Chapter Twenty

In an effort to make amends as well as make himself useful, Martin offered to fire up the grill for barbequed chicken.  He’d spent enough time around Alison to know that it was one of her favorite foods.  When her face lit up at the offer, he knew he was on his way back into her good graces.

While at the grill, he did his best to observe both Alfred and Alison.  He’d seen too much of her interaction with Nick to believe that she’d walk away from him and accept Alfred so fully in such a short period of time.  Something was amiss.   What confused him was the fact that Alfred was also a victim of the pizza lacing and magic that day.  Although he had no doubt that Alfred had, at some point over the years, taken part in a ménage á trios, he found it hard to believe that his cousin would stoop so low as to deliberately participate in such a vicious one as that.  They’d not only abused poor Vanessa’s