Read Online Shay O'Hanlon Caper 03 - Pickle in the Middle Murder by Jessie Chandler. - Free Book Online Page A

he’s in the pokey again.”
    “No, not this time. He’s back, without any jail time, you’ll be happy to hear. He came in last night and was back in really early this morning to help Rocky out with his phone books.”
    “Phone books?”
    “You really haven’t been paying attention lately, have you, Shay?”
    I shrugged, feeling more than a little lost. It wasn’t that I wasn’t paying attention so much as I was just absorbed in … what? Okay. Evidently, I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have to what was going on around me.
    “Coop hatched a plan to help Rocky earn more money for his Tulip trip.”
    “Does Rocky need a raise?”
    “No, I don’t think a raise is necessary. He just wants extra money to add to his savings for his Tulip trip. Delivering the phone books was Coop’s bright idea, so I had no qualms about calling him bright and early to get over here and help.”
    Tulip was Rocky in girl form. She was a street vendor who hawked balloons she twisted into animal shapes near Jackson Square in New Orleans, entertaining kids and their parents for five bucks a pop. Rocky met Tulip the previous spring when Eddy and family friend Agnes took him to Louisiana on his very first vacation. And was it a doozy! Between a stolen toy snake, drug money, and hit men, the Big Easy wasn’t for the queasy. Once we’d made it back to Minnesota in one piece—well, except for the toy snake—we had to deal with a ruthless Mexican cartel. I was happy to report we all made it through the fireworks okay.
    Thanks to Kate, Rocky and Tulip had begun “dating” through Facebook. Rocky was beside himself, dying to return to the land of zydeco and beignets to visit his Tulip. To that end, Eddy had established a Travel To Tulip fund, and we all pitched in a few bucks here and there for the cause. At last count I think he was up to almost three hundred bucks.
    Kate said, “You should go into the backyard and check it out.”
    “Check out what?”
    “The phone books, knucklehead.”

    I eyeballed the mountain of undelivered phone books stacked haphazardly against the house within the fenced-in backyard. I was sure they hadn’t been there last night. Of course, it was dark, and I was wound up, so was it possible I hadn’t noticed? I looked again at the bulk of plastic-encased paper. I doubted it.
    Eddy was in her kitchen when I went back inside. She looked up from a cookbook that was open on the counter as the screen slammed shut behind me. “Hey girl. I was just looking up the recipe for Kitty Litter Cake. How are you doing this morning?”
    “I’d be a lot better if I was still asleep, and did you really just say Kitty Litter Cake?”
    “Sure did. It’s almost Halloween. Gotta make something that fits the holiday.” Eddy patted me on the cheek and then pulled me down into a hug. I loved this woman with every fiber of my being, Kitty Litter Cake or not.
    She said in my ear, “It’s going to all work out. Have you heard anything from JT?”
    I squeezed Eddy hard, then released her and stepped back. “No. Tyrell’s working on it. I called the jail, but they won’t let me see her or even talk to her.”
    Eddy rolled her eyes. “Figures. You decide to follow my advice yet?”
    “You give a lot of advice. Which advice?” I knew exactly what she meant, but it was fun to stir the pot every so often.
    “When are you gonna start listening to this old lady, child? I told you last night you needed to find out who else might be in the market for a dead Krasski. Tyrell had a file that I just know is plum ripe for picking names that would fit—”
    “I’m way ahead of you. Want to come with?”
    Eddy slammed the cookbook shut. “You bet your bottom twenty dollars, sweet cheeks. Now where’d I put my breaking-the-law shoes?”

    Five minutes later we were cruising up Hennepin Avenue.
    Eddy said, “Maybe we should invite Coop along for this escapade. It’s always good to have a little extra backup.”
    “Good