(First, many thanks to ML for tracking down the Updike piece in yesterday’s comments. Or maybe she just knew already and rattled it off.)

Monsoons came up yesterday – the AZ kind. They’re mentioned now and then in the Chet and Bernie series but I know there’s a big monsoon action scene in there somewhere. My colleague Mr. W. Bore volunteered to conduct a search but he came up empty, instead leaving this note on my desk. “Sorry, boss, no go. But I did find this little snippet. Nothing to do with monsoons, but hey! It’s from that short story about something or other. I kind of liked it, you know? (signed) your buddy, Wild.”

Bernie rose. “You can keep the photos.”

“Don’t want to kill him,” Sherry said, “but how much for you to shove them down his throat?”

“Ten billion,” Bernie said.

Wow! This was it, the big score at last! But it didn’t happen. We walked out of there with the photos and that was it.