Read Online Down Home and Deadly by Christine Lynxwiler, Jan Reynolds, Sandy Gaskin - Free Book Online Page A

herself. So I went.”
    “Okay. You met him at his grandmother’s funeral. And it was love at first sight. So you started dating and then hired him to work here. Right?”
    “Pretty much. He decided to look for part-time work so he could stay here and get to know me better. Luckily you quit not too long after that.”
    I was speechless with outrage, but she didn’t notice.
    She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Only now he’s dead , and in a way it’s all my fault. If he hadn’t been so crazy about me , he’d have left town after the funeral.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Because his grandma didn’t leave him anything. Not a penny. And I think he was expecting to get a big inheritance. He was really disappointed.”
    “He wasn’t rich , then?” I’d always had Lisa pegged for a girl who went where the money was.
    “Well, he definitely didn’t seem rich when we first started going out. He even let me buy my own dinner. If he hadn’t been so good-looking I probably wouldn’t have gone out with him again.” She wiped her eyes once more. “But after a couple of weeks , he started paying for everything. He even took me to Tunica. And gave me money to play the slots. But of course, I didn’t tell John any of that. ”
    “Any idea where he got the money?”
    “Now, how would I know that?” She rolled her eyes.
    “Well, you were dating him.” I may have sounded a little sharp. Probably.
    “And that was the only reason I agreed to be fingerprinted. John told me it was to eliminate my prints so that they could find the killer.” She tossed the tissue in the garbage , and her tears dried as quickly as they came. “But now he’s using my fingerprints to try and prove I killed J.D. He tricked me so he would have someone to arrest,” she snarled. “I can’t believe I trusted him.”
    “Lisa, they needed your fingerprints. And he didn’t trick you. How could he know your prints would be on the gun? You have to admit it makes you look suspicious.”
    “It was my gun , so of course it had my prints. It’s not my fault someone stole it out of my drawer.”
    “How long ha d it been missing?”
    “How should I know? I hardly ever noticed it.” She shrugged. “I didn’t even know it was missing. You could have taken it for all I know.”
    I ignored that dig , but I wanted to beat my head against the wall. Or maybe Lisa’s head. Not enough to hurt her, of course, but maybe just enough to gently knock some sense into her. Yeah, right.
    I couldn’t believe she was talking to me like this when all I was doing was trying to help . Deep breath. “Maybe you should tell John the truth. That J.D. didn’t have any money, and then all of a sudden, he did. ”
    “And maybe you should mind your own business.”
    “Lisa, what was Larry so upset about earlier?”
    She narrowed her eyes. “Since when is my relationship with my husband your business?”
    “I .   .   . ” It really wasn’t often that I was at a loss for words.
    “Look. Thanks for stopping by, but I’ll get Daddy to hire a professional. Someone who can prove that I’m innocent. Not an amateur sleuth that got lucky a couple of times.” She wiggled her fingers. “So , see ya.”
    “Right. Well I have to go to work now.” I gritted my teeth and counted to ten as I walked out the door , taking care not to slam it.
     

    *****

*****

Chapter Six
     
    Happier’n a dead pig in the sunshine
     
    “Jenna, can you call Susan and see if she can come in today?” Carly stirred a steaming pot of soup
and nodded toward the list of waitress’s phone numbers on the wall by the phone
. “ Alice called. She and Harvey won’t be in , so I had to put Marco as host.” She turned toward me. “I hope he can do it. Do you think he can?”
    “Sure. Leading people to a table should be easier than taking orders and delivering food.” I reached back to tie the apron around my waist. “Are Harvey and Alice sick?”
    “ Alice said John asked