A Frosty Mug of Murder by Constance Barker

Author:Constance Barker [Barker, Constance]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Constance Barker
Published: 2018-01-05T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The next day, I woke with a headache. Discovering a murder victim, experiencing a possible grumpy chicken event in the pub, and confronting potential murderers all make for a long, tense day. But the night was even longer as I tossed and turned with no sleep. I made my morning coffee and poured an extra large mug, then carried it with me as I strolled down the stairs from the apartment to the pub.

Dixie greeted me. “What’s all this junk on the bar? And are we going to talk about our chicken apparition yesterday?”

“Sorry about the mess. Guardrail must’ve left it there last night. And no, there is no ghost chicken, it was a fuse blowing.” I stared at the filthy box. “I told him to get it off the bar. It’s the stuff we needed for our stake out at the Holland place. But it wasn’t much of a stake out. It turned into more of an exercise of crossing a lawn mined with cats. But we ended up having a nice visit and chat.”

“And what did y'all chat about?” Dixie had a hint of sarcasm, or maybe even jealousy, in her voice.

I took a sip of coffee. “You know, who did it. Is there still some aspirin next to the register?”

Dixie pointed at the money drawer. “Yeah, there is always a bottle there. So did you find out anything from your little chats?”

“Nope. Just got real dirty and stepped on a cat or two. And, oh yeah, Amber and Elias are not best friends.”

“You know, it’s not my place to say, but seems you forgot you run this place yesterday.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But, I found the body and it shook me up a little. And the thought that a murderer might still be lurking among us bothers me. I know this is going to sound weird, but I need closure. I need to see the killer caught.”

“Well don’t forget who carried the load while you were playing Nancy Drew and stumbling around looking for a murderer. Especially when it comes time for the Christmas bonuses.”

“What? When have I ever handed out bonuses?”

Dixie laughed. “Exactly. This year might be a good time to start!”

I laughed with her. She was the only person I knew who could make me feel glad to have her as my friend while asking for money. I always tried to help her when I could. It was the least I could do. She was forced to raise three kids on her own after a difficult divorce. But yesterday, she and Bones went above and beyond without me even asking.

We went to work and prepped the place, getting ready to open at eleven thirty as usual. And Bones was on time for once. Seemed today was off to a better start. But in a rare instance, our first customer was a stranger. He was big, wearing dungarees and a leather jacket with a black T-shirt underneath. He looked like a bad James Dean imitation.

He took a stool in the middle of the bar and ordered.

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