Perhaps her death was nothing more than a horrible accident, but dammit, I wanted to know for sure. And so did the Parkers. I decided on a visit to High Cotton Farm on my way out of town. However, I didn’t want to peruse the tangle of country roads leading out of Sidewinder in my hunt for the farm, so I stopped at Chaney’s Garage for a Coke and directions. I figured this had to be Nurse Jess’s in-law’s garage. It was the only garage in the dinky town. Kids buying candy and locals playing video poker packed the tight aisles of the small convenience store connected to the garage. I eyed the poker games and wondered if they had come from Max Avtaikin’s business. I had heard through the grapevine that selling video poker machines was one of his legitimate enterprises. Video gambling was legal as long as the machines didn’t cash out over a certain amount. However, some places cheated and the sheriff’s department made the occasional bust. Mr. Max made money either way. I wandered past the shelves of junk food to the cashier’s booth.
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