Read Online Lloyd Corricelli - Ronan Marino 01 - Two Redheads & a Dead Blonde by Lloyd Corricelli - Free Book Online
Authors: Lloyd Corricelli
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than a plate of eggs over easy and toast to fill the void I felt. Across the table, Marc inhaled his pancakes and sausage. He turned his attention to my plate, which I picked at.
“You gonna eat that?” He motioned toward my side of the table.
“Touch it, and I’ll stab your hand with this fork.”
“Okay, okay.”
I usually ate much faster, an old habit learned in military chow halls, but under the circumstances, I didn’t feel like shoving the food down my gullet.
From behind the counter Jesse, the Raven’s owner, emerged. She was about our age with medium length brown hair and short but shapely legs. She wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a clingy white t-shirt that accentuated her large breasts. Though not really pretty in the conventional sense, there was always a certain sexy quality about her that I could never put my finger on.
For all the hours she worked slinging hash, she had held up pretty well. We had a brief history a long time ago, but neither of us had made mention of it since I’d been back. Things from those days were a little hazy from heavy partying with my good friends Budweiser and Michelob.
Jesse inherited the diner from her father who had inherited it from his father before him. She had been married to a guy she met in college, but it didn’t work out, especially when she learned he was cheating on her with a co-worker. I could empathize. Whenever I was deployed by the military, my ex-wife spent more time on her back than Jim Kelly in an early nineties Super Bowl.
“Marc, where’ve you been, sweets? Is Mr. Chief of Police too busy to come down and eat at my place anymore?” she said.
“Hey Jesse, nice to see you,” he said.
I stared into my plate and didn’t acknowledge her.
“Who kicked your puppy, Ro?”
I put up my hand in protest. While I normally enjoyed exchanging barbs with her, I certainly wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it. “Not today.”
She stepped back and put her hands on her ample hips.
“A friend of his was found dead this morning,” Marc blurted out.
“Not the girl they found in the river?”
“How’d you know about that?” I asked.
“Two patrolmen told me earlier.”
I had forgotten that the underground Lowell information network was headquartered at the Raven. I filed that bit of information away for future use.
“It wasn’t the blond girl you were here with a few weeks ago, was it?”
“Yes.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey. If there’s anything I can do, you let me know.”
“Thanks, Jess.”
She smiled and went into the kitchen. I pointed at Marc with my fork.
“Thanks a lot, big mouth.”
“I didn’t think you’d mind her knowing.”
“I’m not looking for pity.”
I leaned back in the booth, hoping I’d wake up and this would all be some horrible dream. Karen would be there, safely asleep in my bed. I closed my eyes for a moment, but I knew this was no dream.
“We need to get together and do something soon,” Marc said. “Timmy had been asking when he’s going to see his Uncle Ronan.”
“Yeah, we should.”
Timmy was Marc’s ten-year-old son. I tried hard to be a good uncle and remember birthdays and other important events like Little League games when they came around. He was a good kid and I enjoyed his company. I hadn’t been to Marc’s house much lately because of the time I was spending between Karen, getting my house in order, and rehearsing with the band. I needed to rectify that soon.
“Timmy loves going to see the River Hawks. I can even get the tickets if you want to go.”
“That would be great. Just let me know,” I said, not really interested at the moment.
It all seemed pretty trivial, but deep down I knew I was just being too sensitive. On a very rare occasion, it was known to happen.
I finished my coffee, stood up, and threw a twenty on the table. “Let’s get out of here.”
FIVE
We pulled into the driveway and to my dismay our father’s
“You gonna eat that?” He motioned toward my side of the table.
“Touch it, and I’ll stab your hand with this fork.”
“Okay, okay.”
I usually ate much faster, an old habit learned in military chow halls, but under the circumstances, I didn’t feel like shoving the food down my gullet.
From behind the counter Jesse, the Raven’s owner, emerged. She was about our age with medium length brown hair and short but shapely legs. She wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a clingy white t-shirt that accentuated her large breasts. Though not really pretty in the conventional sense, there was always a certain sexy quality about her that I could never put my finger on.
For all the hours she worked slinging hash, she had held up pretty well. We had a brief history a long time ago, but neither of us had made mention of it since I’d been back. Things from those days were a little hazy from heavy partying with my good friends Budweiser and Michelob.
Jesse inherited the diner from her father who had inherited it from his father before him. She had been married to a guy she met in college, but it didn’t work out, especially when she learned he was cheating on her with a co-worker. I could empathize. Whenever I was deployed by the military, my ex-wife spent more time on her back than Jim Kelly in an early nineties Super Bowl.
“Marc, where’ve you been, sweets? Is Mr. Chief of Police too busy to come down and eat at my place anymore?” she said.
“Hey Jesse, nice to see you,” he said.
I stared into my plate and didn’t acknowledge her.
“Who kicked your puppy, Ro?”
I put up my hand in protest. While I normally enjoyed exchanging barbs with her, I certainly wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it. “Not today.”
She stepped back and put her hands on her ample hips.
“A friend of his was found dead this morning,” Marc blurted out.
“Not the girl they found in the river?”
“How’d you know about that?” I asked.
“Two patrolmen told me earlier.”
I had forgotten that the underground Lowell information network was headquartered at the Raven. I filed that bit of information away for future use.
“It wasn’t the blond girl you were here with a few weeks ago, was it?”
“Yes.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey. If there’s anything I can do, you let me know.”
“Thanks, Jess.”
She smiled and went into the kitchen. I pointed at Marc with my fork.
“Thanks a lot, big mouth.”
“I didn’t think you’d mind her knowing.”
“I’m not looking for pity.”
I leaned back in the booth, hoping I’d wake up and this would all be some horrible dream. Karen would be there, safely asleep in my bed. I closed my eyes for a moment, but I knew this was no dream.
“We need to get together and do something soon,” Marc said. “Timmy had been asking when he’s going to see his Uncle Ronan.”
“Yeah, we should.”
Timmy was Marc’s ten-year-old son. I tried hard to be a good uncle and remember birthdays and other important events like Little League games when they came around. He was a good kid and I enjoyed his company. I hadn’t been to Marc’s house much lately because of the time I was spending between Karen, getting my house in order, and rehearsing with the band. I needed to rectify that soon.
“Timmy loves going to see the River Hawks. I can even get the tickets if you want to go.”
“That would be great. Just let me know,” I said, not really interested at the moment.
It all seemed pretty trivial, but deep down I knew I was just being too sensitive. On a very rare occasion, it was known to happen.
I finished my coffee, stood up, and threw a twenty on the table. “Let’s get out of here.”
FIVE
We pulled into the driveway and to my dismay our father’s
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