The day is getting near; the Accidental Detective will return April 20th! Enjoy a brief excerpt from Lionfish, the forthcoming adventure from mysterious novelist Nathanael Miller:
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“So, what did justhappen?” Gray asked, “I haven’t seen you off your game in years. I’m used to you verbally outflanking and flattening the other guy. What happened?”
“Abe, I can’t quite describe it,” Shepherd said, “It’s…it’s like in chess when your opponent makes an aggressive move you didn’t even know was possible, and you spend the rest of the match getting clobbered, never quite being able to regain momentum.”
Gray nodded, sympathy etching his face, “I get it. I imagine that’s an extremely unaccustomed feeling for someone like you to have. Probably a bit frightening too.”
“What do you mean, ‘someone like me?’” Shepherd asked, voice sharp as a Ginsu knife.
“Isaac, relax and put down your guns,” Gray admonished, “You and your brothers are geniuses. On top of that exceptional level of native intelligence, all three of you are incredibly quick-witted. Once you developed some self-confidence as you got older, well, I honestly can’t think of one time where I saw you verbally or intellectually outclassed.”
“Ah.”
“’Ah,’ yes,” Gray, said nodding sagaciously, “Isaac, you’re usually the one who’s three steps ahead of the rest of us. Looks like today was the first time in a long time you ran into someone who’s your equal. You’re not used to being on the intellectual defensive, and it’s got you over a barrel. Happens to the rest of us mortals quite often.”
“Jeez, you make it sound like I’m some Olympic-standard egomaniacal twit who thinks he’s better than everyone else,” Shepherd grumbled.
“You know that’s not what I mean!” Gray said emphatically, his voice taking on a slight edge, “Isaac, I’m stating fact. It’s been years since you’ve encountered a full-on intellectual equal. You’re not at fault for that; it’s just…it just is. But you’ve met him now. That means you’ll be better equipped next time you run into the dork.”
Shepherd nodded, “I…yeah. You’re right. Thanks.”
“Any time,” Gray smiled, “Oh, one more thing, just for the record.”
“What’s that?”
“You are an Olympic-standard egomaniacal twit!” Gray laughed, “But, at least you’re a nice Olympic-standard egomaniacal twit!”
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Lionfish and all characters are copyrighted to Nathanael Miller, all rights reserved.
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