THE REAL GYRO (Food Truck Mysteries Book 4) by Chloe Kendrick Read Free Book Online Page B

work itself. None of this evoked a response out of Sam. He just nodded and smiled at me.
    Despite Land’s comments about quickly finding out about the nature of the meeting between Sam and Janelle, I didn’t want to rush this. Given that he’d ignored many chances to speak openly about the topic, I wasn’t sure that I’d get an honest response from him. Likely, at some point, he’d come up with a story to tell me about how he knew Janelle or how they’d met. I was going to have to do something more if I was going to learn what was going on with Sam.
    The meal ended, and I was pleased, for some reason, that Sam paid. We made our way to the door and left the restaurant. It was still only seven o’clock, so I could get ready for work the next day and not be sleep deprived like Land would be. Sam walked me to my car.
    I had already decided that I wouldn’t turn away if a kiss was offered. I was never going to marry this guy, but a kiss in the name of learning why Janelle was murdered was far more pleasant than being shot at. That wasn’t a very high bar to hurdle, but it would do.
    Sam stopped by the driver’s side door and slid an arm around my waist. His hand stayed on my waist, which was good for him and his reputation in my eyes. He leaned in for a kiss. His lips were softer and gentler than I remembered other kisses being. They lingered for just a second before he pulled away. The moment was over quickly, and I drove home. 

Chapter 5
     
    I was at the food truck a few minutes later than normal. I was a bit concerned because usually, if I was running late, Land would pick up the truck and take it to the location on Elm Street. However, I’d not heard from him that morning. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Either he was going to call in sick again, which left me alone, or he was just running late.
    I’d already begun the preparation of the coffee when he turned up. He looked better than he had, but he still had signs of sleep deprivation. His eyes were sunk in, and his pallor was grayer than normal. Even so, he still looked better than most of the well-rested men I knew.
    “Good morning, sunshine,” I said in my best faux-cheery voice. After working together almost a year, Land knew that I was anything but cheery at that time of morning. He was usually more awake and articulate than I was at that hour. “You look better,” I added.
    He shrugged, a common communication device on his part. “Danvers came over later in the evening, and he wouldn’t leave. He wanted to talk about the surveillance and the new aspects of the courier plan. I just don’t see what we have to go on now that Janelle is dead.”
    “Did he tell you anything about the murder? What does he think happened?” I kept working on the coffee, but I wanted to stop and hear everything.
    “The police already had information on her family and friends—from the other investigation—so they’ve been contacted. The family isn’t all that close, so they have no ideas about additional keys or ways into the food truck. From what I can gather from Danvers, they weren’t all that pleased with her choice of careers. As it stands, the only thing they have is a locked room. Danvers kept saying that the police only have so much time to figure out how this was done, or they might have to call it a suicide and move on to other cases.”
    “Can they do that?” I asked. “Call it something if it’s not.”
    Land chuckled. “They can. If they can’t find any evidence to point to homicide or they can’t find a way to explain the door, they’ll have to call it suicide. There’s no way that they could take it to court, and then have a lawyer ask how their client was supposed to get into the truck and back out without a key. The defendant would be exonerated in no time.”
    “Was the ME any help?” I asked, hoping for something to build on. My night, while pleasant, hadn’t netted any new information on the case either. I wanted some leads to