BEg2 Ch 36 - brief summary

[Michael Bailey]

Christmas has Maxine fantasizing about reversal of the Scrooge-Cratchit
duality, Scrooge redeeming Cratchit, who’s been embezzling all along & only
pretending to be poor.

The family goes bowling at the Port Authority
https://www.framesnyc.com


Maxine has a brief chat there with Felix Boingeaux, on his way to Florida
under a big backpack.

She asks him whether he’d ever felt endangered when Lester Traipse was
killed. “No” would mean he was protected & Maxine would ask by whom; “Yes”
would lead to Maxine trying to enlist him in her inquiry

He doesn’t answer.


Maxine tells the kids that Boïngeaux is a Christmas elf. They’re beginning
to show doubt of the Santa phenomenon.

Horst has elaborate explanations to dispel those doubts.


March Kelleher claims on her Website that she’s having to couch surf to
duck the attentions of various cops etc. Maxine can’t get ahold of her, so
maybe that’s true.


Vyrva comes over, tearful because Gabriel Ice (she’s been having an affair
with the villain) has dumped her.


Daytona shows Maxine some spreadsheet tricks with which she’s managed to
crack the Ehbler-Cohen case. Not only that, Daytona is about to sit the CPA
exam.


There’s Christmas shopping and some fun Christmas stuff.

No word from Windust.

After the holiday she sits down with 12 cups of coffee & accesses
DeepArcher.


Where she’s roaming a desert & eventually meets up with Vip Epperdew, whom
Shae and Bruno have deserted. He’s ridden his luck to become a professional
gambler.

She comes upon a lush oasis, where Windust is ensconced in a tent. He says
he hasn’t made it back to DC or his wife and home, there are “exclusion
zones”

She asks him where he is physically & he doesn’t even know. They go flying
out over the virtual desert & he asks her to meet him again (physically) at
“the place” & bring money. She agrees!?!