Read Online Loose Screw (Dusty Deals Mystery) by Lori Devoti, Rae Davies - Free Book Online

George put his hand over the mouthpiece to talk to someone else. Then he spoke, his voice clear. “Listen, I’ve got to go.”
    After confirming it was okay to move my Cherokee, I hung up.
    Blake was with the couple from D.C. Which meant the last place I wanted to be was with the couple from D.C. Unfortunately, the only way to find out what Blake was thinking was to go where Blake was.
    My mind drifted to Ted. Wuss . 

 
     
    Chapter 6
    Wuss still echoing through my mind, I squared my shoulders and left the building. My Cherokee sat where I had left it the day before, but the alley looked different. Stray pieces of yellow crime tape were stuck to both the Dumpster and the brick wall of Dusty Deals, but it was more than that. I normally found the dark coolness of the alley comforting, but today it felt cold and closed in... claustrophobic.
    Standing with my back against Dusty Deals, I could see only a small bit of sky before the office building on the other side of the alley crowded it out. This towering eyesore was mainly home to lawyers, investment bankers, and men like Darrell Deere, who had money and, for some reason, needed an office in a big building downtown. Another small bit of light spilled over through the gap made by the parking lot behind Spirit Books. This illuminated the area around the Dumpster, bringing back memories of Crandell stretched out and dead.
    Maybe Rhonda’s sage burning idea wasn’t so screwy.
    I hurried to the Cherokee and unlocked the door.
    In a rush to leave the alley behind, I started the engine and aimed for the yellow tape blocking my path. As the last kernels of horse manure from Monday’s visitors squashed under my tires, I planned my best move. Blake was interviewing the couple from the auction at their hotel.
    Helena had a limited number of hotels and only a few that out-of-state people tended to choose. Being the deductive wizard I was, I decided I should start with those.
    I started with the closest, a newer place by the city center. I drove around the parking lot looking for any hint of Blake.
    Seeing no indication of the police, I moved on. The second hotel was one of those chains that offers a free breakfast and caters to business travelers. Since they didn’t take dogs, I would never stay at one, but to each his own. It was only a couple of minutes away. As I approached, I saw some kind of activity in the parking lot.
    Two cars were parked by the side entrance, one a dark blue that screamed unmarked police and one with an image of the Guardian of the Gulch on the door. The Guardian of the Gulch is an old fire tower that stands over Last Chance Gulch. The wooden tower is no longer used, but the police display its image on both their cars and uniforms.
    A uniformed officer stood next to the marked car with the front door open. He rested both arms on the roof as if he had been waiting a long time. I pulled in at a discreet distance.
     My bag with notebook and mini-recorder over my shoulder, I scurried past the officer and into the hotel. To the left of the main entrance was the front desk, currently unoccupied. To my right was the reception area where the hotel served breakfast and happy-hour drinks. A man in a polo shirt and chinos was cleaning up. Remains of half-eaten bagels, Styrofoam bowls with milk-soaked cereal, and cups with coffee dregs dotted the tabletops.
    I stepped around an Oriental folding screen that shielded diners from the main entrance and tried to look innocent. “Is something going on? I saw a police car outside.”
    The man in chinos looked up from wiping crumbs off a table into his hand. “Don’t know. A detective went upstairs.”
    “Not on the second floor? That’s where my mother’s room is.” I went for a slight note of alarm this time.
    It didn’t seem to work. His eyes narrowed. Water fell in slow drips from the dirty dish rag he held, leaving dark dots on the indoor-outdoor carpeting. “Second floor’s closed. We had a pipe burst last