When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles by Davis Cindy

Author:Davis, Cindy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

My Own Detective

Hannah was right; the Corral is empty. We’re the only patrons. I munch on a pulled chicken sandwich dripping with hot sauce while Hannah forks into a container of homemade coleslaw.

“So,” she says around a mouthful, “how did you know that woman was seeing our Mr. Dickerson?”

“The bitterness was oozing through her pores,” is all I say. Difficult to explain how the woman’s aura, which was a light green when we arrived, quickly spurted with bright red lines as Hannah spoke.

Hans strides toward us on those impossibly long legs. Seeing us, he grins from ear to ear. “I thought you were going to the hammer throw.” He drops into a seat across the table.

“I was going to head over after lunch.”

He motions to the server for a beer.

“We watched Grace perform,” Hannah says. “Adrian’s competing this afternoon.”

As she mentions his name, her eyes glisten with excitement. Hmm. I could’ve sworn she was married to the funeral director. No idea about her lifestyle, though I recall she mentioned it being some sort of open marriage. Definitely don’t want to know more than that.

She regales Hans with a play-by-play of the day’s events. He listens with a policeman’s patience, his gaze flashing to me frequently. I keep my expression noncommittal. “Like I said,” Hannah offers, “we’re going back later to watch Adrian.”

Over her shoulder, I shake my head hard. He gives an almost imperceptible smirk.

“You don’t have to work today?” I ask, noticing he’s wearing street clothes.

He takes the beer from the server and sips. “Took a personal day. I thought I’d catch up to you at the field.”

Oh boy. But again, he seems to sense my mood and backs off.

“I thought we could get more of that ice cream,” he adds. “I want to try the dark chocolate and hot pepper.”

“Are you sure?” After the strawberry, I thought he—

“It was a bit tame. I’m anxious to try new things.” He asks what I’m having to eat, then orders the same thing.

Hmm, maybe there’s more to him than I thought. Or, says the little voice in my head, he thinks you’ll be impressed.

Nope, I respond, I like people who’re real, who’re happy being who they are.

We tell Hans about Grace’s decision to identify the body at the morgue. Cop’s work is his real interest, and his bluish-grey eyes light up like beacons. “Awesome.” He draws out his phone and texts the chief who comes back almost immediately with a thumbs-up, then Hans shows Tommy’s next message. What time is she going? I’ll drive her over.

“After her competition is done,” I say. “From the length and power of her throw, I’d say she won’t be done any time soon.”

“Yes, she will,” Hannah says, “it’s over at noon regardless. If there are more competitors, they continue tomorrow morning.” Then she adds, “Hans, we had a nice talk with Mary McIntosh.”

Jeez-looweez, this isn’t the stuff you voluntarily tell an officer of the law, even if he is off duty. I try to shoot her a stop-it eye but her attention is one-hundred-percent on Hans.

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.