Thin Blood Thick Water (Clueless Resolutions Book 2) by W B Garalt

and wait for me to get the details.” They went on with a half hour of catching-up conversation covering the two years since the serial killing episode in which she and Max had been falsely suspected as being the perpetrators. During this conversation, Maggie silently marveled at the transformation this elderly man had gone through, enduring a series of surgical procedures to correct a jaw misalignment he had been born with. The abnormality had affected his speech throughout his life and had interfered with his law career. The impediment, combined with a south-eastern Massachusetts accent, had hindered his effectiveness in presenting arguments to jury panels and judges. To Maggie, the transformation was phenomenal.  She did not mention the correction since she didn’t want to let on that she had noticed the speech problem, previously.
    Back in the apartment later, having had an early-supper-for-one and a glass of good wine, Maggie called Max. He was puzzled as to the subpoena but, since Maggie had consulted Gene VanDyke, he was not overly concerned. Maggie’s recounting of the change in his speech pattern amazed Max. He would not have believed that the correction was surgically possible.
    The balance of the conversation covered a variety of possibilities as to the source and reason for the summons, none of which seemed likely. There was no conclusive resolution to the puzzle this evening and the two close companions bid each other a good night.
    During this week, while Maggie dealt with the questions surrounding her being served with the summons, Max was delving to get answers to some questions as well. He wondered about their drinks being drugged that night in Nova Scotia. Maggie hadn’t had any of her second drink and had not experienced any adverse reaction, but they were assuming that her drink was drugged also. The misty, blurred vision of the Native Indian servers at the café, seemingly performing some sort of ceremony was still weighing on his mind. The airplane which had followed their same heading and altitude while on the way to Nova Scotia, breaking away when he slowed the floatplane, was also in Max’s thoughts.
    On the following morning after his return to USAP headquarters, he had given a briefing to Chip Chaplain and Danyel Uhlman, the only Partners in attendance that morning. For some reason, he really didn’t know why, Max avoided mentioning the matters that he pondered and gave a straight forward recap of his impressions regarding the Bickford Marine Laboratory property with a commitment to providing a detailed appraisal within days. He did mention his surprise at the generous number of Native Indian workers in the area.
    Chip asked his opinion on the feasibility of buying the family-owned business along with the property. Max indicated that he would need to audit the company’s past three fiscal years for the business valuation, but that the USAP Partnership could consider leasing back the building and operating equipment to the existing business following the purchase, at least for a while. ‘Dannie’ asked if Maggie had enjoyed the trip.
    “She seemed to enjoy herself and wanted me to thank the Partnership for the inclusion,” he answered. “Although, as usual when we travel together, it was more of a ‘working vacation’ for her. She had a financial business discussion with the local banker who has provided operating capital and apparently holds a mortgage on the property. He just happened to show up while we were inspecting the operation. She got some tips on how the businesses typically deals with local fiscal issues. That will help during an operations audit,” he concluded.
    “I take it she was comfortable with the piloting”, Dannie kidded.
    “There were no complaints,” he joshed in return. “She’s gradually beginning to relax with it as I get more hours in the cockpit. Of course it was the first trip in the ‘Beaver’ for both of us,” he quipped. “She had nothing to