//------------------------------//
// The Big Deal 
// Story: Mini Mysteries 
// by Acologic 
//------------------------------//

Slipstar licked his spoon clean with relish. 

‘This honey is excellent!’

‘I’m glad you think so,’ said Bartholomew Switzer, the retail magnate, with whom Slipstar was on friendly terms. ‘Our host, Henry Allerton – he’s looking for investors. 

‘Allerton claims to be a beekeeper from Dodge, but I haven’t had time to check him out. This honey of his is something, though – it keeps better than most, he says. He wants to open a factory in Barton.’

‘You are interested?’

‘Of course,’ said Bartholomew tersely as he watched Allerton ingratiate himself with the local aristos. ‘I wouldn’t be where I am today without having taken risks. And you’ve tasted the product – it’s a safe bet, no?’

‘On the contrary,’ said Slipstar, ‘I suggest you keep your wallet shut!’

Why?

Slipstar knew that Allerton was a con man, not a beekeeper from Dodge. Honey, regardless of its quality, doesn’t go bad.