Read Online Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by J. D. Winters - Free Book Online
Authors: J. D. Winters
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inside the seed gives it a really special quality. But even without that, you’ve got all kinds of see moi. As kids, we just called it crack seed and when we got some, we carried it around in little bags in our pockets and bit off little pieces all day long.” I laughed, remembering. “And when it was gone, we licked the packaging, because that taste was just too good to waste any of it.”
By now I realized I had a small audience, all listening as though I was giving a lecture on it. I felt my face get hot. “Sorry everyone,” I said. “I didn’t mean to take over the conversation here.”
They muttered and shrugged and began to drift away. Jill laughed at me. “Eat your sandwich,” she said. “And enjoy every calorie.”
Jill went off to help as the crowd was growing. I noticed someone slip in to sit beside me at the counter and when I turned and found Bobby grinning at me, I nearly dropped my lunch.
“Oh!” I said, brilliant conversationalist that I am.
“Hello sheila, remember me?” he said. We met last night at the association meeting.”
“I do remember you,” I said. “You’re the man with the big plans for the pageant.”
“Too right.”
“I was just in a house where you rent space today,” I told him, deciding to come right out with it. “Ellie and Rose Chang? I was surprised that you needed all that room for your supplies.”
“Are you kidding? I’m already busting at the seams at their place. And I only moved there six months ago when Nasty Ned got me kicked out of the storage locker I was renting closer in town. Now that Ned is no longer an issue, I’m hoping to get my locker back into operation. It’s a lot bigger and handier.”
I wiped my lips with a napkin and faced him. “So you really benefit from his death, don’t you? I don’t suppose you have a line on who did it? Maybe you ought to thank them.”
He looked at me as though he thought I was a bit cuckoo. “Just because it makes my life easier don’t mean I fancy a murder,” he said with a frown. “But the man made a nuisance of himself, a right tall poppy, and the tall poppies get the scythe.” He grinned at me, one eyebrow cocked. “And as to who did it, I lay that squarely at the feet of Lance Mansfield. That’s who.”
“Lance?” That set me on my heels. “What on earth makes you think he did it?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for his good guy image? The man’s phony as a two-legged dog.”
I blinked at that one, but I didn’t want to get sidetracked. “Did you ever go out to Ned’s house on the cliff?” I asked, trying to look innocent.
He grinned at me. “Sure. Plenty of times. At one point, I was working for him, you know.”
“Doing what?”
“Hey, you’ve got something called the Fifth Amendment in this country, right? I like to follow the rules of whatever country I’m staying in. I think I’ll just abide by that one for now.”
Bobby was laughing and joking the whole time. Would a murderer be able to keep that up? I just didn’t know enough murderers to take a stab at that one. The one thing that was obvious to me was that I didn’t have much of a future as a criminal investigator if I couldn’t think up better questions than these.
But Bobby had other things on his mind.
“Listen, I heard you talking about that stuff you liked as an ankle-biter. Crack seed, I think you called it?”
I groaned. “If you think this has anything to do with drugs…”
“No, no, I realize it’s a confection made from fruit. Right? But it sounds intriguing. I think I might have tried it once when I was surfing the north shore. How can I find out more about this stuff? I’m thinking I might want to add it to my fast food inventory as a novelty item.”
I stared at the man. I couldn’t quite believe he could be so self centered as to kill Ned one day and try to find out how to import crack seed for kids to eat the next. It just wouldn’t work in my feeble brain. I was
By now I realized I had a small audience, all listening as though I was giving a lecture on it. I felt my face get hot. “Sorry everyone,” I said. “I didn’t mean to take over the conversation here.”
They muttered and shrugged and began to drift away. Jill laughed at me. “Eat your sandwich,” she said. “And enjoy every calorie.”
Jill went off to help as the crowd was growing. I noticed someone slip in to sit beside me at the counter and when I turned and found Bobby grinning at me, I nearly dropped my lunch.
“Oh!” I said, brilliant conversationalist that I am.
“Hello sheila, remember me?” he said. We met last night at the association meeting.”
“I do remember you,” I said. “You’re the man with the big plans for the pageant.”
“Too right.”
“I was just in a house where you rent space today,” I told him, deciding to come right out with it. “Ellie and Rose Chang? I was surprised that you needed all that room for your supplies.”
“Are you kidding? I’m already busting at the seams at their place. And I only moved there six months ago when Nasty Ned got me kicked out of the storage locker I was renting closer in town. Now that Ned is no longer an issue, I’m hoping to get my locker back into operation. It’s a lot bigger and handier.”
I wiped my lips with a napkin and faced him. “So you really benefit from his death, don’t you? I don’t suppose you have a line on who did it? Maybe you ought to thank them.”
He looked at me as though he thought I was a bit cuckoo. “Just because it makes my life easier don’t mean I fancy a murder,” he said with a frown. “But the man made a nuisance of himself, a right tall poppy, and the tall poppies get the scythe.” He grinned at me, one eyebrow cocked. “And as to who did it, I lay that squarely at the feet of Lance Mansfield. That’s who.”
“Lance?” That set me on my heels. “What on earth makes you think he did it?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for his good guy image? The man’s phony as a two-legged dog.”
I blinked at that one, but I didn’t want to get sidetracked. “Did you ever go out to Ned’s house on the cliff?” I asked, trying to look innocent.
He grinned at me. “Sure. Plenty of times. At one point, I was working for him, you know.”
“Doing what?”
“Hey, you’ve got something called the Fifth Amendment in this country, right? I like to follow the rules of whatever country I’m staying in. I think I’ll just abide by that one for now.”
Bobby was laughing and joking the whole time. Would a murderer be able to keep that up? I just didn’t know enough murderers to take a stab at that one. The one thing that was obvious to me was that I didn’t have much of a future as a criminal investigator if I couldn’t think up better questions than these.
But Bobby had other things on his mind.
“Listen, I heard you talking about that stuff you liked as an ankle-biter. Crack seed, I think you called it?”
I groaned. “If you think this has anything to do with drugs…”
“No, no, I realize it’s a confection made from fruit. Right? But it sounds intriguing. I think I might have tried it once when I was surfing the north shore. How can I find out more about this stuff? I’m thinking I might want to add it to my fast food inventory as a novelty item.”
I stared at the man. I couldn’t quite believe he could be so self centered as to kill Ned one day and try to find out how to import crack seed for kids to eat the next. It just wouldn’t work in my feeble brain. I was
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