Saturday night at Club Panther. The waitress set the Bacardi &
OJ on the table in front of Hamilton Beach, private dick and stone
righteous brother. “You read my mind, baby,” Beach said, “But unless
I’m higher than I thought, I didn’t order this.”

“Compliments
of the lady at the bar,” the waitress explained. “The one in the green
velvet vest and the brown leather boots.” From ten yards away, the lady
in question shot Beach a smile that could melt the ice on Lake Erie in
January. Nothing wrong with her that Beach could see, nothing at all.
But if he trusted every mysterious woman with a pretty face, he’d have
been dead a long time ago. He picked up the drink and nonchalantly
strolled over to her, taking the next stool at the bar.

“Many
thanks, sweet thing. My favorite, you know.” Beach lifted the glass in
salute, with a couple of shakes. He lit a Kool, blew the smoke
sideways, and continued, “But tell me – what’s your game?”

The smile again, the ice-melting smile. “Games are for little boys and girls. I’m a full-grown woman, Mr. Beach. Very full-grown.”

“I
can see that, baby. But I just find it funny, you know. I mean, it
seems a little odd, you trying to make time with me with that shipment
of Hamilton Beach BlenderChef Blender/Food Processors due in from
Detroit in half an hour. I know the Rabbit would love to get his hands
on those – glass jar, stanless steel blades, 12 speeds from ‘stir’ all
the way up to ‘liquefy’. I know the Rabbit can’t resist a 400-watt
motor. And here you are, treating me to a drink just when that truck is
rolling toward town. Quite a coincidence. You wouldn’t know anything
about that, would you?”

Her brows lifted the smallest
distance, for the briefest instant. She was keeping it together pretty
good, Beach had to gve her that. “I don’t know what you’re talking
about. Why can’t a woman buy a drink for a good-looking stranger
without -”

“See, see, that’s the thing,” Beach
interrupted. “You say ‘stranger’, but a minute ago you knew my name.
How do you figure that?”

Her hand darted into her handbag
on the bar. Immediately Beach’s muscled grip was around her hand,
clamping it through the fabric of the purse. Beach could tell there was
something heavy in the bag: a gun, a blade. Something nasty. “I
wouldn’t if I were you, baby,” he commanded, looking right into her
panic-racked eyes. “Here’s how it’s gonna go down. I’m gonna take your
purse outside with me, on my way out. After I take out anything that
shouldn’t be there, I’ll leave it behind the shrubs outside. You wait
two minutes and you can go get your purse back. Me, I got an
appointment with some of your fellow employees of the Rabbit. I’ll tell
them you said hello.”

Dazed, she withdrew her empty hand
and watched Beach leave the club. What a man. For a moment, she wished
she could’ve bought him a drink under different circumstances. Then she
wondered what she was going to tell the Rabbit.

Warranty: 2 years

Features:

• 400 watts of power
• Blender and food processor in one
• Stainless steel blades
• Stir stick for stirring while you blend
• Liquid dispenser
• 40-oz. jar for multiple servings
• SureRest jar rest that prevents tipping
• Liquid dispenser for adding oil or other ingredients
• Hide-away cord storage.
• Dimensions: 13Hx6.25Wx8.5L”.