Dead Case in Deadwood by Ann Charles Read Free Book Online Page A

Parker from Calamity Jane Realty."
    "Yes," she said, her eyelids narrowing a fraction
as she took my hand. "We’ve met before."
    We had. Twice. First with Harvey, then with Doc. Only the
last time, her hand had been slapping Doc’s face instead of squeezing my hand
in a silent challenge. Dang, the wench was strong. I pulled free, my knuckles
throbbing from being crushed in her Kung-Fu grip.
    Cornelius’ cell phone rang from somewhere within his black suit
coat. He dug it out. "Excuse me a moment, ladies." He walked away
from us. "I told you not to call me until tonight," he said as he walked
away.
    I turned to Tiffany, who was staring at me point blank, her
smile now set on dim. I decided not to waste time with talk about the clouds or
lack of them.
    "I’m surprised to see you here, Tiffany. I thought you
were with Roughlock Realty."
    She snorted. "Not anymore. They were too mom-and-pop
for my taste, dealing mainly with locals." She eyed Cornelius as if he was
marbled with fat and delivered fresh from the butcher. "I prefer to play ball
with the big boys, especially if they’re from out of town. That’s where the
money is."
    Ah, realty as a sport. She would enjoy sparring with Ray,
then.
    "Where is Leroy?" I asked. Leroy was the guy I’d
talked to when I’d called Canyon Realty this morning to set up the walk-through.
    "He ate his last greasy hamburger at lunch and keeled
over."
    Holy crap! "He’s dead?" I could still hear
his wheezy voice in my head.
    "Nah, it was just a little heart attack."
    "Just a little one?" A heart stopped for any
length of time seemed like a big problem to me.
    She waved off my concern. "It’s his third. The doctor
told Leroy’s wife that if the greasy food didn’t stop, Leroy’s heart would, and
the next time it would be for good."
    That meant I’d be trying to help my ghost-whispering client
buy a haunted hotel from a guy who had a ticking time bomb in his chest. Just
my luck.
    "Should I contact Leroy then, if Mr. Curion decides to
put an offer on the property? Or you?" Or could I hear what was behind
Door Number Three, please?
    "I’m taking it over. Leroy and I will split the
commission."
    Splendid. I couldn’t wait to be reminded on a regular basis that
Doc had had sex with Tiffany. Maybe I should find out what her favorite
positions were so that the images in my head were accurate during my spasms of jealousy.
    She pursed her lips. "How long have you been with
Calamity Jane’s? I don’t remember seeing you around before that open house I
had up on Terry Peak last month."
    "I started working for Jane this spring."
    "Doc Nyce is a client of yours."
    It wasn’t a question, but I nodded, anyway.
    "He says you’re good."
    At what? The realty business? Keeping secrets? Knocking
boots?
    Why was he talking about me to Tiffany? More importantly, when was he talking about me to her?
    "Oh, yeah?" I tried my damnedest to feign
indifference.
    "He said you got him a nice deal on his new place."
    Had she been in there? How many times? Naked?
    Criminy! This insanity had to stop. What was it about
Doc that turned me into such a green-eyed, untrusting, paranoid nutcase?
    "We were in the right place at the right time," I
said, and changed the subject before we started comparing notes on Doc’s kisses.
"Have there been any previous offers on this hotel?"
    "Just one, but the buyer backed out early after
learning it had a reputation." She looked at Cornelius. "How’d you
find this guy?"
    "He just walked in the front door and I was available."
She didn’t need to know he’d come looking for me in particular. That would open
a nest of questions I’d rather avoid.
    "Like he fell out of the sky, isn’t that crazy? How’d
he hear about the hotel?’
    "The Internet."
    She checked her cell phone, and then asked, "How do you
like working with Ray Underhill?"
    I’d rather eat a bowlful of hissing cockroaches soaked in
rat piss. "It has its ups and downs."
    She leaned in close. "Has he tried to get