A Hard Bargain by Jane Tesh Read Free Book Online Page B

feel.”
    “Just wait before you get too upset,” I said. “The movie might not even happen. Voltage Films is a small company. They could run out of money. They could decide to go somewhere else.”
    She set her mouth in a grim line. “I’m going to see to that.”
    Twenty left, still grumbling. Jerry did a little grumbling, too.
    “There’s a giant praying mantis in the neighborhood and you didn’t tell me?”
    “I’ve never heard of Mantis Man. Didn’t the Fairweather boys try to find him?”
    “The Fairweather boys were dealing with other issues. But I want to find him now. Where does he hang out?”
    “Why don’t you ask Austin and Denisha? They’ve probably seen him.”
    “I think it’s terrific. Our very own monster. Twenty’s just overreacting. Do you suppose we could catch it?”
    “And have you tramping through the woods all night with a net and a can of Raid? We had enough trouble with the disappearing cows.”
    “I don’t care what that farmer said, those cows were taken by aliens.”
    “No, those cows were taken by college students who had a very warped sense of humor.” During our college years, some kids had spray-painted cows in Day-Glo patterns. Jerry had gone on and on about aliens. “This Mantis Man is just some kid dressed up.”
    Jerry wouldn’t give up. “Or it could be a real scientific find.”
    My cell phone beeped. “There he is now, calling to tell you he doesn’t exist.”
    My caller wasn’t Mantis Man. It was Ted Stacy. “Hello, Madeline. Just calling to see if you’re free for dinner.”
    Despite all his good qualities, Ted is just, well, not Jerry. Like me, he’s divorced, but unlike me, he often expresses his desire to have children. I keep hoping this is enough of a wedge between us, but Ted doesn’t seem to mind.
    Still, dinner wasn’t a bad idea. Ted might know something about Kirby Willet. “That sounds very nice, thanks.”
    “Pick you up, or meet here?”
    “I can be there in about twenty minutes.”
    “Okay. I’m looking forward to seeing you.”
    I closed my phone. “Dinner with Ted. I’ll ask about the mantis for you.”
    I was a little surprised by Jerry’s frown. Usually, my going out with Ted doesn’t even register with him. “That’s the second time this week, isn’t it?”
    So he had noticed, after all. This was new. “I’m hoping Ted can tell me more about Kirby Willet.”
    He looked as if he wasn’t sure what to say. Then he said, “Oh. Okay. I’m going to see if Nell needs any help.”
    As I put on one of my sleeveless sundresses and matching sandals and tugged my comb through my short dark curls, an odd thought occurred to me. Was it possible Jerry was jealous of Ted? This was so unlike Jerry, I had to dismiss the thought—still, the way he’d frowned, as if he didn’t like the idea of me having dinner with Ted, even though I’d been out with Ted several times. Jerry knew it wasn’t serious. Didn’t he?
    ***
    Ted and I decided to eat at Celosia Square, a new little complex of shops and restaurants. We like the Peach Garden best, a Chinese restaurant featuring shrimp and rice. I wondered briefly what Jerry was doing at the house, if Nell had stuffed him up the chimney or hung him out on the clothesline.
    Stop it, I told myself. You’re with Ted. You’re working.
    Ted held my chair for me and then sat down. We ordered the special and hot tea. Ted still had on his crisp pinstriped shirt and gray slacks. His tie, I noticed, was plain gray. Dull plain gray.
    Get a grip.
    The waitress brought the tea in a fat blue and white pot and two matching cups. Ted thanked her and poured the tea. “I see you’ve been busy, Madeline. I was afraid there might not be enough work for you in town.”
    “More than enough,” I said. “Missing umbrellas, missing library books, and a missing Kirby Willet. Do you know him?”
    Ted passed one cup to me. “Quite a character. Always trying to invent something new. Invented a self-propelling