15 Chapter 15

“Jay. Jay Mantra.”

“Nice to meet you, Jay Mantra. I’m Banter.”

“The mystery writer from these parts?” The jumper has a lift of surprise in his voice. He turns his head to the right and looks over his shoulder. He wants to see if the woman behind him looks like the woman who always appears on the back cover of those irresistible paperback novels.

“It’s me. The one and only.”

“Shouldn’t you be living in Florida or someplace where it’s warm?”

“I like these parts. The snow and cold help me write.”

“Your books are pretty great. I try to buy everyone that comes out. I can never figure out who the killers are.”

“My number one fan.”

“Maybe not number one, but close to it.”

Banter thinks about this for a second and asks through the rain, “Let’s make a deal. What do you say, Jay?”

“Depends what the deal is. I’m a little bit busy here trying to get away from Grayville.”

“Come down and we’ll talk about it, Jay. You for that?”