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“Speed dating? What’s that?”

“You sign up and goto ht, and you spend fivea bunch of them”

“Five minutes? And the point of that is what, exactly?”

“It gives you a chance to see whether you like somebody, without the pressure of a fix-up or an actual date,” she said “Actually being out with theive them your phone number If you don’t, you say, ‘Nice to meet you,’ you shake their hand, and you move on”

“What if they give you their phone number and you don’t really want it?”

“Then you toss it in the trash when you get home,” she said

“What if they ask for your nuive it to them?”

“Then you smile sweetly and say, ‘I don’t think so’ Look, I didn’t say it was the perfect syste”

“Just curious” I laughed “And did you ht?”

“As if,” she said, which I took to ht Now A guy who ”

“Speed dating,” I marveled “It’s a whole neorld out there Any old coots likeamidst the speed daters?”

“Ha-you will never be an old coot,” she said “But it did tend to be a youngish crowd Which is not to say you shouldn’t try it”

“Me? I don’t think so, Chloe I’y of it,” I said

“Well, then you should sign up soo study the phenomenon firsthand”

“Maybe I will,” I said “Could I talk to Burt?”

“Sorry, he’s not here-he’ll be in court all day His first trial in a h”

“No, I reckon it’s not urgent,” I said “They’re not going to get any deader”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, Chloe, just talking to , but I’ll figure it out myself”

After I hung up and thought awhile, I opened my address book to the section headed “F” and dialed another call

“Hello, you’ve reached the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Knoxville Division,” announced the woman’s voice in my ear “If you know your party’s extension, you can dial it at any time” I did not know my party’s extension, so I pressed 2, then punched in P, R, I, and C

“This is Special Agent Price” I tried to recall her first nas about official corruption in Cooke County-not that I would ever be on a first-name basis with Price, as a study in cool, brisk efficiency Andrea? No, not Andrea, but so those lines

“Hello there, Special Agent Price This is Dr Bill Brockton, from UT”

“Ah, Dr Brockton Are you calling to plead guilty to gahts, Dr Brockton?”

I laughed “Not exactly” Price had sent an undercover FBI agent to gather evidence against aoperation in Cooke County the prior year Quite by accident, I had found myself an inadvertent spectator as the roosters battled to their bloody deaths During , I had nearly thrown up on Price’s undercover agent “I adree nausea, but I did not gamble”

“You sound like Bill Clinton talking about marijuana,” she said “Or sex What can I do for you, Dr Brockton?”

“How much do you know about cremation?”

“Do you need help figuring out your funeral arrangements? Or is this a quiz?”

She sounded edgy and tough Not a bad quality in a federal agent, I realized “Sorry,” I said “I’ to be cryptic Suppose there were a cre its job” I paused She waited I paused so to waste any more time

“Wasn’t doing its job? What does that mean?”

“Well, what’s a crematorium’s job?”

“Incinerating bodies,” she snapped “What’s your point here, Doctor? This is what younot to be cryptic?”