Read Peak Oil for Free Online Page A

 
    Harvey grinned a yellowed-tooth smile. “But of course. Dabbort County would like to welcome you as our guests.” His voice was friendly. He stuck a hand out at Neil. “We are at your service.”  
    Alexa glanced at Neil uncertainly and then back at Harvey. “Okay, how about a good place to stay?” She shook the plump hand that Harvey stuck out in front of her. “I need to clean up and have a meal.”  
    Harvey nodded and hurried to his table. He took out a notepad from a drawer and scribbled something on it. “This is the best place in town. I dropped the Frenchies close by, at a bus stop.” He tore the note off and handed it to Alexa.
    She took it. “Thanks. We’ll probably need to talk again.”
    Harvey nodded vigorously, his jowls bouncing up and down on his reddened face. “But off course, Miss Guerra. You knock on my door anytime, you hear me now?”

The older man examined the matrix of numbers printed on the page in front of him. He scrolled his finger fifteen columns across and went down three rows.  
    “Why not start with Manhattan?” he whispered.
    He waited for the voice prompt and punched the number on the sheet into his cell as requested. The metallic voice confirmed his selection, and he looked back up at the sheet. He punched in a second sequence of numbers and nodded as he heard the confirmation from the metallic voice. “System shutdown to commence in seven days.”
    He nodded and sucked on his teeth as he disconnected the call.

Alexa parked the car beneath the shade of a green ash on the cobblestoned driveway of the Ocelot Inn. A flagstone walkway led up the hill to a large, three-story log building. A wooden signpost had been planted in a bed of lavender beside the walkway. A hand had been painted on it; the index finger pointed up the path with the word “RECEPTION” painted beneath it.  
    Alexa got out of the car and stretched. She noticed a curtain part slightly in a window in one of the rooms upstairs. Neil pulled his kit bag and her Rimowa rolling suitcase from the trunk, and they made their way along the flowered walkway to reception. Colorful red hibiscus and oxeye daisies were planted in raised beds to the side of the path.  
    A plump black lady sat behind the counter reading a copy of The Scientific American. A young girl stared up at them from behind the reception desk, her chin propped up on the counter. The woman hefted her bulky frame up from the chair and greeted them with a smile.  
    “We’ve howdied over the phone, but we ain’t shook yet.” She stuck out a chubby hand toward Neil. “My name is Pauline, but people around here call me Missy.”  
    She gave Alexa a motherly hug and held her at arm’s length, looking her up and down. “My, my, now ain’t you just a piddly ole thing?”  
    Alexa smiled. She had already taken a liking to the woman.
    Missy insisted on carrying their bags to the room. The young girl followed behind Missy, tugging on the hem of her dress. Missy stopped in front of a door and unlocked it. The young girl gazed up at Neil, smiling shyly.
    Neil knelt next to her. “What’s your name, little girl?” he asked.
    She popped her thumb out of her mouth. “Mary-Lou, sir.” She popped her thumb back in. She had grey eyes. Her short dreadlocks, tied at the top with small colorful ribbons, stuck out from her head at crazy angles like needles on a pin cushion.
    Missy patted the girls’ head. “Take no notice of my darling grandchild, mister. The engine’s running, but ain’t nobody driving.” She winked at Neil. “She won’t get in your way, not on my watch, no sir.” She pinched the child’s cheek, and Mary-Lou beamed up at her grandmother.
    Neil stuck out a hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mary-Lou. You have a mighty fine name.”
    The girl giggled, let go of Missy’s dress, and shook Neil’s hand. She didn’t let go.
    “Now you all tell me if you need to fill some empty tummies, and Missy will whip up some vittles faster than