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Gil finally got to his house in Saratoga Springs, New York. The weather was cold and gloomy. There were still a few patches of dirty snow around his house. He was completely unsettled because of the sniper situation. He felt like he needed to go to Lili and be with her, but first he needed to unpack his car, shower and eat, but he was too tired to do any of those things. He settled into his recliner and phoned Lili. “I feel like I need to go to you and provide moral support,” he said.
“I’d love that, but I’m heading home today. The FBI is putting Martha into witness protection right away. I really just want to go home and get my life settled again. When are you going to Greenfield?”
“I told Karen I’d be there Monday.”
“Why don’t you just come stay with me in Northampton?”
Gil panicked for a second, thinking that he might be casually making a big decision, but he shrugged and said, “Sure, good idea.” All the fretting he’d been doing was instantly solved by Lili’s simple idea.
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GIL DRAGGED HIMSELF out of his recliner and started to unpack the car. He realized that he had all of Lili’s stuff, including her bike. He sent a text to remind her of that, and she replied with two exclamation points. He was going to have to head to her house as soon as posible. He also texted his daughters to let them know he was home. Julia invited him to come to dinner.
When he got to Julia’s house, Ziggy and Dez were jumping on the couch while watching an episode of Dora the Explorer. Jazz was in another room reading a book. Jazz was a moody ten-year-old, already in training to become a teenager. Julia came out of the kitchen to give her father a hug. “How was Florida? How was shacking up with Lili? Are you going back next year?” Mike came out of the kitchen to listen.
“Well, Florida was definitely nicer in the winter. I felt chilly when it got below about seventy-three degrees. But, there’s something about the culture down there that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t know how to put it into words.”
“The politics?” Mike asked.
“There’s that, but that’s not what I’m talking about. One example is that there’s a lot of talk about contractors doing substandard work. I was told that a lot of them are from Boston. It’s almost like Florida is a place for people to go and misbehave in many different ways. But, that’s just my initial, paranoid impression. I’ve only been there for one winter. We plan to go there again next winter.”
Mike said, “So, tell me more about this shooting. How’s Lili with that?”
“Oh boy. I told you that Lili had left early to accompany our new friend Martha home to Portsmouth after someone tried to strangle her, right? Well, a couple of days ago, while Lili was there, a sniper shot and killed Martha’s neighbor as she was leaving Martha’s house.”
“What?” Julia yelped. “Oh my god! What is happening?”
“Apparently, someone is very determined to kill Martha. The FBI got involved and Martha’s going into witness protection. Lili’s heading home to Northampton today.”
“Holy shit!” said Julia.
Ziggy wandered in and said, “You swore, Mommy.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Naughty me!”
Dinner was baked-stuffed haddock with seasoned rice and asparagus. Julia seemed nervous and distracted while she was serving. When she went in the kitchen, Mike gave her a hug to calm her down.
“Dezzy, do you like fish for dinner?” Gil asked.
“I love fish with crumbly crackers. But I don’t like ‘sparagus.”
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AFTER DINNER, GIL HELPED Julia and Mike clear the table. He said, “Tomorrow or the next day, I’ll head down to Lili’s place for a while. Most of her stuff is still in my car.”
“Oh, right.” said Julia.
“Also, Karen Tindall asked me for some help on a case.”
“What! You nearly died last time!” said Julia.
“This isn’t that kind of case. Apparently, somebody’s been digging tunnels around Greenfield, so they need me to make a robot to investigate the tunnels. No one’s been hurt and nothing’s been stolen, as far as they can tell.”
“That’s weird. I guess that doesn’t sound too threatening. And you’ll be staying with Lili in Northampton?”
“That’s the plan.” Julia smiled to herself.
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THE NEXT MORNING, GIL dressed to play pickleball at the gym, but his foot was killing him. He tried to ignore it, but it was really bad. Maybe he had a fracture. He ate breakfast, changed into a shirt and jeans, and headed over to the prompt-care clinic.
“You probably have gout,” said the doctor.
“Gout? What’s gout?”
“It’s a buildup of uric acid in your blood. It creates crystals in your joints that are very painful, as you’ve discovered. Gout is aggravated by foods that are high in purines, such as red wine, beer, shellfish, red meat, and others.”
“My diet isn’t really high in any of those things.”
“Well then, you’re going to take some pills to treat it. No big deal. I’m going to sample the fluid in your foot to confirm it. We’ll also do a blood test today to determine the uric acid levels in your blood. We’ll see if the gout recurs once you are educated on prevention. If it keeps coming back, your Primary Care Physician will figure out the best long-term medication for you to take. Here’s a pamphlet.”