It was past time for his visit with the Packers, and he wanted to get on the road. He told Ruth to follow him. He wanted backup, since you could never be sure what might be waiting for you when you went to the Packers’ place.The Packers all lived out a mile or so from the tiny town of Obert on down the road from a man named Nard King, whom Rhodes had dealt with on another case, one that had involved, among other things, a couple of stolen emus.Not so long ago, emus, and even fertile emu eggs, had been selling for astronomical prices. There were people who believed they were going to get rich raising and selling emus, and King was one of them. He’d moved to Blacklin County and built a new house alongside his new emu pens.But he hadn’t gotten rich. Rhodes wasn’t sure that any of the emu farmers had. Emus turned out to be expensive to raise, and people like King, who’d thought emu steaks would soon be in high demand in restaurants all over the country, were amazed when the demand didn’t develop.
