Dead Lift by Rachel Brady

Author:Rachel Brady [Rachel Brady]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Mystery & Detective / General
ISBN: 978-1-61595-260-1
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2011-04-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-one

“This is trouble if I ever saw it.” Vince pulled a handkerchief from the back pocket of his jeans and wiped sweat from his face. He stared through my open window to the Styrofoam box sitting on the passenger seat next to me. “What are you doin’ to me, woman?”

I squinted up at him. The midday sun beat down on both of us, but whereas his Stetson shielded his eyes from the glare, I took it straight on the retinas. “You busy?”

I knew he was.

“We’re gonna finish framing this today.” Behind him, another cookie-cutter house in the latest master planned community had begun to take form. I didn’t like the uniformity of the floor plans or the way new neighborhoods were laid out in barren fields with seedling trees. The homes on this street, each in different stages of assembly, all looked drearily homogenous and devoid of personality.

He leaned closer to my window and, even though he was dripping sweat, I hoped for a kiss. “Do I smell green beans?”

I cut my eyes toward the box. “Maybe.”

“Well now we’re talking. Let’s have ‘em.”

“Here’s the thing.” I popped the top on the Styrofoam and let him take inventory. Sirloin, green beans, mashed potatoes with dark gravy, two rolls, and…

“Gummi Bears?”

“From Annette.”

He smiled. Lord, I loved that smile.

“But I need a favor. Can you get away for an hour? Eat in the car?”

He reached into the car and grabbed a few green beans, then turned without explanation back to the house-in-progress and walked away. He tossed his head back to chuck the beans into his mouth, and veered toward two men in hard hats who were examining a blue print at one corner of the lot. It was always a treat to watch Vince walk away, especially in worn, dusty old jeans.

I rolled up my window to keep the air conditioning. A moment later, he returned and climbed in the passenger side. I gave him my sweetest, you-are-so-good-to-me face. He made the same face right back at me, his version more sarcastic than sincere.

“You’re making fun of me.”

“Just a little.” He winked, grabbed the seatbelt without looking. As soon as its buckle clicked into place, he took the plastic silverware from my console and tapped the lid on a sweaty thirty-two ounce Coke in the cup holder. “This mine too? I’m afraid to ask where we’re going.”

He started to eat and I filled him in.

“So you’re not taking Richard because he wouldn’t go inside?”

“Right.”

“But you think Diana might be Platt’s killer?”

“Maybe.”

“And you know for sure she’s the one who left you this key.”

“Yes.”

“So it might be a trick.”

“Correct.”

“And my part in all this is what?” He laughed. “Protection?”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“You said it’s breaking and entering even with a key.”

“Yes, because I don’t have permission to use it.”

“So if we get caught we’ll get in trouble?”

“Yeah.”

“Trouble. I knew it as soon as I saw the food.”

“You don’t have to search with me. Just help me make sure the house is empty first. Please?”

I took his silence as an unspoken yes.

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.