Sheila came over to the table with two plates piled high with food. "Did I just hear laughter?"

Annja nodded. "I think she'll be okay."

Sheila smiled. "Well, maybe, but I'd be willing to bet a plate of Tom's breakfast would help the cause even more." She glanced at Jenny. "I didn't get you a menu, dear, but I thought I'd just have Tom double it all up and you could pick and choose what you like."

"Are those hash browns?" Jenny said happily.

Sheila nodded. "Of course."

Jenny tore into her plate. Annja looked at Sheila. "Looks like you made a good decision."

"Refills on the coffee?"

"I could use one," Annja said. "And if you've got some fruit juice?"

"Two gla.s.ses coming up," Sheila said. She turned and rushed back into the kitchen.

"She seems nice," Jenny said around a mouthful of food.

"Very," Annja agreed. "Now what are we going to do about our situation?"

"What situation is that?"

Annja took a forkful of eggs and chewed. "The way I see it, we've got a few things to tackle here."

"Such as?"

"Well, first and foremost, you brought me out here to help you find the Sasquatch."

"Or evidence of its existence."

"Okay. Next, we've got to deal with a couple of idiots from Washington who think they're going to kidnap the creature without getting themselves killed in the process."

"I don't see that venture being very successful."

"Neither do I," Annja said. She swallowed some of the hash browns. "G.o.d, these are good."

"I know."

"And then there's the last thing."

Jenny looked up. "What's the last thing?"

"Your relationship with super sheriff David."

Jenny shook her head. "That's a lost cause. We can forget about that right here and now."

"Why should we do that?"

"He's not interested in me. He said so."

Annja frowned. "Maybe he just said that to keep you from getting distracted. You know how you get when there's a cute guy around."

"How do I get?"

"Loopy."

Jenny frowned. "Yeah, I guess."

"David could have seen that and simply decided he wanted you focused on the evidence he was going to show you and not on him. I guess that means he might be really driven to prove this thing exists."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Well, not exactly for you right now, but overall? Maybe."

Sheila came back with two gla.s.ses of orange juice. "Fresh squeezed, girls. But there's not a lot of pulp. We got a lot of complaints about that before so we strain it more now."

Annja took a sip. "It's delicious."

Sheila hauled a chair over and plopped herself down. "So Ellen didn't say anything, but I thought I'd just go ahead and ask."

"Ask what?"

"What brings a pair of you out this way?"

Annja nodded at Jenny. "She dragged me here."

"Oh? And for what?"

Jenny smiled. "You'll laugh."

Sheila leaned back. "What? No, I won't."

"I want to prove that big foot exists."

Sheila's eyebrows jumped. "Big foot, you say. Sasquatch? Why on earth would you want to find that thing?"

"I don't want to find it, per se, just prove it's out here."

Sheila frowned. "Oh, it's out here all right."

Annja looked at her. "You know this for a fact?"

Sheila nodded. "Of course I do. I've seen it with my own eyes."

Chapter 21.

Jenny stopped chewing. "Are you serious?"