Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman Read Free Book Online Page B

the chef’s jacket you’re wearing that you’re the one responsible
for that delicious breakfast I finished a little while ago. I’m really looking
forward to the next few days. I own a lodge and spa in Northern California, and
I cook the evening meals for the lodge guests. If you have time, I’d love to
talk to you about cooking for the guests here at the lodge.”
    The portly and prematurely
grey-haired man in the chef’s coat shook her hand and said, “I’m Wes Jackson,
and I’d like that very much. I’m sure there’s much I can learn from you as
well. I’ll be here this afternoon, and it’s pretty quiet around 1:00 or so.
Perhaps we could talk then.”
    “Wonderful. I’ll plan on
it. I’m taking one of the cars and going into town. I have something I need to
send by FedEx, and I also want to take Milt Huston’s attaché case and his
suitcase to the mortuary, so they can send it with the body. Anyway, it will
give me a chance to see the countryside. Jack told me I could take one of the
cars whenever I wanted.”
    “Yes, that’s standard
practice here at the lodge, particularly when one of the guests isn’t hunting,
although that’s rarely the case. The keys are either in the ignition or under
the floor mat. If you have a problem, let me know, and I’ll help you. I see you
have a friend waiting for you just outside the door,” he said, motioning
towards Sam. “He won’t come into my kitchen. Actually he likes me, but for some
reason he and Cassie have never hit it off. Right, Cassie?”
    “Right. He knows I prefer
French toy poodles or cats to big old dogs like him. I think there must be
something wrong with a dog that looks like a horse. Just ain’t normal, if you
ask me.”
    The affable chef laughed
and waved goodbye, as Liz walked out of the kitchen.
    “Sam, you stay here. I’ll
be back in a couple of hours,” she said as she let herself out through the
large front doors of the lodge. The big dog pretended he hadn’t heard a word
she’d said and followed her out to the car. When she opened the door of the
car, he jumped into the passenger seat, ready for riding shotgun into town. Liz
laughed to herself knowing there was no way she could physically move the big
dog once he’d decided to do or not do something.

CHAPTER 13
     
    Liz looked around as she began her
drive on the semi-improved dusty road to the small town of Riley, Texas. She
saw a few cattle, but mainly the land next to the road on her drive consisted
of miles and miles of dry grazing land broken only by an occasional fence
constructed to keep the cattle from wandering onto another rancher’s land. She
saw a few stands of trees that looked like they’d been deliberately planted as
a windbreak to protect a ranch house from the fierce winds that occurred from
time to time in that part of Texas. From the size of the houses, they looked
like they’d probably been built for property managers or ranch hands. She
certainly didn’t see anything as large and imposing as the Big T Lodge.
    After driving for about an
hour, she saw a small town in the distance consisting of a few buildings and
one traffic light. That was all that made up the small town of Riley, Texas. At
the stoplight she made a left turn, then an immediate right turn onto Elm
Street, the street Mr. Gordon had told her was where the FedEx store was
located. She easily recognized the FedEx logo, told Sam to stay in the car, and
walked into the nearly barren office.
    She glanced around the
stark room and didn’t see anyone, so she pushed the red buzzer located on the
counter. A few moments later a grey-haired weather-worn woman walked out from a
room behind the counter. “Hi. May I help you?” she asked Liz.
    “Yes. I have a bottle I'd
like to have FedEx’ed overnight. Can you do that? I guess I’m asking if it’s
possible to overnight something, since this is pretty remote from any major
Texas city.”
    “Land sakes,” the woman
exclaimed. “You want to pay the