Murder Under the Marquee by J.C. Kenney

Author:J.C. Kenney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2025-01-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

I spent the rest of the morning on service calls, then stopped at Goob’s to grab some lunch. I was seated under an umbrella at one of the wrought-iron tables right outside the store, munching on a beef po boy, when Gretchen slid into the chair across from me.

“What’s shaking, Tickle Me Elmo?” She laughed. “Or am I not allowed to call you that anymore, since, you know, you’re my boss?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Though I did happen to see a blurb in the Palladium about some outfit called Lone Palm, LLC buying the resort. How was your workout?”

She wiped her forehead with a towel, then took a drink from a massive water bottle as big as Oscar. Sporting a neon yellow tank top and burgundy leggings, Gretchen must have recently finished a yoga session. The rolled-up mat sticking out of her gym bag was a bit of a giveaway. Shawn Spencer from Psych would have been proud of me.

“It was good. Got rid of a lot of stress that built up over the week. I’m thrilled with the promotion, but it’s a big step. And not everybody is happy about it.”

I’d become so focused on the day job and the investigation that I hadn’t given any thought about the announcement of her move to chief of operations. I was getting dangerously close to juggling too many flaming torches. If I wasn’t careful, one of them was going to burn me. I’d worry about that later, though.

“I know this is going to sound like a cliché, but the only person you really have to keep happy is your boss. I offered you the position because I think you’ll be great at it. I have your back 100 percent. Hopefully, that relieves some stress yoga didn’t take care of.”

Gretchen laughed. “You’re the best, Elmo. Nicola’s lucky to have you.” Her smile drooped. “I’m worried about Craig, though. I haven’t seen him at yoga all week and he never misses a session. He’s one of my best students.”

“I ran into him the other day. Don’t worry, only metaphorically.” Gretchen, like pretty much everyone who knew me, was well aware that the guy wouldn’t be getting a Christmas card from me anytime soon. “Seemed fine to me.”

Gretchen sat back in her chair and took another slurp from her bottle. “Oh, good. I was afraid after losing Desiree, he might have done something rash or, I don’t know, hurt himself.”

Gretchen, bless her soul, chose to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. If it was raining, she’d remark about how the plants needed the water. Shoot, one time a kid tried to snatch her purse while she was hanging out at the Paradise Springs Pier. Due to the crowds, the thief didn’t get far before Seven Banderas laid him out with a flying tackle that would have made the legendary football coach Don Shula proud.

What did Gretchen do when Seven hauled the kid back to her? She took all the cash from her wallet and gave it to the scruffy boy.

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