Chapter 138

I turned to the task of testing for the best way to flavor the shine. I knew there were two options to make a cocktail of it. I just needed to find the very best ways and go with that. Like I had said on the tape, I thought the novelty of it and the slightly illegal nature of it, would make it sell like hot cakes.

Phil turned the video recorder on as I spoke, "What I really need to do here is to find the best and most universally accepted drink. Then we can figure out how to make it in bulk. I think orange juice would be good, I also think a planter's punch with be a good choice, I also want to make some old time rock candy. Purely for medicinal purposes of course.

So now I'm going to start the testing. First I am going to cut up an orange and then I am going to soak it at least over night in about a pint of shine." I cut the orange and stuck it in a plastic container. It came from the bag full of things I had bought a bunch of them at the dollar store.

I looked up at the camera and said, "Now I am going to put a cup of shine over a bag of peppermint candy. That ends the soaking of items in the shine experiment. Next I am going to mix orange juice and a couple of ounces of shine to make a shiny screw driver. And some planter's punch to make a shiny new planters punch, so that completes our first expierment. Only left to do todayj is to try the two cocktails and decide which is best." I looked into the camera then after a minute I said cut.

"So Phil, you and me will be the first two people to try it. This shine is real thing it is over a hundred proof. We can mix it a little heavy on mixers and get away with it. So let's try the shiny screw driver," I suggested.

I mixed the first one with an ounce of shine and an ounce of orange juice. The second one I had less shine and more orange juice. I took a drink of each and found it smoother than Vodka and stronger as well. Both drinks tasted the same to me. The amount of liquor in the drink did not seem to make a difference.

Phil had the camera on me while I tasted it. He didn't show himself drinking it, but I asked him on camera what he thought. He said, "It is smooth, very smooth."

"Now let's try the shiny new planter's punch," I mixed the two drinks exactly as I had before except I used a fruit drink with several juices in it. The cocktail it made was just as good. Phil's comment off camera was, "I think this one is even smoother."

When the camera stopped rolling I said," I think we are going to have to choose one because they taste so much alike,"

"I would go with the planter's punch it is smoother," he said. "It doesn't seem so acidic."

"Okay we will definitely start with the planter's punch then," I said. "I want to see how the orange wedges in the shine makes the shine taste and the candy."

"So when do we want to check them out," Phil said.

"Well it's Wednesday, how about you or Jeff come her at noon on Friday. We will check it out then." I suggested.

"You only used about a quart of shine, you got almost three fourths of that gallon left."

"I have couple tricks left up my sleeve for Friday," I said.

Thursday was a complete bore. After I stopped at the fanciest grocery store in the plaza during my morning bike ride. I had to go back home and then return later, because they had not been open, when I visited Hardee's at 6:30AM. After my two attempts to buy the next experiment items, I pretty much spent Thursday alone, I had only the computer and TV to pass the time. I did watch just about every reality show on TV. The docudrama was coming into it's own, it seemed.

Shortly after noon on Friday I was ready to see what was what. The phone rang just after noon. "Do you think that shine is ready?" asked the voice on the other end of the call.

"You know, who ever you are, I have no fucking idea what you are talking about. If I do know you, come on over and we will talk about it like civilized people." I broke the connection abruptly.

The two clowns both showed up at my door about a half hour later. I watched them come up the driveway. I thought I could kill one of them with the cross bow and even with my club hand I could probably load and shoot the other one before he could react. They were such simple minded fucks, I thought. I knew I was going to let them live since they might prove helpful and I didn't have pay them.

Once they were inside I told them to start the camera. Then I began talking, "If you ever call me like that again, I'm going to rip you fucking tongue out. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," they answered off camera. They did seem thoroughly impressed. Maybe they had heard of me from Mary Ellen.

"Good, because I am serious cops and feds can tap a cell phone easier than a house phone. So watch what you say on them. even when you talk to each other. They can tap, because of you for you other films and get to me, or they can tap me and get to you. So be fucking careful what you say."

"I understand," one of them said.

"Me to," the second one said.

"Now lets get down to business." I filled the two ounce cup with the shine off the peppermint candy.