Elaine Viets [Mystery Shopper 03] Dying To Call You (pdf)

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case did not slide off the top.
Helen slowly unfolded from behind the ironing board. Fi-
nally she could find out what that fiendish spike was.
It was a cheap red high heel. Size six. A scuff on the toe
had been covered with red ink.
Laredo, Helen thought. I ll bet anything this is Laredo s
shoe. Savannah will know for sure. She picked it up and
stuffed it into her purse. She didn t see a second shoe. She
checked her watch. She d been back here for half an hour.
She had to get out of this place fast, then get the shoe to Sa-
vannah. She straightened her clothes, combed her hair and
walked down the hall.
Joey was sitting at the kitchen table with the others. He
looked ridiculously handsome next to these men with their
big ears, big bellies and baggy skin. But on the inside, he was
as ugly as they were. The long-eared man was telling a joke.
What s the difference between a black man and a large
pizza?
I dunno, Joey said, playing the stooge.
A pizza can feed a family of four, Long Ears said.
The men all laughed. Especially Joey. She tried not to
show her disgust. He finally noticed her, standing at the
kitchen door.
Hey, honey, why haven t you put on your suit? There
was a touch of impatience in Joey s voice.
I don t feel like swimming, Helen said.
What s the matter embarrassed? Joey said.
She nodded. She was embarrassed to be with these swine.
Tits too small, huh? Don t worry. We can fix that.
What? Helen said.
You need a boob job. It will give you confidence. Don t
124 Elaine Viets
worry. I ll get you one. I buy all my girls boob jobs. The doc
practically gives me a group rate. I see it as investment
something we can both enjoy. He nudged the man next to
him and grinned.
Ugh. How could he think she wanted fake boobs?
Because you work for Steve, who hires topless bartenders
for charity orgies, she thought.
Besides, it will help you in your work. Bigger tips with
bigger tits.
Call a cab, please, Helen said. I m not feeling well.
I can drive you, if you want, Joey said. It was a half-
hearted offer.
No, a cab is fine. I need to go home. I think I m going to
throw up.
Chapter 14
R
Another young Lauderdale girl is dead, Ethel said. Mur-
dered. Says so right here in the paper.
American violence was the Saturday evening topic for the
tsk-tsk taskforce Fred, Ethel and Cal. Helen saw them out
by the pool as she was leaving for her bartending job at the
Mowbry mansion. She planned to pass by the sour trio with
a nod and a wave.
Strangled with her own hair. The paper crackled with
Ethel s righteous indignation.
Helen stopped dead.
Debbie. Her murder was in the paper. Of course it would
be. She was young, beautiful and worked at a popular restau-
rant. Helen wanted to run away. She wanted to rip the paper
out of Ethel s hands and read every detail.
How old was she? Cal asked.
Twenty-three years old. Isn t that awful? Ethel s chins
wobbled in disapproval.
It s drugs, Fred said. He d turned his gourdlike gut into
an anti-gay billboard. His T-shirt said, GOD MADE ADAM AND
EVE, NOT ADAM AND STEVE. Helen figured Fred was safe from
homosexual advances. Hetero ones, too.
I don t doubt it, Ethel said. It isn t right, a young girl
working at that Gator Bill s. Too many men and too much
126 Elaine Viets
money. No daughter of mine would work at a place that
serves alcohol.
In Canada Cal began.
Any suspects? Helen cut short his budding tirade.
Huh? Ethel said. Helen was supposed to bash kids or
society, not spoil a good discussion with the facts.
Do the police have any suspects?
They don t say anything about them, Ethel admitted.
They wouldn t, Fred said. The police only investigate
important murders.
In Canada Cal said.
You d be freezing your ass off, Helen said. The three
stared at her. Helen walked off. Poor Debbie, dead and dis-
sected by these dolts.
Really, that woman is so rude, Ethel said. I don t un-
derstand how Margery puts up with her.
By the time she was aboard the water taxi, Helen felt bet-
ter. The evening was a gift and she enjoyed it. She watched
the brilliant sunset fade to tender pink and felt the soft, warm
breeze. The little taxi churned through the pearly gray water,
passing luxurious yachts and splendid homes, until it docked
near the Mowbrys mansion.
A thirty-five-foot Cigarette boat painted with red flames
was parked at the Mowbrys dock. Helen squinted to read the
name: Hellfire. She was looking at nearly a quarter-million-
dollars worth of boat about what she d make in a lifetime
of minimum-wage jobs. Penis boats, the sailboaters called
them, and made unkind remarks about their owners mas-
culinity. But Helen figured if you could afford a Cigarette
boat, you didn t much care what other people thought.
Tonight s party was supposed to benefit the Broward
County Wildlife Coalition. Helen liked that idea wild life
to save the wildlife.
You re cutting it close, Steve said, when she arrived at
the service entrance. I can t have late bartenders. Got that?
Go set up your bar. It s by the pool again.
DYING TO CALL YOU 127
This wasn t the same man who d begged her to call Joey.
She wondered if he d heard about their date. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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