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

wanted to take Billy for a bronco ride.”
    “Poor little lad.” Linda pulled out a mirror and reapplied her lip gloss. “His mum is no better than a trollop, is she?”
    Marlene had no strong convictions about Donna’s sex life, but she did have concerns about Donna’s treatment of the circus animals, so she encouraged Linda to keep talking. “I don’t like her much, myself.”
    “Why would you? That tart has slept her way through South Florida, hasn’t she? And there’s considerable evidence to back up the theory that Donna did him in. We corridor people all consider her the prime suspect in Whitey’s murder.”
    Marlene felt inexplicable sympathy for Donna. Maybe something to do with Marlene herself, waking up a lifetime ago in a Sarasota hotel room with a midget in her bed.
    “What evidence, Linda?” Curiosity about a current murder took precedence over a checkered past.
    “Well, Donna took him to court in a paternity suit, didn’t she?”
    “Good Lord! Is Whitey Ford Billy’s father?” Marlene didn’t shock easily, but this news staggered her. She grabbed the table for support.
    “Not according to the accused, but the judge ordered Whitey to pay child support. DNA doesn’t lie, does it?” Linda fussed over a Marilyn Monroe doll, adjusting the teeny high-heeled shoes, then moving her to a more prominent spot at the front of the table. “Circus audiences fancy celebrity dolls. I usually display my Marilyn Monroes next to my Jackie Kennedy bridal dolls. They provide an interesting contrast and my customers often buy the pair, but I’m clean out of Kennedys.”
    “Good marketing plan, Linda.” A sly twist, Marlene thought, but she couldn’t focus on the doll lady’s marketing strategies right now, her heart was racing too fast. Billy told Kate his father had died, but who would have guessed he’d been murdered? Talk about twists. “So, tell me, did Whitey pay child support to Donna?”
    “At first. But he’s not paid her a penny for the last year. Spent most of his money on booze, the ponies, and the ladies. Selfish sod. Not that Donna behaved any better. She was about to haul him back to court. He tried to appease her, saying he’d provided for Billy in his will. They had a big fight right here in the corridor. Donna screamed at Whitey, ‘You’re only forty-six. Billy and I can’t wait for you to die of old age.’ Heard her with my own ears, didn’t I?”
    “Do either of you ladies know where my mother is?” Marlene hadn’t seen or heard the Jordan girl approach. She sounded upset. What was her name? Olive? No, Olivia. Such a sackcloth-and-ashes outfit. And an attitude to match. Could the young woman be doing penance? Still, she had great skin and fine features. With the right makeup, Olivia would be very pretty. Why couldn’t Mama Suzanna, the svelte fashion plate, have passed down clothes and cosmetic tips to her daughter? Wasn’t that what mothers were for?
    “Hasn’t come back from lunch yet,” Linda said, placing an adorable miniature, black patent-leather hatbox next to the Marilyn Monroe doll.
    Marlene put on her glasses to read the price tag on the hatbox. “Sorry, I haven’t seen your mother either.”
    Olivia whirled around, checking out the other booths. “Where is everyone?”
    “Odd, isn’t it?” Linda asked another of her cockney-style questions that required no answer. “The matinee’s almost over, the guard’s on break, and most of the corridor vendors have gone missing.”
    A fresh surge of panic jolted Marlene. Could something have happened to Kate and Billy?
    “What about Carl Krieg?” Olivia asked. “Has he woken up yet?”
    Linda glanced at her Mickey Mouse watch. Freddie Ducksworth had one just like it, Marlene thought as she stroked a restless Ballou, trying to shake off a deepening sense of impending doom.
    “No,” Linda said. “Carl’s been sleeping for over six hours. Any respectable drunk would be back in action by now.”
    Olivia