Read Online High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

pocket and extracting a neatly folded computer printout of Francis Oakes’s obituary. “We are told it was a suspected suicide, as I said—”
    â€œYou did? When?”
    â€œI said he put a period to his own existence, left -tenant. As one would put a period at the end of a sentence—to end it? Consider it a euphemism, one meant to spare the listener’s sensibilities, instead of coming right out and baldly saying he’d killed himself.”
    Wendell grinned. “You were worried about my sensibilities?”
    â€œNot particularly, no,” Saint Just told him, returning the smile. “But to continue? We are told it is most probable the gentleman offed himself —”
    â€œBetter.”
    â€œThank you. I am nothing if not amenable. But I could find nothing more definitive on my own about the unfortunate Mr. Oakes. However, with your connections. . . ?”
    â€œSure, sure, give it over and I’ll check it out. It’s the least I can do for Maggie,” Wendell said, the hook neatly slipping into his mouth. “Suicide. No problem. How bad could she screw this up, right?”
    â€œHow badly indeed,” Saint Just said, reaching for the check the waitress had just deposited on the table. “Please, allow me. And do enjoy yourself this evening, left -tenant. Oh, wait, I’ve just had a thought. Perhaps you should give the information about poor Mr. Oakes directly to me, say, tomorrow at two, at Mario’s? Not as much contact with Maggie, you understand . . . thinking platonically.”
    Wendell shrugged. “Sure, okay. Hey, thanks for picking up the check. I gotta go, I’m meeting Christine in a half hour.”
    â€œMay you both have a wonderful evening,” Saint Just said as Wendell walked away, and then added under his breath as he brought the coffee cup back up to his lips, “Sometimes it’s almost too easy. . . .”
    A few drops of cooling coffee splashed onto Saint Just’s shirtfront as the good lieutenant leaned down to whisper in his ear. “You’re up to something again, aren’t you? Be ready to tell me all about it, or my information on Oakes stays in my pocket.”
    â€œHow remiss of me to forget that you delight in playing the fool, left -tenant. Shame on me. But I agree. Tomorrow we will share information.”
    â€œBecause there’s something going on? What? Cripes, Alex, you guys are only home for a couple of days. What the hell could have gone wrong that fast?”
    â€œPossibly nothing. Hopefully nothing. Then again, if the information you bring me turns out to be what I sincerely hope it is not, possibly quite a lot.”
    â€œWhy? Because your Spidey sense is tingling?” Wendell said in a fairly good attempt at sarcasm.
    â€œYes, I suppose that’s it, although I was thinking more of a mammal than an arachnid. Until tomorrow at two, Steve?”

Chapter Five
    â€œG in,” Maggie said, discarding a six as she laid down the rest of her cards with a flourish. “That’s twelve million dollars you owe me, Sterling. You don’t want to play anymore, do you?”
    â€œNo, I suppose not. But we could do something else, couldn’t we?”
    What was going on here? Something was going on here, that was for sure. She decided to see if she was right. “I could grab my jacket and we could go to the park, see if your friends are there. You could stay with them, let them pelt you with snowballs, and I could go do some shopping. I don’t have a single gift bought yet, you know. How does that sound?”
    Sterling’s complexion turned white, then rosy red. And the guy wondered why he couldn’t win at cards? “Oh. Oh, no, Maggie. I shouldn’t think you’d want to go shopping alone . We could go together, I suppose? Although it’s fairly cold outside, and it’s so nice and warm in here. We should stay here. Yes, I think we should stay