Twins Dallas and Austin Fox sat on the end, undoubtedly talking about some high-tech computer stuff that nobody else would understand. Their dark skin gleamed in the sun and, if possible, they looked like they'd gained even more muscle since the last time I'd seen them.
Tess said they brought "hot" to the world of computer nerds, not that I'd ever shared that comment with them.
Mickey Young, ruddy-cheeked over his tan, was laughing and stealing an extra bag of chips.
"Ah. That lovely swamp smell of crushed leaves and gator," I said, looking around and taking a deep breath. "Hey, Mickey! Are you still dating the clown?"
He grinned at me. "Yep. Sometimes we play helpless clown and evil ringmaster, too. We—"
Everybody loudly booed and drowned him out before he could say anything else that made us want to bleach our ears.
Darius Jones, Charles Youngblood, and Mateo Lopez—aka Fireworks, because he was an explosives expert—had their heads together whispering about something, and suddenly all three of them turned toward me, put their hands over their hearts, and batted their eyelashes.
This couldn't be good.
I gave them a flat stare. "Do you have something in your eyes?"
"Ooh!" all three said in unison, grinning like fools. "I'm a scary shapeshifter. Did you know that Tesslurvesme?"
Everybody cracked up. I nodded and gave them a "bring it," gesture. "Okay, okay. Get it out of your systems. I'm secure enough in my masculinity to be happy the most beautiful woman in the world loves me."
"Well," Lucky said, probably thinking about his girlfriend Molly, Tess's best friend.
"Shut up," I growled.
He laughed, and we sat down to eat lunch. Since there were seven of them and only one of me, I had to settle for two roast beef and Provolone sandwiches and half of a turkey with Swiss.
While we ate, I told them about the haunted tree and the compliment clock. When they quit laughing, they filled me in on the success of their new business. Tess had actually named it, in a way. She'd started calling this group of former soldiers who lived on the edge of the swamp the Swamp Commandos after they'd helped us out during several crisis situations over the past year. When they'd opened the business, the name stuck.
Dallas and Austin were part owners with everybody else, but they spent more time on their computer consulting business. Lucky was the CEO and head of the complaints department because customer service was a new concept to some of the guys.
"We had one old guy complaining that his shoes got wet from the spray on the boat ride," he'd told me once. "Fireworks told him he was lucky tohaveshoes, because once Fireworks had spent a week crawling through the jungle, carrying a fifty-pound pack. After his boots almost disintegrated from being constantly soaked, he would havelovedto complain about getting his 'wittle toesies' wet. After that, I took on the official Complaint Handler role."
When I'd stopped laughing, he'd added: "And after I listened to the old guy rant and rave at me, I had to refund his money, too. This civilian life is not for wimps."
"Hey," I said to all of them when we were finishing up. "Have any of you heard or seen anything about a petty crime ring operating in Dead End? The vet clinic got tagged, Dave's job site got hit by somebody who stole a couple grand worth of tools, and evidently there has been more. Plus, and this is weird and can't have anything to do with that, somebody keeps dumping pets on the side of the road across from Tess's shop."
Faces turned somber, and it surprised me to see everybody nodding.
"In fact, we got hit last night," Lucky said, his eyes dark. "Somebody smashed a hole in the bottom of one of our boats. It's going to cost a pretty penny to fix."
"Let's all keep an eye out," I said. "I thought maybe teenagers, but now I doubt it, considering the variety of stuff happening. It's gone from tagging to theft and vandalism. I don't like the idea of what might happen next."
"We will," Dallas said grimly. "We're upgrading the camera system here. The boat hit was at the dock just outside of range, which also weighs in on the not-kids' side. It may have been chance, since it was the boat the farthest away from the check-in shack, but maybe not. If so, they have a sophisticated enough set of skills to be aware of security cameras."
"I'm not liking the sound of this," I said. "Oh, and don't let me forget to talk to you about setting up some cameras along the road just outside Tess's shop. At least temporarily, so we can try to catch the animal dumpers."
Austin nodded. "Text me."
"On another note, have you heard from the UltraShopMart guy?" Lucky asked, frowning. "Kind of weaselly guy in a fancy suit?"
"Yeah, he just stopped by to get us to sell the shop and property to him. He's the kind of guy who doesn't like to take no for an answer. Tess knocked him down a peg, but I'm sure we haven't heard the last of him. He's tried to hire Dave already, too."
"He stopped by here yesterday," Lucky said. "Doesn't want our property, since it's—"
"Swamp?" I grinned at him.
"The headwaters of the Everglades," he said loftily. "Look in our brochure."
