Read Online A Dose of Murder by Lori Avocato - Free Book Online Page B

bundle to drive those kinds of cars. The Porsche, used, sold for around sixty grand.
    Knowing that made my day.
    I followed Nick’s Porsche along Maple to Oak to Olive Street and onto Main. He pulled into the parking lot of Dunkin Donuts and parked next to a patrol cruiser. I figured he thought his car would be safer next to a cop’s.
    I yanked my rearview mirror toward me and checked my makeup, hair and teeth. Good. No cannoli particles stuck between them. I only wished I’d worn something better than faded jeans and my Steelers parka. Here I was, contemplating my next outfit for tomorrow when it was only ten. Today when dressing, I’d thought I had to look as good as Goldie but soon gave up, and now I was thinking I’d have to look good so as not to embarrass myself in front of Nick or any other men I might meet in this new adventure.
    What a great job this was turning out to be.
    Nick had thrown a navy overcoat on, since December in Connecticut was nippy. No more snow today. The sun sparkled on the covered ground, making me glad Christmas was only three weeks away.
    Once inside, Nick ordered for both of us, but he asked me what I wanted first. Of course, he drank his coffee black, and he smiled at the extra cream and three sugars I used.
    â€œYou should try it virgin,” he said.
    My mind got stuck on the “virgin” part. Sex was an issue I’d been trying to push to the back of my mind since I first saw him. And here he had to say the word
virgin
. Now it flooded my brain. I looked at him holding his coffee and realized he meant
black
. Drink it black. “Uck.”
    â€œYou get to savor the taste, not mask it with all that cream and sugar.” He put his hand on my lower back to guide me to a table in the back.
    Be still my heart.
    Right now I could down a gallon of black coffee and not taste a thing. He held my chair and then sat across the table. “Maybe sometime I’ll try it. But I’ve been hooked on all the cream and sugar since I was a kid. My brothers and sisters and I used to sneak coffee at my grandmother’s. She got milk delivered to her house in glass bottles, no less. You were supposed to shake the bottle to mix the cream—”
    â€œFrom the top.”
    I looked at him. “Yeah.”
    He laughed. “I used to do that with my sister too.”
    â€œSmall world.” The stupid cliché snuck out after my nervous rambling. “So, we stole the cream off the top and used it to make coffee the color of sand. Now, I’m so used to it—”
    â€œBe daring. You’ll need to be, with this job.”
    His tone had deepened. Grown serious. My heart sped up a bit, and it wasn’t from the caffeine. I looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
    â€œGoldie tells me you’re a nurse.” He took a long slow sip of his coffee.
    So much for an explanation. “Yes. I got burned out and needed a change.”
    He chuckled. A deep sound that vibrated from his chest. Nice. “This job will be a change for sure. But sometimes you might need to use your background.”
    â€œUse it?” I thought he meant knowing if someone was faking an injury.
    â€œSure. Go undercover. There are plenty of nursing registries that handle filling-in staff. Doctor’s offices are sometimes under suspicion. You could get in there—”
    â€œI thought I was only going to spy on people at their houses!” My words came out in a horrified tone.
    Nick reached over, touched my hand. At least I think he did, since it instantly numbed. “In the future. Okay. This Macaluso case should be a good starter for you to get your feet wet. Very simple.”
    He went through more surveillance stuff, and when we got to the equipment part, I told him mine was on order and due any day because I’d paid for rush delivery. No sense in embarrassing myself with a confession about my ancient, gigantic video camera or the fact that I still