A Chili Death: A Classic Diner Mystery by Jessica Beck Read Free Book Online Page B

hugger.  “Are you alright, child?” he asked softly as he stroked my head gently.
    “I’m fine,” I said, though it was clearly not the case.  “There will be plenty of time to deal with this in our way once the police are finished here.”  I turned to Sheriff Croft and asked, “When will that be, exactly?”
    “If I had to guess, I’d say that it will be at least twenty-four hours,” he said.
    Moose was about to explode again when I beat him to the punch.  In as gentle a voice as I could muster given the circumstances, I asked him, “Are you sure you can’t release it before that?  It’s how we make our living, you know.”
    The sheriff considered it, and then nodded.  “I’ll see what I can do.  Maybe we can give it back to you by two o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”
    “Eleven would be better,” Moose said strongly.
    “But we’ll appreciate whatever we get,” I said before the sheriff could change his mind.  “Moose, can I see you outside?”
    “What?  What can you not say in here?”
    “Just come with me,” I said as I took his hand.  Greg raised an eyebrow in my direction, but I shook my head.  I had to do this on my own.
    Once we were outside, I asked, “Moose, what were you thinking just now?”
    He looked surprised by my tone of voice.  “What are you talking about?”
    “This is not the time to bluster and bully.  We need the sheriff on our side, and your demands aren’t helping any.  We’ve got to play this cool and not cause any waves.  Do you understand me?”
    “Nobody tells me what I can and cannot do with my diner,” he stated firmly.
    “Whose diner is it?” I asked softly.
    “I know you’re running the place now,” he said reluctantly, “but don’t forget, I started it in the first place.”
    “I’m not disputing that,” I said as I put a hand on his chest.  “But neither one of us can afford to have an attitude, not right now.  If you can’t behave yourself, you might serve the family best by going home right now and letting cooler heads prevail.”
    He laughed at that, not the reaction that I was expecting at all.  “Are you threatening to throw me out of the diner I started, Victoria?”
    “Me?” I asked as innocently as I could.  “We both know that I’d never do that, Moose.”
    He just shook his head, but I saw that the wry smile was still there.  “Fine.  You’ve made your point, and I get the picture.”
    “So, you’re going home?”
    “Not on your life,” he said with a laugh, “but I will promise to try to behave myself.”
    “Thank you,” I said as I reached up and kissed him.
    “You’re a great deal like your grandmother.  You know that, don’t you?”
    “That’s just about the nicest thing you could say to me,” I admitted.
    “And don’t I know it.  Now let’s get back inside before that husband of yours dies from the curiosity building up inside him.”
    I glanced in at the booth where Greg was still sitting and saw that he was so close to the edge of the bench seat that he was in real danger of falling off altogether.  Looping my arm in Moose’s, I led him back inside, and as he took a seat across from where Greg was sitting, I found my husband staring at me with something akin to awe.  I winked at him, but did my best not to let Moose see it.  We were all on dangerous ground at the moment, and I didn’t want to do anything that might disturb the delicate balance we’d just hammered out.
     
    Mom and Martha came into the diner a few minutes later, and we were all sitting around our largest booth when Sheriff Croft came out of the kitchen.
    “I see you’ve called a family meeting,” he said as he nodded to my mother and grandmother.  “Ladies, it’s nice to see you both, despite the circumstances.”
    “You as well,” Martha said. 
    I thought about chiding the sheriff for not looking at me when he’d said the word ‘ladies,’ but then I took to heart the lecture I’d given Moose.  I