Sometimes,
fate can be mean-spirited. She can intervene at just the wrong moment and pull
your chair out from under you when you're sitting down at the table with a
bunch of high rollers who just love to see you fail.
Other
times, she a sweet little sprit, who drops things in your lap when you least
expect them and speeds off giggling into the darkness. Fate, Karma,
synchronicity, or blind, stupid luck, whatever you want to call it, it happened
to be on my side for a little while.
I just
finished prepping the Murderwagon for the next round of the DuMont case. Mrs.
Dumont had called me after getting my last report and screamed at me for a
while. She used words like unsatisfactory and inept and boondoggle, which, on
its own, is a rather spectacular word, but when used in an assessment of one's
work, is a bit unpleasant. She wasn't satisfied with my results, but hadn't
pulled me off the case, so I was in investigatory limbo.
I placated
her with a few 'there, theres', a 'come now' or two, and the requisite 'yes
ma'ams', and after reattaching my head, set about figuring out just how to snag
hubby doing what he was doing.
That's when
fate showed up and gave me a fat smooch on the kisser. I was gassing up the
van, sobbing inwardly as the price on the pump climbed like a Starfighter in
afterburner, when the Little Red Roadster pulled into the lot. 'ZZZZip' was on
the front plate and a blonde girl was at the wheel. She killed the engine and
got out. She was wearing a white polo shirt with a black logo over the pocket,
she was just far enough out of peeper range for me to make out what it was. She
wore the same tan ball cap with her hair pulled through the back. She wore dark
sunglasses, more than likely Aviators that seemed a bit big for her face, but
shielded her eyes from the sun and observers. She wore khaki pants and sensible
cross-trainer type shoes. As she made her way into the store, she scanned her
surroundings, good situational awareness. The other things I noticed was that
she moved with a degree of athleticism, and it was evident that she ran to stay
in shape.
I had a
decision to make. I still needed to pay, but I didn't want her to notice me,
and I didn't need to watch her drive off while some dude in front of me handed
in his winning, one-dollar lottery tickets and decided how to re-invest his
winnings in more lottery tickets. I grabbed a note-pad and quickly scrawled a
note and a phone number. I walked over to the roadster and slipped the folded
note under the windshield wiper. I doubled around to the store's side entrance
and went inside. As I got in line to pay, she was just finishing up. She had
bought a pack of gum, an energy drink, and a box of band-aids. She slipped by
me. She smelled nice, too. I couldn't place the scent, but it wasn't something
you'd snag at Bath and Bodyworks. I
shuffled forward in line and tried not to watch the girl as she read the note.
I settled up and went out to the van. The girl was on her phone and was looking
at the bumper of the Z4 with a look of anger and confusion. I pulled the van
out and trundled over to the abandoned dry cleaner across the street and
waited.
She got in,
slammed the door and tossed her phone disgustedly into the passenger seat. It
looked as if she had really torn into whoever she had been on the phone with.
Sorry about
that, Lloyd. I owe you one.
 | |
| Champaign, Illinois. Looks fun. |
She pulled
into traffic and the Murderwagon and I followed at a respectable distance.
As we light-hopped through town, her bearing indicated the
country club, and I dialed in the local sports radio to get a feel on
Saturday's game at Illinois.
Nebraska
should be able to move the ball against Illinois. As if it were some sort of
Bizzarro World note, Nebraska leads the B1G in passing. Yes, passing. The
ground game isn't bad, but it looks like the Huskers should feature
Sweet-n-low, and bring Cross in on short yardage plays (or just give it to
Janovich) and when Newby needs to rest. The receiving corps is looking good and
about to get better. De'Morney Pierson-El is back on a limited basis and will
probably need to play his way into shape before getting punt return duties, but
Tommy will now have about 6 reliable targets at receiver. Passes to the tight
end spot are still problematic, but, it would be fun to see Janovich in an
H-Back type of position. There still hasn't been a lot of passes thrown to
running backs, whether by scheme, design, or Tommy wanting to hit a home run
every time when a single will do, but the longest passing play, last week went
to Janovich. Anyone else noticing a theme?
Defensively,
the Huskers are on the edge. The line has been depleted and has still held
their own against the run. The Raccoon Whisperer may be back, and Vincent's
knee might be good enough to go, but all-in-all the line has done a good job,
as a unit. The linebackers have been playing shorthanded, whether by suspension
or injury, all year. Michael Rose-Ivy is the best of the bunch, and has only
played in one full game. Josh Banderas should be back from injury and Marcus
Newby is on-again, off-again. They don't seem lost, like last year, but are a
bit over their heads. The secondary is vulnerable. It doesn't seem to make a
difference who is back there, the outside guys can't get control of the
receivers. I don't know if it's a lack of talent, or poor technique, but the
corners are getting torched like a debt-ridden bar with three insurance
policies.
Illinois
has some weapons, not a fully stocked arsenal, but some weapons. Wes Lunt is an
accurate passer that will with his receivers for short to medium gains and let
them make extra yards after the catch. He's a big guy, and not mobile, so
pocket pressure will be key to making him get rid of the ball and making him
uncomfortable. Josh Ferguson is a decent running back, but has only gone over
the 100-yard mark once, this year. Illinois would rather throw, anyway. When
they do throw, they look for Geronimo Allison, a big target who leads the
Illini in both receptions and yards, and has an awesome name to go along with
it.
Even though
it's a road game, it's not like going to Miami. I think the defense will make
just enough plays to slow down Illinois enough for Tommy and the offense to
continue putting up the points, better red-zone execution would be nice.
I followed
the roadster up to the gates of the country club and waited on a side street. I
knew what I was looking for, and wanted to be in position to follow. As I
parked, I thought about a score to predict for the game. Nebraska 38, Illinois
28.
