To Catch a Copperhead Read Online Free PDF Page A

you,” she said as I approached her.
    She looked me up and down,
surprised at my fashion choice for the day. The dark green dress
was a favorite because it matched my eyes. That and also because I
could carry a pair of knives strapped on each thigh without anyone
noticing. I took a seat and asked a passing waiter for
coffee.
    “ And your face… I can’t tell
that you were even hit,” she said and I noticed the slight bruise
along her right cheekbone.
    “ In my line of work, you
have to know how to cover up all the marks and bruises,” I quipped
and then turned the topic to a more serious one. “How did your
mother take the news? After all, your father was arrested as part
of this conspiracy.”
    Her smile faded. “She had
suspected that he was up to something nefarious. So, it didn’t come
as much of a shock. Still, it’ll be hard for her, hard for both of
us.”
    The waiter placed my coffee
on the table and I quickly added a measure of sugar and cream. As
my hand idly stirred the mixture, I looked at her for the first
time in the daylight.
    “ What will you do? Continue
to work for the boarding house?”
    She smiled. “Yes, of course.
No reason for me to give up good employment.” She snickered and
added, “And I’ll be adding a night job to my routine.”
    I eyed her suspiciously.
“What kind of night job?”
    “ I think that Assassin Anne
should have a partner.” When she saw my expression, she revised the
idea, “Alright, a sidekick perhaps.”
    I said nothing and lifted
the cup to my mouth. Before I could take a sip she said, “What
about Battling Betty? Sounds like a good team, Assassin Anne and
Battling Betty.” I lowered the cup as she began to ramble. “Of
course, I’ll need you to teach me how to shoot and I’ll need to
purchase a gun or two. Can you recommend a good type? Maybe
something smaller than what you carry. And I’ll need an outfit but
maybe a little more stylish and, dare I say, more girlie than the
one you wear. No offense, but you look like a common soldier in
that get-up.”
    I smacked my lips and said,
“Great.”
    Considering that she
continued to ramble on about her wardrobe and weaponry choices, the
amount of sarcasm in my single word hadn’t been sufficient to let
her know what I really thought. Still, it might be nice to have
some company for a change.

 
    You have just finished
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    TO CATCH A COPPERHEAD
    by D. Alan Lewis
     
    This story was originally presented
in High Adventure History , available at Amazon and
Smashwords.
     
    Edited by Mark Beaulieu and Tommy
Hancock
    Editor in Chief, Pro Se
Productions-Tommy Hancock
    Submissions Editor-Barry
Reese
    Director of Corporate
Operations-Morgan Minor
    Publisher & Pro Se Productions,
LLC-Chief Executive Officer-Fuller Bumpers
     
    Cover Art by David L.
Russell
    Cover Design by Jeff
Hayes
    E-book Design by Russ
Anderson
     
    Visit the Pro Se Press website at http://www.prose-press.com for more New Pulp novels and short story collections
     
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