A Fourth Meal of Mayhem by J. Alan Hartman (ed)

Author:J. Alan Hartman (ed) [Hartman, J. Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: anthology, cozy, culinary, detective, holiday, mystery, recipes, women sleuths
ISBN: 9781611877397
Google: XPLSBAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Published: 2014-10-15T02:08:47.362000+00:00

More Good Times

Steve Shrott

“You’re going to spend Thanksgiving with those gangsters again?”

My receptionist Mindy obviously didn’t understand the situation. “They’re patients just like any others. They come for cleanings, fillings. And if they’re good, I give them a little toy after their appointment. They like the bobbleheads.”

Mindy jumped out from behind the reception desk, and shook her head, her curly red hair not moving an inch. I suspect because she plastered it down with the same substance they used to hold the Brooklyn Bridge together.

“How many other patients do you have that whack people, Stan?”

“Well, there’s uh, uh…”

“I care about you. I really do. But when you die tonight, I’ll have to update my résumé and you know how I hate that.”

“I am not going to die.”

“Uh huh. Do you remember what happened last time?”

“As I recall it was a nice traditional Thanksgiving.”

“Traditional is eating turkey and saying what you’re thankful for. It is not burying bodies in the backyard.”

“Okay so there were a few irregularities. Doesn’t matter. Business is still slow, and I have to keep all my patients happy. So, if I have to spend Thanksgiving with Moe and his cronies, so be it.”

“Fine, just give me my paycheck now. The bank will not cash checks from dead people. I asked.”

I blew out air, then took out my checkbook and began writing.

“And no post-dating like last time.”

“I can’t believe you think I would stoop to that.” I ripped the check up and started again.

After I sorted everything out with Mindy, I headed to Moe’s mansion. I guess I was kind of naïve when Moe first came to me with a toothache. He told me he had just “taken out” the Vincinzo brothers, and I thought he meant he treated them to a nice dinner at Applebee’s.

By the time I realized Moe was a mobster, it was too late. He had already become a regular patient. Soon, I was dentist to all the mob guys. I loved working with them, even though after the gas, sometimes they’d become disoriented and shoot the wrong people. Moe told me not to worry, as they probably deserved it anyway.

Twenty minutes later I parked in front of Moe’s Mansion. It looked pretty much the same. He still had the “no trespassing,” sign, that had a picture of a stick figure with two broken legs. Only now the arms were broken too and there was a chalk outline around the body. I could really feel the welcoming vibe.

The front door swung open and there stood Moe Sabatini. He looked the same as always—small eyes, big ears and swarthy complexion. But he seemed as if he’d lost a lot of weight. Like he always said, “Whacking people beats the treadmill every time.”

As soon as he saw me, his lips widened into a big smile.

“Great to see you, Doc.”

I looked at him, and just shook my head. I couldn’t believe this. He knew I was coming and yet… “Moe, have you been flossing?”

He turned beet red, looked down at his shoes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.