Read Online A Body to Spare (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) by Sue Ann Jaffarian - Free Book Online Page A

drink of his beer. “I could see that easily.”
    Again Dev looked at Clark. “Does Willie Proctor have any legit businesses near Seattle? If he does, maybe you can put in a word for me.”
    The table chat fell away as silence replaced it. Three pairs of eyes darted around the table while the fourth set watched with amusement. It was like we’d farted and Clark, Greg, and I were trying to figure out who should take the blame; no sense in all three of us being embarrassed. When the pinball of eyeballs stopped, everyone was looking at me. Guess I’m the stinkpot.
    “How did you find out?” I asked Dev as I tapped the fingers of my right hand on my menu. A waiter went by balancing a huge tray of food trailing yummy smells. While I waited for Dev’s answer, I watched the waiter expertly thread his way through the busy restaurant with his burden, confident in his course. I would have dropped the tray for sure, covering at least six people with clam and marinara sauces.
    Dev laughed and took a gulp of beer before answering. “I didn’t know for sure until just now. Thanks, Odelia, for confirming my suspicions.”
    To my left, Greg swore softly under his breath. Clark joined in Dev’s laughter and held his glass of club soda up to him in salute. “No flies on you, Dev,” Clark said as Dev lightly clinked his beer glass against Clark’s icy tumbler.
    “Come on now,” Dev said to the entire table. “I am a detective, after all. And a pretty good one, I might add. You were all just a little too secretive about Clark’s job, so I took a stab at my suspicions.”
    “So are you going to interrogate Clark until he gives up Willie’s location?” I asked with concern.
    “Go for it,” Clark said with a grin, “because I honestly have no idea where he is physically.”
    Again, Dev laughed. “Bringing Proctor in would be a nice way to cap off my career, but I know he’s your friend and has helped you out of trouble on numerous occasions. He’s also paid back all the money he stole, so let the feds find him. Frankly, I don’t care. I just wanted you folks to know that I was on to you.” He took another sip of beer. “I have just shy of two weeks left on the job, and I intend to slide right through them by cleaning up old cases and completing reports. I swear, I’m going to shoot anyone who even thinks of committing a homicide in Newport Beach before I leave.”
    I was going to point out the contradiction of his words, then thought better of it.
    “Then it’s a good thing Odelia was in Long Beach when that body was found in her car,” my hubs said with a chuckle. “Better Fehring than you, right, Dev?”
    “I’ll drink to that,” Dev said, taking another swig of beer. “Although what’s up with that?”
    Our waiter returned and took our orders. We were at the Macaroni Grill in Seal Beach, a favorite restaurant for everyone at the table. Dev chose this specific location because it was convenient for us. After dinner, the plan was to head to our place for dessert and coffee. Little did I know that this might also be his going-away party.
    Excusing myself from the table, I went to the ladies’ room and called Zee and told her what was happening. “So if you and Seth want to come by our place in about an hour or so, please do,” I told her. “It might be our last chance to say goodbye to Dev.”
    I heard her say something to Seth. A few seconds later she returned to our call. “We’ll see you then,” she said. “Thanks for letting us know. We love Dev almost as much as you and Greg do. And don’t rush dinner. I’ll use my key and start the coffee when we get there. What else do you need?”
    “Nothing,” I told her. “I pulled out the regular coffeemaker for tonight. It’s on the counter. There’s cheesecake and a fruit salad in the fridge.”
    When I ended the call, I tried to think of others who might want to congratulate Dev and say goodbye. He may not want a big deal made about his retirement