Read Online The Calamity Café by Gayle Leeson - Free Book Online Page B

ignore it and be right.”
    â€œYou’re kinda scaring me.”
    â€œI don’t want you to be scared, only aware.”
    â€œI will.” I nodded toward the café. “I’d better get to work.”
    â€œMe too.”
    â€œThanks for stopping by.”
    â€œPlease call me if you think of anything I might need to know or if you feel threatened in any way,” he said.
    â€œOkay.”
    I went on into the café and hung my purse on a hook in the kitchen by the back door. Was this door how the killer had entered Lou’s Joint that night, or had he—or she—come through the front? Going through the front door seemed awfully brazen to me, especially with the lights in the parking lot. It made more sense that the person would’ve come through the back. The back of thecafé led out to just overgrown land. On the other hand, maybe the person had come in the front door, not realizing he’d get angry enough at Lou Lou to kill her.
    I shook my head to try to dispel thoughts of that night. I had too much to do to dwell on it right now. Still, it was hard
not
to think about it. Lou Lou had been murdered not twenty feet from where I was standing. Besides, this was a remote area. Sure, it was beautiful, with oaks and maples that had stood for hundreds of years, fields of goldenrod, and cattle grazing in the pasture nearby. But the closest house was half a mile away.
    Main Street was three times that distance. And while there were a small grocery store, the newspaper office, a general store, and a hair salon nestled together, none of those businesses were open at six o’clock in the morning.
    My mouth suddenly went dry, and I got a drink of water. Jackie had been right. I hadn’t realized how I’d be affected by returning to Lou’s Joint this morning. I mean, I’d known it wouldn’t be business as usual, but I hadn’t thought I’d feel so afraid. Of course, Deputy Hall hadn’t helped by saying that the killer might come after me. That was something I hadn’t even considered.
    I downed the rest of the water and made sure the back door was locked. The front door was open, but Jackie should be here any minute.
    I had to pull myself together. Pete was counting on me. Lou’s Joint patrons were counting on me.
    I went out of the kitchen to the counter where the coffeepots were kept. I made two pots of regular coffee and one pot of decaffeinated. I felt better when the scent of brewing coffee filled the air.
    I glanced toward the office door and thought about how Lou Lou had looked collapsed across her desk . . . the blood on the desk pad dripping onto the floor.
    The front door opened, and I squealed and reeled backward.
    â€œAmy!” Jackie hurried forward. “What is it? Are you okay?”
    â€œYou just startled me. That’s all.” I tried to laugh at myself, but my laugh came out sounding nearly hysterical.
    She hugged me. “It’s all right. Are you sure you can do this? If not, call Pete and tell him you’re leaving. You don’t even officially work here anymore, remember?”
    â€œI’d still be working out my notice. Besides, that situation kinda changed night before last. Pete needs all the help he can get right now.”
    â€œBut that’s his problem, not yours.”
    â€œJackie, his mom just died. And I’m the one who found her.”
    â€œIn this café. Which is the best reason I can think of for you
not
to be here now. Why don’t you go on back home? I can take care of things until Pete or somebody else can get here. Pete should have his butt kicked for not shutting down this place for a few days out of respect for his momma in the first place.”
    â€œAgreed, but still—”
    Brooke, a nurse at Winter Garden Nursing Home, and one of my favorite regulars, came in then. “Am I missing out on a good argument?”
    â€œNo,” I said. “We