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Nick paused in the act of taking a sip of coffee "Folks are discussing that, too?"

"With relish and zest," Gail assured hied and drank ested that you two have a drink together Hoas I to know you'd be duh to have that drink at the Total Eclipse?"

"It wasn't the fact that Nick bought rave precision "The fight started when Mean Eugene announced to the entire bar that you had bestowed your favors upon Nick for certain agenda-driven reasons"

She stared at hiene implied that you had co him to become so bemused and befuddled that he would be unable to think clearly The net result would be that our intrepid investigator would be unable to detect that you were the person most likely to have stolen the Upsall"

Octavia rabbed hold of it to steady herself "Good lord"

"Of course, Eugene didn't put it in precisely those words" Jerelanced at Nick for confirmation "Don't think he used the words bemused and befuddled, did he?"

"No," Nick said "I believe what Eugene said was that Octavia was screwing me senseless"

Jeremy shook his head "Don't think he said senseless, either Maybe it was screwing your brains out"

"Right" Nick raised a cup in a s ation"

Jeremy turned to Octavia "There was also some question about the naturalness of your red hair Naturally, Nick could not let Eugene and Dickhead get aith talking about a lady in such crude terms Hence the bar brawl"

Octavia clutched the counter, feeling dazed and disoriented She looked at Nick, hoping he would tell her it was all just a big joke "The brawl really did start because ofthe entire event with another shrug "It'll blow over in a few days"

"Are you kidding?" Jereht between your grandfather and Mitchell Madison that took place outside of Fulton's decades ago What makes you think that forty or fifty years fro the story of what happened last night at the Total Eclipse?"

"Jereht," Gail said "You're a Harte, Nick, and Octavia is related to the woinal Harte-Madison feud Trustbrawl at the Total Eclipse will live on forever"

Jerereement "Mostly because there's so little to talk about in a small town like this"

"Well, it's only to be expected, I suppose You do know she is related to that Claudia Banner woman The one who started the Harte-Madison feud all those years ago"

Octavia froze in the act of putting the six-pack of bottled spring water in the basket of the supermarket cart The voice ca & Beans

"My Hank said there hasn't been a brawl like that at the Total Eclipse in ages Not since that biker club cah town three years back Fred claie done in the pool rooan Grayson and Sandra Finley Both woht Visions to browse on occasion and both served on the Summer Celebration coolden opportunity," Megan said "One of the Willis brothers toldthe Total Eclipse for years He put it off because he was too cheap to pay for the job But he knows he can get the o for it?"

"You have to wonder why Nick and Jereether in the first place Those two haven't had much to do with each other in a couple of years Not since Jere out of some kind"