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displeased. It bothered the heck out of him that he couldn t figure out how
the old man managed the seemingly simple trick.
What s the secret? How do you do it?
Now if I told you, wouldn t be a secret no more, would it? said Pickett
with a grin.
Huddy checked both caps, tugging on one with all his strength. It was on
tight, wouldn t budge. He inspected each bottle for hidden strings, found
nothing. Pickett waited until he was finished. He was still smiling.
Well? said Huddy.
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Well what, sonny?
Get going. What about your magic words ? He gestured as he spoke, waving
one of the bottles through the air.
Oh, them. Them s just for the kids. Of course, if you d like the whole
show....
No. Skip it. You do it however you want to.
Right, said Pickett, whereupon Huddy gave a shake like a man with
ten-second flu as the caps to both bottles promptly fell away from their
seats. Beer bubbled out of the bottle he d been waving and foamed over his
right hand.
Oops. Pickett clambered down the steps and hurriedly grabbed away the
bottle. He took a long slug of the contents, wiped his lips contentedly. Sure
beats hunting for an opener, doesn t it? He let out a short, sharp laugh.
Huddy sipped gingerly at his own beer. It was good and cold and he was glad
he d asked for it. It helped steady him. He d seen the trick up close now.
Maybe too close, because if his life had depended on him explaining how Jake
Pickett had dislodged those two bottle caps, Huddy would be a dead man.
If the furiously thinking executive had thought to inspect either of the caps
under a magnifying glass he might have had a clue as to what had taken place.
He would have seen that some of the cork lining the caps seemed to be missing.
But the caps were forgotten in the dirt and dust as Pickett escorted him down
the trail toward the road barrier.
That s a simple trick, Huddy said carefully. Real simple. He didn t even
notice the mud that was climbing all over his two-hundred-dollar shoes. But
I m damned if I can figure out how you did it.
Want to see some more? Pickett looked pleased, like a little boy who d just
shown his parents a straight-A report card.
Yeah. Huddy feigned disinterest. Board meetings gave him plenty of practice
at that. Yeah, I d like to see some more. You going to get some more
bottles?
Naw. You ve seen that trick. Pickett leaned on the barrier. It creaked, the
vandalized dead end sign threatening to fall permanently from its moorings.
He nodded toward the Eldorado. Your car s awful dirty.
It s a dirt road. He wondered what Pickett was leading up to. At the same
time he was irritated that the old man had noticed. There was mud coating the
front end of the big car and the wire wheels were plastered with light brown.
C mon, Huddy urged him, what are you going to do?
Already done it. Pickett stood up against the barrier. Looked at your car
lately?
Huddy glanced over his shoulder and the sight hit him like a brick between
the eyes. The mud and dirt had disappeared; not just from the front of the car
but from the underside and the wire wheels as well. Slowly he walked around
the Eldorado. Even the underside of the back end was spotless.
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The soda pop trick had intrigued him. The business with the beer bottles had
really piqued his curiosity. Now he just stood there stunned, gaping at the
car. Easy, he told himself. Don t rush things. Look for the logical
explanations. Don t go off half-cocked.
How did you do that?
Pickett shrugged. Like I said. It s a trick. It s nothing special.
I don t see any water. There s no air hose. How did youdo it? His tone was
running away with itself and he forced himself to relax, to calm down. Mr.
Pickett, would you mind taking a medical exam?
Now I told you, sonny, the old man reminded him, I m not interested in
your guard job or any
No, no. Huddy hastened to reassure him. Nothing like that. Forget about
Security Masters ... Masters Security, he hurriedly corrected himself. What
I mean to say is, the exam date is already set up for you. The doctors
involved are company. If you don t show for the exam the doctor in charge will
just get a couple of hours off. Seems a shame to waste it. I meant to mention
it to you before. You d end up with a complete rundown on your general
physical condition, at no charge.
I don t like hospitals. Pickett frowned uncertainly.
Neither do 1.1 use these same doctors, he lied feverishly. You d get
executive care.
Pickett chuckled then. Sounds like fun. I haven t been to the doc in quite a
while. Medicare and Medicaid don t like to pay for general checkups. Don t
guess it would hurt me none.
Of course not, not at all. Like I say, it seems a shame to waste the
opening. Don t worry about the money. It means nothing to the company.
I still feel a little funny about it, Huddy. Me not accepting the job and
all.
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