Read Online [SS01] Assault and Pepper by Leslie Budewitz - Free Book Online Page A

eyes of one Officer Thomas Allen “Tag” Buhner.
    He was there to watch over me and I was tired of it.
    But snapping at him wouldn’t make him behave. It would only convince him I’d gone over the edge and needed his intervention.
    So I flashed him the smile I use to mollify difficult customers. “Hello, officers. Can I help you with anything?”
    “Stay out of their way, Pepper.”
    I wasn’t in their way
. “Aren’t the flowers lovely? Doc hadn’t been part of the Market community long, but . . .”
    A CSI detective brushing print powder on the door frame turned her head toward me. “They’re no trouble, ma’am. We just need to redust a few prints.”
    I peered a little closer and noticed several other spots she’d redone on the front and side walls of the building.
    “Does that rough finish interfere with your impressions?” The salmon pink stucco is one of my favorite features of the building. Art Deco with a Northwestern flair.
    “Pepper—” Tag said, his tone a warning.
    “Yes, ma’am, it does. The more uneven the surface, the harder it is to get a clear print. We’re redoing all of these, then we’ll take them back to the lab. We should be able to get you back to normal soon.”
    “Thanks.” I could practically feel Tag breathing down my neck. “And when will I get my keys back?”
    “Not my call,” she said. “But I can’t imagine it will be too long.”
    “Thank you. This has been a pain in the—an ordeal. I appreciate how helpful you’ve been.”
Unlike you, Officer Buhner.
I walked past said Officer Buhner and strolled up Pine Street to my back door.
    A few minutes later, the CSI detectives came in to print all the employees, me included, “for elimination purposes.” I watched as they rolled each finger and palm, and noted every staffer’s contact info. Happily, it didn’t take long and customer traffic was light.
    “I’m taking spice samples up to Laurel. Meanwhile, take a gander.” I laid the fuchsia folder on the mixing table, next to the empty sandwich tray. “From Ms. Fabiola. Labels, and a whole lot more.”
    “Oo-ooh,” Kristen said. “You finally said yes?”
    She made it sound like a marriage proposal. “I haven’t said yes to anything yet. Just tell me what you think.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” she said, smirking.
    “Smart-ass.”
    I left the shop and had almost reached First when I heard the wheels behind me.
    “We need to talk,” Tag said, handlebars wobbling as he kept the bike in balance.
    “No, I don’t think so.”
    “Yes, we do.” He was on foot now, wheeling beside me as the light changed and I crossed the street. “Alex Howard came by while you were out.”
    I didn’t ask how he knew. That flush returned to my cheeks.
    “He’s trouble, Pepper. Stay away from him.”
    “What do you know about it?” I whipped my head toward him before he could respond. “That was a rhetorical question. Don’t answer.”
    “I know some things you don’t. And it’s not good, Pepper. You’ll only get hurt.”
    And he knew all about hurting me. His wide rubber bike tires made a soft whirring sound on the concrete sidewalk. A young couple coming toward us dropped hands and stepped apart to let us through.
    “Is lecturing me really a good use of the taxpayers’ money, Tag? Shouldn’t you be out doing something productive? Like solving crime?”
    “Spencer and Tracy are on it. And don’t harass the CSI. They’ll release your crime scene when they’re good and ready.”
    I stopped on a dime. “
My
crime scene? You do think it was a crime, don’t you? Doc’s death, I mean.”
    Dang, I hated that self-satisfied look on his face.
    “Why?” I went on. “He wasn’t shot or stabbed. There would have been blood. Yeah, there are other methods, but what about the scene makes you think—”
    “You know I can’t tell you that. Police business.”
    For half a second, I had actually taken him seriously. For a nano-blink, I had thought he was expressing