Bill Hill's Pills

Book excerpt: Jimmy Katz wakes walloped with a cold, allergies, or the flu. Maddy, his cat, and Guppy, his Amazon parrot fret, but still demand breakfast. Mrs. Potts sends Jimmy over to the Wellness Center where Bill Hill sends the Katz-Diaz heir home with his special formula, Wellness in a Bottle. Brian, Jimmy’s best friend, and Danny, his coworker at the Twinkle Independent News, come to visit, followed by Aunt Betty, the matriarch of Twinkle and Starlight County. Celebrity stops by, sees how awful Jimmy feels and tells him she’ll be back later. The town drunk attacks Celebrity, and she ends up in a coma. When she resurfaces, a different reality has everyone concerned, especially Jimmy. After only three doses of Bill Hill’s formula, Jimmy fully recovers. He stops by the Wellness Center to purchase two more bottles. When he arrives home, Maddy and Guppy attack the bag. Then Brian and Danny show up and tell him that someone was poisoned by that formula. The deranged poisoner has targeted more than Bill Hill’s store. The Dime Water Foo(d) grocery store with the burnt out “d” in the sign, affectionately called the Foo, is shut down. It’s the only grocery store within a 150-mile radius. Betty calls upon her army of volunteers and they transform the Starlight Ballroom into a grocery store. More businesses are shut down as tampered products send people to the hospital. Chief Kenton Price, Ramirez, and Celebrity have their hands full with trying to hunt down the elusive poisoner, along with help from the Feds. Through the investigation, they discover that forty years ago a terrible crime was committed and concealed. Jimmy and Ramirez uncover the details and they seek justice for the family. While eating at the Biggem Diner with Danny, Brian, Ramirez, and Celebrity, Jimmy notices the poisoner in action. Ramirez and Celebrity take action. The culprit is arrested.