Un-Familiar Magic by Belinda White

Author:Belinda White [White, Belinda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy Mystery, paranormal cozy mystery
Publisher: Belinda White
Published: 2019-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

WHAT WITH THE NEWS of the Goddess invading my fellow’s dreams and all, I totally spaced out on the whole getting an extra piece of chicken thing. Of course, now that I really thought about it, smuggling a piece of chicken out of the restaurant and then leaving it in the hot basket of my bike probably wouldn’t have been the smartest thing to do.

And I had things to do while I was in town. People to visit. Starting with Marco Ramirez, Ralph’s business partner. Or should I say partner in crime?

The two of them had gone in together and purchased an old ranch house a mile or so outside of town, in the other direction from the farmhouse, thank goodness. Zoning restrictions weren’t as hard to bypass when you weren’t directly in city limits.

Now the poor house was what they called a Cigar Club. The gist of the whole operation was that it was a place for men to go and enjoy the finer things in life. Oh, they did that all right, if rumor had it right.

According to the town’s scuttlebutt system, there were two rooms in the back dedicated to clandestine meetings with women. Some of whom were paid for their time, if you get my drift. And the building’s basement was said to house an illegal gaming den and off-track betting establishment.

So, all in the same place, a man could enjoy a fine cigar, play a hand of five-card draw, and have some fun with a hooker. The finer things in life indeed. Of course, the only part of that the two men had advertised was the cigar part. The rest they relied on word of mouth to get around.

From the number of cars in the house’s yard, I’d say business was booming.

I wove my bike through the parked cars and up to the porch. Leaning it against the side of the wooden porch railing, I paused to look around. And to listen.

With most country houses, you could hear what was going on inside for the most part if you got close enough and tried to. I was plenty close, and trying, but I couldn’t hear a dadgum thing. Part of the renovations the men had done to the house must have included a ton of insulation and maybe even a bit of soundproofing. Can’t say I blame them on that. Not if all that really was going on inside.

Once at the door, I hesitated. I mean, do you just walk in, or do you knock? Businesses that ran out of houses always confused me on the entry protocol. Finally, I just reached down and turned the knob. If they didn’t want people coming in, they would lock it, right?

The door opened into a large open space filled with couches. A few men were indeed camped out on the couches smoking smelly cigars. If they weren’t paid to do that for cover, then I bet their wives appreciated them having a place other than home to stink up like that.

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