Read Steve Demaree - Dekker 09 - Murder on a Blind Date for Free Online Page A

and we pulled away, but I laid my Twinkie
down while I navigated the U-turn onto the interstate and headed south toward
Lou. George and I were all sung out by the time we got to the Tennessee Welcome Center . Not a lot of people were there
to welcome us on a cold, late January morning. We decided to plod on despite
the lack of hospitality.
    The
interstate had been plowed, and few people were on the road, so it was just
before 10:00 when George and I arrived at the
place where Lou told us he would meet us. We walked in, and there Lou was
seated at a table like he was somebody special. Normally The Pancake Pantry is
so crowded that they have a rule that they don't seat anyone until the entire
party is there. But it was January, and not only is January cold, but the
Pancake Pantry doesn't have a line out the door and down the street at that
time of the year. And Lou must have told them he was just released from the
hospital.
    As we
walked over to greet our grinning friend, Lou didn't bother to get up. And
despite the grin, it didn't look like he had just had his best day.
    George
looked at Lou's face.
    "Is
this what you call an extreme makeover?"
    "No,
it's what you call getting slapped by more trees than I can count."
    "That's
what you get for making improper advances to trees you don't know."
    Lou gave
me a look of "Why didn't you leave this guy at home?" and then spoke
again.
    "I'm
glad you guys showed up. Whoever kidnapped me didn't give me time to get my
wallet, so one of you will have to pay for whatever I order."
    It was my
turn to respond.
    "George,
how would you like to eat in front of him and watch him salivate as he watches
us eat?"
    "If
you don't take care of me, when you get home one of you won't have a
girlfriend."
    "George,
does you wife know about your girlfriend?"
    "I
think he was talking about you."
    We did
our best to make up for the people who couldn't make it to the Pancake Pantry
that day. I wondered if I moved to Gatlinburg if I would get tired of eating at
that place all the time. Then I remembered that was no problem. I could eat
every other day at the Applewood Farmhouse.
    We
ordered crepes with berries and cream cheese, pancakes with nuts and chocolate,
plus bacon and sausage. We asked our server if she could set our food in the
middle, then bring us extra plates so all three of us could enjoy some of
everything. She willingly accommodated us. We took our time eating, then showed
George around the area, in case he wanted to come back sometime. Well, that was
part of the reason. The other part was so we would be hungry again by the time
we got to Sevierville. Lou and I thought George needed to experience the
Applewood Farmhouse at lunch. While we were wasting time I bought Jennifer a
coming home present at one of The Village shops. Neither Lou or George wanted
word to get back home that I bought something for Jennifer while we were in
Gatlinburg while they kept their money in their pockets, so both of them bought
a present for his significant other.
    Like Lou
and I, George was impressed by the entire Applewood complex that many refer to
as the Apple Barn. But especially the food. They kept bringing it. I made sure
I let George know that there's even more at dinner. And he made sure he left
with some apple fritters to eat on the way home, in case he got hungry.
    On the
way back we talked about Lou's ordeal. Well, as much of it as he could
remember.
    "Lou,
you never told us how you found your way out of that house without a
door."
    "Cy,
you remember those dimmer switches on the floor of old cars?"
    "Yeah,
but what's that got to do with getting out of a house?"
    "I'll
tell you if you give me time. There was something like that under the carpet,
next to a wall. I accidentally stepped on it and a panel slid away, and voila,
the great outdoors revealed itself. I didn't wait around to see what I needed
to trigger to get back in. I had no interest in returning to that place. Just
getting away from there as