Read Online Corpse Suzette by G. A. McKevett - Free Book Online Page A

began
playing an obnoxious tune from her purse. She made a face as she reached inside
and pulled it out. “Damn it, Dirk,” she said, “I told you to stop messing with
my phone. ‘La Cucaracha' just ain’t my song.”
    “You started it, setting
mine to play ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ Embarrassed me to death in the middle of
a meeting with the chief.”
    “Shhh,” she said as she
pressed the Talk button. “Hello?” She gave Dirk a quick, knowing glance. “Uh,
yes, Sergio. It was nice meeting you earlier, too. How can I help you?”
    “What does he want?”
Dirk whispered. She reached out and put her free hand over his mouth.
    “Yes, I’m alone. We can
talk freely. What is it?”
    She listened for a long
time, then said, “Of course I’m very discreet about my investigations. No,
Detective Coulter wouldn’t need to know anything at all. Yes, I’d be
interested. Good. I’d be delighted. See you at noon.”
    She clicked the phone off
and sat there grinning at Dirk for as long as she could hold the secret. Then
she spilled it. “Sergio D’Alessandro wants me to investigate Suzette’s
disappearance privately for him.”
    “And not tell me anything
about it.”
    “That’s right.”
    They both grinned... big,
evil, face-splitting grins.
    Then Savannah sang, “In the
mornin’, in the evenin’...”
    And he replied with, “…ain’t
we got fun!”

Chapter

5
     
     
     
    S avannah made a practice of
arriving at appointments early. Funny how much you could learn sometimes just
by being someplace a few minutes before someone expected you.
    And by arriving at the San
Carmelita Marina fifteen minutes early, she learned something about Sergio
D’Alessandro and Devon Wright. As Granny Reid would put it, they were “carrying
on.”
    From her vantage point on a
second-story balcony of Café Carolina, she could see the front of the harbor condominiums
where Sergio lived—according to Tammy, who had done a quick computer check for
her. The restaurant where he had suggested they meet was only a stone’s throw
away. So she had a clear view when he left his condo, walked Devon to a black
Corvette convertible in the parking lot, and passionately kissed her good-bye.
The farewell had included a quick, not particularly discreet butt feel, which
sealed Savannah’s opinion that they were, indeed, “carrying on.”
    She mentally added that to
the list of things she was not supposed to tell Dirk, but undoubtedly would.
    As Devon drove off and
Sergio strolled her way, she decided to take her glass of iced tea and move to
a table inside. No point in letting him know that she knew about Devon. What he
didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him... or, more importantly, cause her any grief.
    He came swaggering into the
room a couple of minutes later, looking like he had just stepped off a yacht,
wearing crisp white slacks, a navy blue blazer, and a red mock turtleneck. The
smile he flashed her way told her that he was most impressed with himself and
expected her to be, too.
    She smiled back and lifted
her glass in salute. If he had only known what she was thinking: that she
should get one of those outfits and ship it back to her brother, Macon, in
Georgia. He needed a git-up like that to wear when he was changing
transmissions on trucks there in his garage.
    “Ms. Reid... the private
investigator,” he said as he pulled out the chair across from her, unbuttoned
his jacket, and sat down. “Or is it Ms. McGill, reporter at large?”
    Savannah chuckled. “Well, I
guess I’m just plain ol’ Savannah right now, until you tell me what you want
from me.”
    He motioned to the waitress
and ordered a vodka martini on the rocks. Then he looked around the restaurant
and waved a hand, indicating the giant palms, the tropical ceiling fans that
swirled overhead, the heavy wicker furniture, and the expansive view of the
marina. “You like?”
    She nodded. “I like. Nice
choice.”
    His eyes skimmed over her
outfit, taking in the simple