Read Online Death is a Bargain (A Kate Kennedy Mystery Book 3) by Noreen Wald - Free Book Online

She smiled, full of pride, wishing Billy were her grandson, as he yelled and cheered, bouncing about and tossing up and down on the mechanical horse.
    After two turns, Kate convinced him to move on. Excited, Billy chattered away about cowboys and Indians. And horses. Should she rethink that truck?
    They entered the arts and crafts tent to a blast of welcome air-conditioning and approached the calligraphy table hand-in-hand.
    Kate was admiring the PAST PERFECT sign when she spotted Suzanna Jordan and Freddie Ducksworth in front of a nearby booth containing sympathy cards. Their voices were raised, and they appeared to be quarreling.
    “You’re insane, Freddie!” The ladylike Suzanna screamed like a banshee.
    Shoppers stopped in mid-transaction. The calligrapher dropped the PAST PERFECT sign. A startled Billy clung to Kate, who caught the sign before it hit the ground.
    “You degenerate. How dare you suggest my Olivia was romantically involved with Whitey?”
    “Photographs don’t lie!” Freddie waved a black-and-white glossy under Suzanna’s nose. His customer-friendly round face twisted with rage, so red and strained his cheeks looked ready to explode.
    Suzanna’s slim, black-clad body moved like lightning; she grabbed the photo, crumpled it with one hand, and slapped Freddie hard across the face with the other.
    “Haven’t you ever heard of negatives?” Nothing funny about the comic-book vendor’s delivery of that line. Freddie Ducksworth sounded not daft, but dangerous. “I’m considering giving one to the police.”
    “You’re a lying vulture.”
    “No, not a vulture. A man with excellent, owl-like night vision. A photographer who aimed his camera through Carl’s window at just the right moment. A witness who will testify under oath about everyone who arrived to visit Whitey on the night he enjoyed his last bath.”

Thirteen

      
    Except for the guard, the corridor was empty. Marlene and Ballou could have extended their lunch hour, enjoyed themselves. Kate had some secret mission up her sleeve, and Billy was a cute kid, as kids go. Marlene didn’t much like being here with neither competitors nor customers.
    Sitting alone at the dead man’s table, where he’d been a vendor for so long and until so recently, struck her as eerie and wrong, almost like robbing a cemetery. Kate’s instinct had been right. They’d metaphorically jumped into Whitey Ford’s grave.
    Though she always complained about the heat, Marlene started to shiver. Well, hell, she’d better get hold of herself. Sean would have leased Whitey’s spot to the first hot prospect. Why shouldn’t she have been the one to take advantage of the situation, sad as it was?
    Laughter and screams of delight wafted from the circus into the corridor. Soon that happy audience would be turning into potential buyers. The thought cheered her up.
    She stood. “Ballou, it’s just you and me. Kate’s left you for a younger man with big blue eyes.”
    The Westie nuzzled her ankle and jumped up to lick her hand, almost as if he understood what she’d said. He often seemed to sense or understand more than most animals. She bent and scratched his ears. “Smart boy, aren’t you?” Ballou chewed her hand in agreement.
    “Not as smart as my Precious, of course, but for a dog, he’s pretty cute.” The doll lady had returned from lunch. Linda carried her cat in a purple tote bag that matched her own outfit. Marlene noticed Precious wore a purple bow on her collar as well. “We went off campus for lunch. I really like that House of Pancakes. All that free coffee. And Precious just loves their blueberry syrup.”
    Dog and cat were both on alert, defensive, but Marlene felt glad to see Linda, who put Precious on a high shelf celebrating Mexico. The cat searched for a cozy spot on the geometric tapestry and closed her eyes. Siesta time at the dollhouse hacienda.
    “Where’s Kate?”
    Marlene shrugged. “I don’t know. She had an errand, and she