Almond Mint & Murder by Susan Gillard

Author:Susan Gillard [Gillard, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Guardian Publishing Group LLC.
Published: 2019-02-26T22:00:00+00:00

The Man with the Bear Tattoo

Heather decided that the best thing to do was simply talk to the man and see how it went. If he gave them trouble, they could always talk to him again when Ryan was officially on duty as an officer of the law.

“Burt?” she asked.

“That’s right,” he said, towering over her as he walked over to where they were at the bar.

“We just wanted to say that we heard about what happened to your coworker and we’re sorry for your loss,” Heather said.

“Oh. That’s very nice of you to say,” said Burt. “I wasn’t really friends with him, but it’s always sad when someone is killed.”

“You weren’t friends?” asked Heather.

“I don’t want to speak ill of the dead,” Burt said. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“We’ll have another round,” said Amy, indicating her and Jamie.

He refilled their green beers and Heather watched. Now that he was talking, he didn’t seem quite as scary. However, she wanted to get him talking even more and tell them about Seamus, which he didn’t seem especially willing to do.

“That’s a nice tattoo,” Heather said. “You like bears?”

“It’s a nickname,” Burt explained. “My friends say I’m a big teddy bear. It sort of stuck and I got the tattoo. Most people think I’m a tad intimidating at first. I thought this might help.”

“That doesn’t look like a teddy bear,” Amy said before she could stop herself.

Looking at it, Heather had to agree. The snarling beast inked on the man’s neck did not look like a cozy childhood toy.

Burt shrugged. “It’s still cuddly.”

Heather wasn’t sure what to make of this. Could Burt really be as harmless as a teddy bear? Or was this all a trick so that no one would suspect him of murder? Did he really have an issue with the victim? And how could they get him to talk about it?

“Are there many fights at this bar?” Ryan asked.

“Fights?” asked Burt.

“Yes. I’m looking for a new place to come with my friend, Jamie, here. And my wife worries that we’ll choose a place where we could get hurt.”

“That’s right,” Heather said, playing along. “I wouldn’t want him to go somewhere dangerous.”

“There aren’t many fights here,” Burt said. “Most of the time, people take one look at me and decide it’s not worth the trouble to start anything in here.”

“Worked for me,” Amy agreed.

“But that’s not exactly what we heard,” said Heather. “We heard that there were some fights that happened here. And that a bartender might have been involved. I wouldn’t want my husband to fight you!”

“I don’t fight customers,” Burt said. He looked toward Billy at the bar and shook his head. “But I imagine you have heard something about fights between a bartender and the customers. It has happened before. But it shouldn’t happen anymore.”

“Why is that?” asked Heather.

“Because the bartender who was in all those fights is the man who was killed,” said Burt. “He won’t be able to start any more fights.”

“You didn’t like that he was starting those fights?” asked Ryan.

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