Read Online Worked to Death (Working Stiff Mysteries Book 2) by Kerri Nelson - Free Book Online

him.
    He held on tight when I tried to take them from his hand. Causing us to play a little envelope tug of war. "You know I hear that excuse a lot. It's real important to take care of your body." When he said the word "body" his eyes sunk down to my boob level.
    I pulled on the envelopes again, and he let go this time. I turned and shoved them into the Outgoing Mail drop box on the wall.
    "I'll have to remember that. Maybe I'll stop by sometime." I had zero intentions of ever going by there, but I thought that I should be polite in my response and then get the heck out of there.
    "Well, your body looks like it's in good shape already. But if you ever need a little special juice to help you work more efficiently, I can hook you up." He sucked in some saliva between his teeth as he announced his offering with pride.
    Special juice? I was curious as to what he meant. But not curious enough to hang around.
    I pushed through the door and made hay toward Stella at a fast clip.
    "Will do." I tossed the words over my shoulder, as I couldn't shake this feeling of impending doom.
    "Hey! I didn't catch your name, sweetie pie," he hollered out as I slipped inside the car and gave him a quick wave.
    I backed the car out and took off down the street. The creepy crawlies running up and down my arms. I wasn't sure exactly what it had been about this man that had frightened me so, but I just knew that I needed to get out of there.
    Maybe I was just tired and overreacting. But this had been a long day, and I needed a night out in a desperate way.
    I felt better by the time I pulled in to my driveway and parked at the back of the house. I thought about heading straight inside but knew that if I didn't stop by Ms. Lanier's house for a quick check-in that she'd hunt me down before the night was over.
    I knocked on her door, and she yelled for me to enter.
    I pulled the screen door closed behind me as I pushed through her wooden door.
    "Is that you, Mandy?" Her voice sounded from the back of the house.
    "Yes, ma'am. It's me," I called back—noticing that an episode of a gangster-related drama was currently playing courtesy of HBO on her television.
    "I'll be right out. You hungry?"
    Yes. I was always hungry. But while things were slow at the clinic, I'd set up a night out at O'Hannigan's with Penny and Sundae. We were going to the Wednesday night Steak and Karaoke Bonanza, and I was looking forward to that.
    "I'm going out to dinner so you have the night off," I responded. Ms. Lanier, my elderly neighbor, provided about seventy percent of the meals for Paget and me. As she enjoyed cooking and we enjoyed eating—it was a copasetic arrangement.
    "Where are you off to?" Her round face appeared in the doorway. She was dressed up in a trench coat and black boots.
    I tried not to act surprised by her attire. "Uh, me and the girls are going to O'Hannigan's."
    "Yeah, I should've figured. When Denise came by to pick up some things for Paget, I knew you'd made other plans." Her voice sounded a little dejected.
    I felt a little guilty, but I hadn't had a night out in ages, and I was reluctant to change my plans for tonight. I didn't do karaoke, but the all-you-can-eat steak buffet was screaming my name.
    "What are you up to?" I dared to ask.
    "Do you think you'll be back in time for my web meeting with Maimie?"
    Ah, I'd forgotten about the web meeting as set up by Ms. Maimie's grandson—Officer Hands-On.
    "I doubt it. We may hang out for a bit after dinner. What's the meeting about anyway? We don't have enough details to start an investigation, do we?"
    I wasn't sure what all the Hoots knew about the dead body yet, and I wasn't about to share the identity. I was too scared that either Matty or Randall Jamison was involved, and I just wasn't ready to throw either one of them to the gossip wolves as of yet.
    The Hoots was the nickname that Ms. Maimie and Ms. Lanier had come up with last fall in order to give their crime-solving duo a more official