Free A Cup of Jo by Sandra Balzo

the register itself.
    'Genius,' I said. Which reminded me. 'Hey, when did I order the Uncommon Grounds tote bags?'
    'You didn't. I did.'
    'But I'm the boss.' I glanced quickly at Sarah who was now sitting, sipping her carefully-constructed espresso. 'OK, w e're the boss. But you still should run these things past one of us.'
    'You were busy.' Amy pointed at the bag displayed on the wall. 'We've already sold nearly a dozen.'
    Well, that was good. 'But still . . .'
    'You like them, right?'
    'Of course.'
    'Anything you'd change? We can do that next order.'
    'Nothing, but . . .' Oh, the hell with it. The bags were great and so was Amy.
    Before I could tell her so, though, the floor trembled, the air rumbled and then came a distant whistle.
    The Death Train Returneth.

Chapter Six
    'I don't know why you're calling it that,' Pavlik said. 'Unlike the last incident, this train didn't actually kill anyone.'
    'Other than our business, potentially. Not a single person got off when it made its return run tonight.'
    'You know as well as I do that the commuter line wasn't running a regular schedule today. Tomorrow will be better.'
    'It better be,' I grumbled. 'And I still like my nickname better than the train's official one.'
    Pavlik had arrived at my house around eight with a pizza. The box was on the kitchen table, my sheepdog Frank positioned on the floor next to Pavlik, waiting for his piece of the pie. As high as the beast's head reached, he might as well have been in a chair like we were.
    'Chin off the table, Frank,' I ordered.
    'You don't like the name of the train or you don't like the fact that Sarah won the contest?' Pavlik tossed the sheepdog a frisbee of pepperoni.
    Perfect. If Frank wriggled his way into my bed, I'd be greeted by a canine depth-charge when I rippled the covers.
    'Both,' I conceded. 'My heartache began the moment I caught the scroll-line under the news. It's probably already been added to her obit.'
    Pavlik seemed shocked. 'Sarah's obituary?'
    'Long story, but not a big deal,' I said. 'My point is, I'll likely be Sarah's next call, so she can crow.' A sideways glance at Pavlik. 'Assuming the news has reached her, of course.'
    'Sarah'd be told before it was released to the media, wouldn't she?'
    I shrugged. 'JoLynne Penn-Williams was running the competition. With her gone so suddenly, who knows what might have slipped through the cracks?'
    I let it hang there, but Pavlik didn't comment.
    'I understand the cause of JoLynne's death came back,' I tried. 'That was fast.'
    'The preliminary cause of death,' our sheriff corrected. Frank was on his haunches begging and when Pavlik turned his head, he came face to muzzle with my shaggy dog.
    My beau fanned the air between them. 'I think Frank could use some mouthwash. Industrial-strength.'
    'I tried brushing his teeth last week. Not a happy experience for either of us.'
    A mournful howl as confirmation.
    I wanted to corroborate Ragnar's story. 'So, what is the preliminary cause of death?'
    'Asphyxiation.'
    'Is that the same thing as suffocation?'
    'Asphyxia is simply not getting enough oxygen to sustain life. Suffocation can be a cause of asphyxiation. Because there are no apparent signs of ligatures, bruising around the neck or hanging, it looks like suffocation. Maybe even choking on a piece of food, though Doc didn't find anything obstructing Ms Penn-Williams' airway.'
    'An asthma attack, then?' I'll take 'Natural Causes' for $500, Alex.
    Pavlik fed Frank a chunk of mushroom, mozzarella cheese yo-yoing from it. 'You've gotten all you're going to get from me tonight, Maggy.'
    Well, that was no fun. I was about to ask if he'd brought the handcuffs when my cell rang. By the time I dug through my bag and came up with it, all I had was a voicemail. Which was OK. I usually preferred those to talking with actual people.
    Hi. How are you? Good. And you? Great thanks. How about the family? And on, and on, and . . .
    Then I saw the missed call came from my partner's home