly flattered that he was taking their contrivance this far.
"This story begins with the man who founded old Singapore. A greedy but charming man, who this very Bed and Breakfast is named for: Oshea Wilder."
Pete and Myka shared a glance, and for the first time, a vibe. They both knew some crucial information was coming their way.
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This one ran away from me a bit, and there's not a whole lot in it, but it was so fun! *promises actual plot in forthcoming chapter*
Reviews make me write faster!
