Me and Snack Mcghee — Peter Abresch

Chance Duganâ€"retired at 33 and living on board Chicago, a derelict boatâ€"and his buddy, Snack McGhee, keep getting innocently embroiled in other people's problems without even trying. Like Jinx, whose boyfriend sails off in her catamaran and in finding it gets Chance and Snack involved in a drug bust. Or how about the two old-time gangsters showing up to reclaim a treasure stashed years ago on board Chicago? Only it ain't there. There is the drunk woman at a library celebration who claims her feet were stolen, but the guy who stole them lounges in the children's section with a knife in his chest. Then Chance and Snack get wacko on Happy Tomatoes given them by a geniusâ€"or looney tunesâ€"who crossbred tomatoes with Maui Wowie marijuana. And finally Chance's girlfriend wants to sneak into the Drum Point Lighthouse and make love on the old lighthouse keeper's bed. How can he say no to that? And through it all, Al Capone disputes Chance's ownership of Chicago, treating him with malevolent disdain in spite of him feeding her and cleaning out the litter box. Damn cat.