Express Male Read Free

herbal or chemical enhancement about him. A touch of garlic, perhaps, but as far as she knew, garlic had never driven anyone around the bend like this.
    He did that look-one-way-then-the-other thing again, then held up a fat manila envelope that had seen better days. It was stuffed about as full as it could be and still be closed, the flap torn and bent, the paper soiled and wrinkled. Two big rubber bands were wound around it, one vertically and one horizontally, as if he feared the envelope might give way and spill its contents any moment, something that seemed entirely possible. Then he smiled again.
    “Here’s my book,” he said. “I finished it, just as I promised them I would.”
    Book? Marnie wanted to say. That was no book. It was just a big, dirty envelope full of papers. Why would he bring it to her? To Lila? To anyone? And just who was the “them” he was talking about?
    “It’s only a first draft, you understand,” he hastened to add, “but it is my greatest opus.”
    Ooh, it was a book he’d written. Now Marnie really didn’t want to have anything to do with it.
    “Um, that’s really nice, and I appreciate it,” she said as politely as she could. She glanced around again, hoping somebody might have shown up by now. At this point, she’d even welcome the appearance of Bob Troutman. Well, probably. Maybe. Oh, okay, she could handle this little guy for a few minutes more. “But I’m probably not the best person to give it to,” she added. “I’m not much good when it comes to literary criticism. I’m more of a music person.”
    “No, no,” he insisted, his smile falling some. “You’ll like this, no matter what. I assure you, it’s a wonderful opus. ”
    There was that word opus again. He really seemed to be attached to it. “Oh, I don’t doubt that for a minute,” Marnie assured the man. “But, honestly, I just don’t think I’m qualified to—”
    “It’s the story of a powerful sorcerer,” he interrupted in a singsongy, once-upon-a-time voice. “A sorcerer who has betrayed people, and who’s been hiding from those people, hoping they won’t find him.”
    “Um, sounds great,” Marnie said flatly, not wanting to encourage him—especially since fantasy novels really weren’t her thing. “But, really, I—”
    “This book tells all about this sorcerer, ” the man began again, emphasizing that last word meaningfully. Meaningful to him, anyway, since Marnie had no idea what he was talking about. “It tells things about the sorcerer no one knew before. And it tells about where the sorcerer has been hiding and what he’s been up to. It tells about where he’s going next. You’ll like it, I promise.” He winked at her again, a gesture that was beginning to creep her out. “It is my finest opus, ” he said again.
    Hoo-kay, Marnie thought. Whoever this guy was, he’d caught the express train from la-la land and hopped off at weirdsville. And now he was looking around for the platform for his connection to loonytown.
    He shoved the envelope at her again, using both hands now. “Take it,” he insisted. “Read it. Read my opus about the sorcerer. ”
    He was growing agitated now, and Marnie wasn’t sure what crazy people did when they became agitated. Nor did she have any wish to find out. She wondered if she should just take the envelope from him and hope that would make him leave. Then she could return to Lauderdale’s and alert mall security about the incident and go home.
    “Um, okay,” she said as she warily took the manuscript from him. “I’ll read it tonight. How will that be?”
    “It’s just a first draft,” he reminded her. “I have many notes, and will write more. When it’s done, I’ll bring it to you.”
    Oh, goody. “Well, that’s…that’s just fine,” Marnie said, nodding. Hoping he fell for her fake smile. Hoping he went away soon. Hoping he didn’t hack her to death with a carving knife on his way. “I’ll, um, I’ll really enjoy