Homicide in High Heels by Gemma Halliday Read Free Book Online Page A

olives, and a
sliced ham on the counter. He grabbed mustard from the fridge and
squirted it on a hunk of ham, which he then stuffed into his
mouth.
    "Hey?" I asked. "Home for lunch?"
    He grunted, shoved more ham into his mouth,
then chewed violently.
    "How did the damage control go?" I
asked.
    Ramirez pinned me with a look that said he
was not in the mood to talk about it.
    "You okay?" I asked, taking a careful step
into the room.
    "No. I am far from okay," he said,
swallowing. "I'm not home for lunch. I'm just home."
    I bit my lip. "Just home as in…"
    "I'm suspended."
    I froze, letting that information sink in.
"You're joking?"
    He shot me a hard look. "Do I look like I'm
joking?" he asked. Though he didn't wait for an answer. Instead he
turned to the refrigerator, reached in, grabbed a beer, and popped
the top before downing half of it in one gulp.
    "Wait, what do you mean suspended? They
can't just do that, can they?"
    He nodded. "Oh, yeah. They can. Apparently
Ratski complained about my 'excessive force' to the manager of the
team, who complained to the mayor, who complained to the captain.
The entire chain of command is gunning for my head now. I'm off the
case."
    "That's ridiculous," I said, shaking my
head. "The whole thing was Ratski's fault anyway."
    Ramirez just grunted. "It doesn't matter.
I'm out of it." He paused to swig more beer.
    "That's so not fair," I said, feeling a
little niggle of guilt that maybe I was as much at fault as
Ratski.
    "So where have you been?" Ramirez asked.
    "Huh?"
    He shot me a suspicious look, his brows
forming a "V" over his dark eyes. "Maddie, please tell me you were
shopping?"
    I bit my lip. "Sorta."
    "Sort meaning…?"
    "Meaning not at all. I was out with Dana
having lunch," I confessed
    He shrugged, his expression relaxing.
"Oh."
    "With the Baseball Wives."
    The eyebrows fell back down. "The Baseball
Wives?"
    "The wives of the Stars players. You know
they have that reality show?"
    He gave me a blank look. Not that I expected
him to have seen it. If it wasn't on the Discovery Channel or ESPN,
it wasn't on his radar.
    "Anyway, we…Dana and I…we thought maybe it
would be helpful if we heard what kind of gossip they had on Bucky
and Lacey. You know. If they had any."
    He paused. "And did they?"
    "Some. Beth said she'd seen Bucky and Lacey
arguing, but she didn't know why. Mostly they just hated
Lacey."
    "Any particular reason?"
    "The usual. She was younger, prettier, her
boyfriend was hitting more balls."
    Ramirez sighed, running a hand through his
hair. "Sadly, you've still gotten further today than I have."
    I crossed the room and rubbed his back. "I'm
sorry. I feel so bad about this"
    He shook his head. "No. It's not your fault. I hit the guy."
    "Well, don't take too much blame," I told
him. "After a couple of mimosas, Beth let out that Ratski has a
really short temper. Liz, the right fielder's wife, said he even
got into a fist-fight with another player last year when they
wanted to bench him before the playoffs."
    "Wow, you really got those ladies to talk,"
Ramirez said.
    I shrugged. "Dana had a lot do with it. But
you know, we're good at girl talk. It's kind of our thing." I sent
him a grin.
    "Huh." He took a deep breath, running his
hand through his hair again. "Look, I know this might be asking a
lot, but there's something I need you to do for me," he said, a
look I couldn't read suddenly running through his eyes.
    "Of course," I agreed.
    Then my husband turned to me and uttered the
words I never thought I would hear him say.
    "Maddie, I need you to investigate a murder
for me."

     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    I blinked, not quite sure I'd heard him
right. "I'm sorry, you want what?"
    Ramirez took a long swig of beer, his
features pinched as if it pained him to say it. "I want your
help."
    I couldn't suppress the goofy grin spreading
across my face. Since we'd met, I'd had the misfortune to get
involved in several of Ramirez's cases. While it had always been
through no fault of