Free Double Shot by Cindy Blackburn Page A

me.
    “Okay,” I said as she hopped into my lap. “Let’s talk.”
    “You can begin by explaining what possessed you to take along those two.” Wilson again pointed downward.
    “Oh, probably genius.”
    “Nice try, Jessie.” He set the tea cups on the counter. “You want to imagine my reaction when Kim Leary called to inform me she never signed up for protecting three civilians? ‘Three?’ I said to her. ‘What do you mean three?’ But I had a pretty good idea who she was talking about even before she described your partners in crime.”
    He banged a teaspoon down. “‘It’s like trying to guard the Three Stooges,’ Kim told me.” He threw his hands in the air. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”
    “Are you,” I pointed across the counter, “actually accusing me,” I pointed to my innocent self, “of causing problems? You had to know I wasn’t going to set foot in the Wade On Inn alone. Especially after you made a point of emphasizing how dangerous it is.”
    “We never agreed you should bring along an entourage.”
    “Come on, Wilson. It would have looked mighty strange for a woman my age to wander in there all by herself. It would look like I was interested in a lot more than a pool game.”
    I waited for an argument, but clearly he was unable to counter my very sound point.
    I continued, “And even you can’t deny Candy and Karen pulled their own weight tonight. I wouldn’t have found out nearly as much on my own.”
    The teapot whistled, and we both jumped.
    “I will agree,” he said as he poured the water, “that your friends did a great job. Densmore and Sass will be busy for days following up on what they learned.”
    “Sass?”
    “But having three of you to protect has my people a little on edge. Can’t you see that, Jessie? I don’t have the staff for this.”
    “Sass?”
    “It makes Kim Leary’s job a whole lot harder.”
    I sighed and gave up on getting any sort of response about Tiffany La-Dee-Doo-Da Sass.
    “So this Kim person is the undercover cop who’s watching out for us?” I asked. “She’s cute as a button, by the way. I just love the Goldilocks disguise.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “No one would ever suspect she’s a cop. I felt extremely safe every time I peeked over at all those blond curls.”
    It suddenly occurred to me that Kevin the quiet guy, the supposed librarian, was also one of Wilson’s people. Lord knows his gambling stakes were pathetic enough to be sponsored by the Clarence Police Department.
    “I’m a bit less confident in Kevin Cooper,” I said. “I don’t see him protecting me if the culprit turns out to be Bobby or Henry. Or even Spencer for that matter.”
    Wilson slid my tea across the counter. “Kevin’s a librarian, Jessie.”
    “Yeah, right.”
    “Would you stop worrying about who’s there to protect you? That’s my job, which you’ve now made a whole lot harder.”
    I assured my beau I would be extremely careful not to blow anyone’s cover. “I won’t even speak to them unless I have to.” I winked at Snowflake. “I suppose I’ll just have to pay attention to Spencer Erring and his lovely dimples instead.”
    “Which brings us to our good friend Candy.” Wilson leaned on the counter. “What does Carter think about his girlfriend hanging out at the Wade On Inn?”
    “They broke up again.”
    “What’s that, like the tenth time?”
    “Apparently Carter doesn’t like dogs. But don’t be such a chauvinist, Wilson. Boyfriend or not, Candy has every right to spend her evenings any way she sees fit.”
    “Candy Poppe causes a testosterone-induced riot wherever she goes. The woman needs a chaperone at the grocery store, for God’s sake.”
    Okay, good point. Candy has been known to procure a date or two while browsing the produce aisle. I sipped my tea. And the dairy case.
    “She had Karen and me chaperoning her tonight,” I offered.
    “Gee, I feel so much better now.” Wilson stared at my rhinestone