A Well-Kept Family Secret by Marja McGraw

Author:Marja McGraw [McGraw, Marja]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal Cozy, Murder, Murder Investigation, Amateur Sleuth, Ghosts, Cozy, PI, Private Investigator, Los Angeles, California, Hauntings, Cold Case
Publisher: Marja McGraw
Published: 2013-05-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-five

I pushed through the door with my mother following. It was dark, smoky and smelled like beer.

A guy with long hair, a shaggy beard and a mustache looked up from the pool table. He was wearing ratty jeans and a T-shirt with an old denim vest over it. His arms were covered with tattoos.

“Hey, baby,” he hollered.

“Hey. That’s my baby,” Pete said. He slapped the guy good-naturedly on the back as he passed him.

“Lucky you,” the guy replied.

I glanced at my mother and her expression seemed to be somewhere between amused and concerned.

“The older broad ain’t bad either,” his partner commented. He had the same general appearance, but fewer tattoos.

“That’s my broad,” Frank stated in no uncertain terms, “so hands off.”

Both of the bikers laughed and one of them gave Frank a thumbs up signal.

“Broad? Now I’m an old broad?” Actually, Mother sounded quite amused. “Oh, well, at least I’m Frank’s broad, and I ‘ain’t bad’ either.”

“Pete. Get the guys and let’s go.”

I was ready to leave. Crazy Larry’s was a good name for the place. While I waited for the boys, I took a good look around. Surprisingly, there were a couple of men in business suits huddled in the far corner. I assumed the guys at the pool table owned the motorcycles I’d seen in the parking lot. Two very old men sat at the far end of the bar, and a bum was walking out of the Men’s Room. I noticed as I took a step that the floor crunched under my feet. Glancing down, I saw peanut shells decorating the linoleum, along with cigarette butts and things I’d rather not take the time to identify. There were Christmas lights strung along the wall behind the bar, presumably to give the place a festive air. It didn’t work.

“You play pool?” The biker guy pointed at me.

“Never learned how.”

“I do.” Mother was walking toward the table.

“My kinda woman.” Mr. Biker was racking up the balls and offering my mother a pool cue with the same finesse a waiter would use to offer a bottle of wine.

“Mother, we’ve got to get moving,” I said.

“Lighten up and let the lady play.” This came from Biker Number Two. “You could learn how, you know.”

“Not today. But thanks.”

I sighed. I guess I could join the boys for a while.

“I didn’t know my mother could play pool.” I stood in front of Pete, Frank and Stanley, feeling like the proverbial party pooper.

“I have a feeling there’s probably a lot you don’t know about your mother,” Pete said. “Pull up a chair and talk to me. What’s so important that you had to drive over here to pick us up?”

“I told you, Amanda called. Alan is out of jail and gunning for her.”

“Ah.” This from Stanley, who probably didn’t even know what we were talking about.

“Anyway, we’re going to hide her in the motel room where my mother and Frank have been staying. Then you and I have to get this guy off the streets and out of Amanda’s life.

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