Liver Let Die by Liz Lipperman Read Free Book Online Page A

Arkansas. Since the two of them had more kitchen stuff than they needed, they’d given the set to Jordan as a housewarming present.
    He cocked his eyebrow. “So, Jordan, where’s the missing knife?”
    Jordan jumped up from the couch. “What knife?”
    “The one that should be right here.” He pointed to the rack.
    Jordan walked into the kitchen, confused. “I have no idea, Ray. Check the dishwasher.”
    Ray pulled the door down and a sour smell wafted up, wrinkling Jordan’s nose. “Whoa! You need to run this now and again, princess. Even if you never use anything except glasses.”
    Ray pushed the door shut and straightened up. “Think, honey. If I spotted the missing knife two minutes after I walked in here, the cops won’t be too far behind me.” He paused. “Okay, maybe I’m giving them too much credit. I forgot it was Calhoun’s son running the show.”
    “You all know I don’t even cook.” Jordan’s eyes pleaded with them to believe her. “I only use the dumb thing to cut my bologna down the side before I fry it.”
    “Why in the world would you cut bologna, dear?” Lola inched up beside her.
    For a split second, Jordan thought she was about to get a peek at things that would probably scar her for life as Lola’s robe pushed open a little. Thankfully, the older woman grabbed the sash and retied it before actual skin showed.
    “Because if you don’t cut it, the bologna will curl up in the frying pan, right, sugar?” Michael said as he and Victor barged into the room.
    “We just spent the last hour being grilled by a cop who looked young enough to be spending his nights preparing for the SATs instead of chasing killers,” Michael continued.
    “Yeah. All the old guys were forced to retire several years back when the city council discovered younger guys worked for less,” Ray said. “Since the highlight most days for the youngsters rarely includes anything more dangerous than getting old lady Lozano’s fat cat out of the tree in front of her house, their decision hasn’t come back to bite them in the butt . . . yet.” He paused. “Now they have to deal with crime scene tape. We’ll see how these young bucks handle that,” he added sarcastically.
    “Isn’t it dreadful about that young man? He isn’t one of our tenants,” Victor said. “Wonder what he was doing here so late.”
    “He’s Jordan’s waiter from the restaurant the other night,” Rosie said. “The police act like she’s a suspect.”
    “What? That’s ludicrous.”
    Rosie reached up and pushed back a stray lock of red hair that had fallen over Jordan’s eye. “I know. How silly is it to think our girl here could do anything that gruesome? Shoot, she couldn’t even kill that mouse that made her crazy last month, putting a trail of crackers out her door for a whole week before the ugly thing finally got the message and moved on.”
    “I squashed that sucker,” Ray interjected. “What?” he asked when Lola jabbed him in the side. “She should know why it never came back.”
    Jordan frowned. She’d worked hard getting rid of the mouse in a nonviolent way.
    “Can it, you guys,” Lola said, patting Jordan’s hand. “Back to the knife. Think, sweetie.”
    “What knife?” Victor and Michael asked in unison.
    Rosie pointed to the rack on the kitchen counter. “One is missing. Fortunately, Ray discovered it and threw his body across the counter before the police noticed.”
    “Oh my!” Victor shook his head. “Jordan, is there something you want to tell us?”
    “Have you gone freakin’ mad, Victor?” Ray snapped.
    The younger man laughed. “Chill out, my friend. I meant about the knife’s whereabouts.”
    “No, but I’m going to tear this place upside down to find it. I promise,” Jordan chimed in.
    “Good idea,” Lola said. “But in the meantime, I’m going to call my friend Quincy and have him stop by and talk to you.”
    “Quincy Dozerly?” Michael whirled around to face Lola. “The guy