Throw a Monkey Wrench (an Emma Cassidy Mystery Book 1) by Karen Chester Read Free Book Online

Somehow she’d survived
attending the same school where her father taught, but only just. “That’s me.”
    But knowing her name didn’t appear to
mollify Bart, the scowl returning to his forehead. “What do you want?
Bad enough having the dang cops all over the place without busybodies like you
sticking your nose where it don’t belong.”
    “The police were here? When?”
    Her question seemed to enrage Bart. “It
don’t mean anything! He didn’t do it!”
    He paused and stared at the wrench in his
meaty hand. His gaze turned to Emma. She didn’t care for the look of menace in
his eyes. Her breathing shortened as she firmed her grip on the little can of
hairspray while with her free hand she delved desperately into her bag for the
real pepper spray. Why didn’t she keep it in one of the side pockets?
    Someone in the shadows coughed. They both
turned to see a lanky man emerge from the dimness. His thin brown hair flopped
over a hollow-cheeked face, while gray overalls hung on a scarecrow figure.
Emma didn’t recognize him. Was he friend or foe?
    “Bart? What are you doing?” His voice was
flat and emotionless.
    Bart flushed. “Getting rid of another buttinsky.
Seems every mongrel in town comes sniffing around when a McCluskey’s in
trouble.” He shook the wrench in Emma’s direction. “The whole town’s got it in
for us, and we’re sick of it. You hear that? Sick of it!”
    “I only came because of my car! I mean,
this is an auto repair shop, isn’t it?” Emma heartily wished she’d never come.
“But since I’m not welcome here, I’ll take my business somewhere else.”
    Thrusting the hair spray back in her bag,
she spun on her heel and hurried toward the exit. Footsteps pattered after her.
    “Sorry about Bart.” The skinny guy
scampered alongside her. “He doesn’t usually deal with customers.”
    “I can see why.” Emma lengthened her
stride.
    “Hey, it’s been a tough day for all of us.”
    The strain in his voice made her pause. “I
know,” she sighed. “I had to see Chief Putnam take Sean away.”
    The stranger’s eyes goggled. “You were
there?”
    “Yes.” She hesitated. The man was average
height, just a few inches taller than her, and his deferential manner was a
welcome relief after Bart McCluskey’s hostility. “I’m Emma Cassidy. I’m the
wedding planner for Madison and Sean.”
    “Oh.” He looked her over. “I’m Larry
Durant. I’m kind of the second-in-command around here.” He seemed to grow
self-conscious of his oil-stained overalls. “I work on the cars, too.”
    “My car’s been making some strange noises
and I thought I’d bring it in here to, you know, show my support for Sean. But
it looks like you guys are shut for the day.”
    “We normally only close at five-thirty, but
today…well, we heard Sean got picked up by the police, and then the cops were here
with a search warrant.”
    “Did they find anything?”
    “Yeah. They checked every tool cabinet in
here, then they took Sean’s away.”
    That didn’t sound good.
    “Bart started mouthing off at the cops,”
Larry continued. “Then a coupla other McCluskey cousins turned up, and things
got a bit tense. Eventually the police left, but there were a few reporters
snooping around the place. We weren’t getting any work done, so we closed shop,
and the McCluskeys headed for the bar. I didn’t realize Bart came back.”
    “He’s got a bad temper.” Emma frowned as
remembered how he’d scared her. She glanced over her shoulder, but there was no
sign of him.
    “Huh, it runs in the family.” Larry picked
up a rag and rubbed his hands with it. “You could say it’s their trademark.”
    “Have you been working here long?” Emma
asked, curious about Larry. He seemed quite normal compared to the McCluskeys.
Maybe that was why Sean had hired him.
    “Couple years. I know this business inside
out. Got years of experience. Sean won’t have to worry about this. I’ll keep
things ticking over