Read Online Just Add Trouble (Hetta Coffey Mystery Series (Book 3)) by Jinx Schwartz - Free Book Online Page B

Jan’s coming over here next week.”
    “Really? How come? I thought she and Chino were inseparable.”
    Oh, that tangled web I incessantly weave. “I guess she misses me?”
    “I will, too, you know.”
    “I hope to shout, you will.” I reached over and took his hand. “We can’t seem to stay on the same continent. Or, for that matter, even on the same side of the world, can we? Maybe we can meet in Oakland soon? I still have that quicky project I signed onto for before I left, unless I can think of a way of wiggling out of it.”
    “You’re a pretty good wiggler. Oh, before I forget, if you need my car while you’re up there, I’ll leave a set of keys.”
    “Maybe my VW will be all fixed up. I should be getting an estimate soon.”
    “Do they charge extra for barnacle and body removal?”
    “Hey, what’s a girl to do when her beloved car takes a dive into the estuary, and happens to have a body inside.” The body turned out to be just that, a stiff stolen from a mortuary where Garrison, a sworn enemy of mine, worked. He’d also attached another corpse to my anchor before I left for Mexico. That guy has absolutely no sense of humor, as well as a warped sense of vengeance. I hate it when someone emulates me.
    I took a glug of my drink and asked, “What time of day does your plane leave?”
    “Depends. If I catch a flight from Hermosillo to Mexico City, I can get a non-stop to Paris, then to Kuwait.”
    “Paris? Can I go?”
    “You know you can. You also know you won’t. Jan’s coming, remember? And you are working here.”
    “ Merde . Wanna hear something ironic?”
    He nodded.
    “Chino’s grandmother, Abuela Yee, lives in Agua Fria, and hasn’t been heard from in a month. Chino found out there was a landslide blocking the road, and that the only phone in town doesn’t work.”
    Jenks frowned. “Didn’t we see someone talking into a cell phone on the beach?”
    I shrugged. “Coulda been a handheld radio.”
    “A CB, maybe, or a walkie-talkie, because we had our VHF on SCAN and we didn’t hear them talking. Is Chino worried?”
    “Not really,” I said, not wanting Jenks in on the Granny approval deal, or that I was dead set on delaying, if not killing, any hurried nuptials. No use him thinking I meddle.
    Changing the subject, sort of, I said, “I think you’re right about the phone thing. I’ll sign up for Mexican cell service soon. Now that I don’t have a client to bilk with my Satfone bills any longer, I need a cheaper mode of communication. I’ll do it right after you leave.”
    “Good. Call me with the number and I promise I’ll call back often so you don’t use cell time leaving messages for me. I do have a client to bilk, as you put it. And let’s use e-mail more, now that you’re in a marina with WiFi.”
    “Jenks, you’re not visiting Baghdad again, are you?”
    “Nope.”
    “Good.” I gave him an evil grin. “And if you do, send Lars.”
    “I will. You make me a promise, as well, that you and Jan stay out of mischief.”
    “Where’s the fun in that?”
    “I mean it, Hetta. Keep your nose clean down here. You’ve already made an enemy or two in Mexico, and this study you’re working on now can turn into a cesspool of graft and kickbacks.”
    “Aye, aye, captain. I shall keep my nose above the crapper. Besides, I can take care of myself.”
    As soon as I said it, he broke out in a hearty guffaw. I tried feigning indignity, but since he’d saved my ass twice in less than a year, I am forced to confess perhaps I ain’t all that handy at taking care of myself.
    I’d like to contend that everything that happens to me is someone else’s fault, but there is only one common denominator in each disastrous scenario: moi .
    Due to unseasonably balmy weather, we anchored out on Jenks’s last night in San Carlos. We dined alfresco, then decided to sleep on deck. Dragging mattresses from the guest bunks, we fashioned a pallet under the stars, finished off our wine, then