Read Online The Root of All Trouble by Heather Webber - Free Book Online
Authors: Heather Webber
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put him in the tree at night. There's no way shoving a dead man into a tree during broad daylight would go unnoticed in this neighborhood.
But that didn 't jibe with what I knew of Joey's disappearance. He'd walked off the job at lunchtime...
Gracie pressed her wet nose to my ankle, and looked up at me with eyes filled with cataracts. I lifted her up and let her lick my chin.
We had our good moments, Gracie and I.
Not often, mind you.
I turned to head back into the house when I caught sight of Brickhouse Krauss headed my way, marching across the lawn separating my house from Mr. Cabrera's like she was on a seek-and-destroy mission.
There was fire in her blue eyes as she said, "Ach! He's gone. Gone! Snuck out like a thief in the night."
" He's on my couch."
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. She clucked loudly and mumbled something in German I was sure I didn 't want translated. She did that a lot—clucked. Especially when she was angry...like she was right now. Steam practically spiraled from her ears.
She 'd earned the nickname "Brickhouse" way back when I was in high school because, fittingly, she was shaped like a brick. From her short platinum blond spiky hair right down to her Fred Flintstone feet, she was a short rectangle. For a while, over Christmas, she had developed more of a pear shape when she'd lost weight due to pneumonia, but she was back to her normal size now that she was healthy.
" What did he do?" I asked. "Is this about the gin and tonics yesterday?"
I edged closer to the door to put myself between her and Mr. C. Anything to prevent another murder in the neighborhood.
"What happened? I'll tell you what happened."
She clucked so hard I thought for sure an egg was forthcoming.
"The liquor loosened his lips, that's what happened."
Uh-oh. This couldn 't be good. Not after all his "I'm a catch" chatter yesterday.
" He came home going on and on about how he might not be ready for a commitment."
Gracie wiggled and I set her down again. She sniffed my work boots, tucked her tail and backed away slowly.
Ah, so she had some intelligence after all.
" He was really tipsy," I said, trying to make excuses for Mr. Cabrera. "I'm sure he didn't mean—"
" Ach! I'm not stupid, Nina Ceceri."
She usually called me by my maiden name —a throwback to my days as her student.
" I told him to sleep on the couch until he sobered up and that we'd discuss his concerns in the morning."
I could only imagine the tone in which she 'd issued this proclamation to him. I was pretty sure I'd heard it back in high school after getting caught skipping class.
" When I woke up," she continued, "guess who was gone?"
" Oh."
" Indeed."
I fidgeted. "Do you want me to go get him?" If she were going to kill him, I'd rather it be outside. I'd never get the bloodstains out of the upholstery.
" No." She folded thick arms across her chest.
" Are you sure?"
" I'm sure I don't want to be dating a coward. Keep him here for another hour, okay? It'll give me time to pack my things."
" You're moving out?"
She gave a stiff nod.
There was a glossy sheen in her eyes that told me she had made up her mind. She wasn't one to show the softer side of her emotions, so it was obvious how this tiff—and Mr. Cabrera's midnight desertion—had affected her. "Do you need any help?"
" No. Thank you, but no."
" Okay." I shifted from foot to foot, nearly stepping on Gracie. "Then I guess I'll see you at work?"
" Is there work?"
She had a point. "Perry and Mario's job is postponed, obviously, so we're in a bit of limbo until our normal week starts on Monday."
Clucking again—this time more softly—she said, "I think it's time for me to take a vacation, on a cruise like your parents. They have the right idea, getting away."
A pair of robins cheeped from their perch in a maple tree. "They're having a blast." Well, my father was. My mother was still battling sea-sickness. Which was the height of karma after badgering my father to take her on
But that didn 't jibe with what I knew of Joey's disappearance. He'd walked off the job at lunchtime...
Gracie pressed her wet nose to my ankle, and looked up at me with eyes filled with cataracts. I lifted her up and let her lick my chin.
We had our good moments, Gracie and I.
Not often, mind you.
I turned to head back into the house when I caught sight of Brickhouse Krauss headed my way, marching across the lawn separating my house from Mr. Cabrera's like she was on a seek-and-destroy mission.
There was fire in her blue eyes as she said, "Ach! He's gone. Gone! Snuck out like a thief in the night."
" He's on my couch."
Her eyes widened, then narrowed. She clucked loudly and mumbled something in German I was sure I didn 't want translated. She did that a lot—clucked. Especially when she was angry...like she was right now. Steam practically spiraled from her ears.
She 'd earned the nickname "Brickhouse" way back when I was in high school because, fittingly, she was shaped like a brick. From her short platinum blond spiky hair right down to her Fred Flintstone feet, she was a short rectangle. For a while, over Christmas, she had developed more of a pear shape when she'd lost weight due to pneumonia, but she was back to her normal size now that she was healthy.
" What did he do?" I asked. "Is this about the gin and tonics yesterday?"
I edged closer to the door to put myself between her and Mr. C. Anything to prevent another murder in the neighborhood.
"What happened? I'll tell you what happened."
She clucked so hard I thought for sure an egg was forthcoming.
"The liquor loosened his lips, that's what happened."
Uh-oh. This couldn 't be good. Not after all his "I'm a catch" chatter yesterday.
" He came home going on and on about how he might not be ready for a commitment."
Gracie wiggled and I set her down again. She sniffed my work boots, tucked her tail and backed away slowly.
Ah, so she had some intelligence after all.
" He was really tipsy," I said, trying to make excuses for Mr. Cabrera. "I'm sure he didn't mean—"
" Ach! I'm not stupid, Nina Ceceri."
She usually called me by my maiden name —a throwback to my days as her student.
" I told him to sleep on the couch until he sobered up and that we'd discuss his concerns in the morning."
I could only imagine the tone in which she 'd issued this proclamation to him. I was pretty sure I'd heard it back in high school after getting caught skipping class.
" When I woke up," she continued, "guess who was gone?"
" Oh."
" Indeed."
I fidgeted. "Do you want me to go get him?" If she were going to kill him, I'd rather it be outside. I'd never get the bloodstains out of the upholstery.
" No." She folded thick arms across her chest.
" Are you sure?"
" I'm sure I don't want to be dating a coward. Keep him here for another hour, okay? It'll give me time to pack my things."
" You're moving out?"
She gave a stiff nod.
There was a glossy sheen in her eyes that told me she had made up her mind. She wasn't one to show the softer side of her emotions, so it was obvious how this tiff—and Mr. Cabrera's midnight desertion—had affected her. "Do you need any help?"
" No. Thank you, but no."
" Okay." I shifted from foot to foot, nearly stepping on Gracie. "Then I guess I'll see you at work?"
" Is there work?"
She had a point. "Perry and Mario's job is postponed, obviously, so we're in a bit of limbo until our normal week starts on Monday."
Clucking again—this time more softly—she said, "I think it's time for me to take a vacation, on a cruise like your parents. They have the right idea, getting away."
A pair of robins cheeped from their perch in a maple tree. "They're having a blast." Well, my father was. My mother was still battling sea-sickness. Which was the height of karma after badgering my father to take her on
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