Coastal Corpse by Marty Ambrose

Author:Marty Ambrose
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gale, Cengage Learning
Published: 2016-02-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Quickly, I swiveled around to behold . . . Pop Pop Welch in his plaid dress shorts, golf shirt, and portable oxygen tank. A dapper sight. But his usually sunny expression had been replaced by a deep frown.

“Mallie, how could you do this?” He shook one bony finger at Joe Earl and me. “I thought we had something good going, and that you’d come back to me when the thing with that young whippersnapper, Cole, ended. But now you’re dating a schoolboy!”

The lunchtime crowd began to murmur among themselves, and I shifted uneasily on my perch. This little scene would be all over Coral Island by this afternoon, and my reputation wouldn’t fare well.

Mallie the Cheater strikes again.

“Pop Pop, are you taking your blood-pressure meds?” I asked in a calm voice, aware that most of the diners had probably already flipped out their cell phones and were texting as the events unfolded. And once the island grapevine was activated, the gossip spread with the speed of light.

“You were dating him?” Joe Earl’s brows spiked at the same angle as his hair.

“Darn right, she was, sonny, and we had some great times together.” His chin rose with pride as he adjusted the oxygen strap around the back of his head.

By sundown, I’ll be framed as the island hussy.

“Pop Pop, this is Joe Earl. He’s working temporarily at the Observer. That’s all, and I’m still engaged to Cole.” I patted the orange, leather seat that Nora had just vacated. “Why don’t you sit down and join us?”

A slow smile of large, yellow teeth appeared. “Don’t mind if I do.” He hopped up on the stool, grabbed a menu, and positioned his oxygen tank under the counter. “I’ll have the burger and fries, just like old times when we’d have dinner at Le Sink, isn’t it?”

The other diners snapped their cell phones shut and went back to eating lunch. I could almost hear the collective sigh of disappointment thread through the room. Hah.

“We went there only once, and I was doing a food-critic review.” I looked at Joe Earl and silently circled a finger around my ear, whispering, “Pop Pop has good days and bad days.”

Pop Pop gave his order to the grill guy and then rapped himself on the forehead. “Tarnation! I forgot my wallet. I’m getting more and more forgetful every day.”

“You can’t order lunch if you don’t have cash or credit,” Grill Guy said.

“I’ll buy his lunch. No problem,” I hastened to add, not wanting to rile Pop Pop up again and provide the islanders more fodder for the gristmill about my love life.

“Thanks, Mallie.” Pop Pop straightened his shirt collar and leaned toward me with a conspiratorial wink. “Pretty good ‘jealous ex-boyfriend’ act, huh? Old people have to be crafty to get a free lunch.”

I glared at him.

“Miss, would you tell your ‘date’ that he can’t do that with his false teeth.” Grill Guy growled his disgust because Pop Pop had dropped his dentures in the nearest water glass—mine.

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