Free Steve Demaree - Dekker 09 - Murder on a Blind Date by Steve Demaree Page A

But it sure was good. A lot
better than that liar they fixed me up with."
    I wanted
to pull out my badge and tell her that I didn't really make extra money from
tractor pulls, but I decided to wait it out. Luckily, a few seconds later, my
best friend, our server, showed up. I figured I could keep the menu in front of
me for a while, which would mean I wouldn't have to make conversation, and I
could hide somewhat from Frank and George. I had already realized that they
would eat slowly and make sure they left just after I did.
    Silence
was fine as long as we held menus between us, but eventually our server came
and took our order, and I couldn't keep sitting there doing my Harpo Marx
imitation, so I reopened the conversation. I asked her what kind of work she
did and she told me she managed a trailer park down in Jessamine County . She figured she could tell me that much, since there are
several trailer parks in Jessamine County . I asked her what she did all day and she told me that
she watched Drew and Ellen and some other things, and part of the time she got
on Facebook and YouTube. I wasn't sure who Drew and Ellen were. They could have
been a couple of her neighbors, or somebody on TV. The only TV I watched were
classic comedy shows and movies. I didn't remember a Drew or an Ellen in any of
them, but they could have done the shows I watch before they became famous.
    Our
server came back with something or other. I can't remember if it was bread,
salad, or an appetizer, but whatever it was, I welcomed it. I filled my mouth
and let her do the talking. Eventually our entrees arrived. I ordered
shepherd's pie and it was delicious. She ordered some kind of chicken dish with
rice. I told her it looked good. She offered me some, but she seemed relieved
when I turned it down. I wasn't sure if she planned to eat all of it, plus
another couple of pieces of cheesecake, or if she would save it for the next
night, to justify spending one hundred dollars on a date, plus the price of her
meal.
    Even
someone who doesn't realize that dessert is the best course of a meal would realize
that if they went to a place called The Cheesecake Factory. At a place like
that you don't leave before eating dessert. She ate only one piece of
cheesecake, but chose two more to take home.
    She
turned to me and said, "Some people go to certain restaurants and hope to
sample each kind of beer they have. I plan to come here as often as possible,
until I've tried all the different kinds of cheesecake. I might try them other
desserts, too. Of course all of that cost right smart."
    I didn't
have an answer for that, so I kept my mouth shut. At least we didn't have to
meet at one of those other kinds of restaurants where I would have to sit and
watch her guzzle down six different kinds of beer.
    She took
a piece of paper from her purse, unfolded it, and checked off three of the
items. I could see that it was her cheesecake list. I wondered if she had the other
desserts listed, too. It was almost enough to make me reconsider the card I
would send back. The old Cy would have sent nothing worse than a yellow card,
and might have sent a green card. The cheesecake she ate that night was some
type of chocolate cheesecake. The two she ordered to take home were a raspberry
one, and key lime. I ordered the turtle cheesecake, with hot fudge sauce to
pour over the top. I had managed to eat only half of my entree, and was pretty
sure that I wouldn't be able to eat all of my cheesecake, but I did order a
second piece to take home with me. There was no way I planned to get two
cheesecakes to go. Just in case she was the murderer and didn't look the part,
I didn't want to give her an additional motive. As I sat there counting the
hours, I hoped Sam came up with more information for me on the other women in
the area before I filled out an application with a different name and hobbies,
for my second date.
      
    +++
     
    As I sat
there, I was sure that the clock had struck midnight .