Free Nearly Departed (Spring Cleaning Mysteries) by JB Lynn

make things difficult."
    " In the grand scheme of my life Detective Alan Reed can't even cause a speed bump," I assured him tiredly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
    " I'll follow you to your place and help you load tomorrow's supplies."
    " You don't have to do that."
    " But I'm going to." The set of his jaw was stubborn, and I knew I couldn't dissuade him…not that I wanted to. I was tired and I ached all over. I could use the help.
    " I'm not paying you overtime."
    " Didn't expect you to."
    Thirty minutes later , when I pulled the Spring Cleaning van into my driveway and saw what waited for me, I suddenly realized allowing him to follow me home might not have been the best of ideas.

C HAPTER SEVEN
     
    I'd forgotten all about the lasagna.
    My father, dressed in his usual absent-minded professor uniform of cords and a sweater with worn leather patches at the elbows, was documenting the state of disrepair of my property with his camera. He was so focused on capturing the nuances of the cracked glass of the dining room window that he didn 't even notice as I pulled the Spring Cleaning van into the driveway.
    I glanced in my rear view mirror to see how bad my burgeoning black eye looked and saw that Smoke had pulled his Jeep to a stop behind me. He was watching my father's picture-taking carefully as he slowly got out of his vehicle.
    " Crap." The last thing I needed was for him to tell my parents what had happened at the job site today. They had enough to worry about. They didn't have to know that, on top of everything else, my job could be dangerous. I jumped out of the van and hurried toward Smoke, intent on sending him away. Thankfully, my dad was too busy fiddling with his zoom to notice.
    My dad might have been oblivious, but my mom didn 't miss a thing.
    " Vicky?" she called from the kitchen door, before I ever made it to Smoke's side. "Is that you?"
    Stopping in my tracks, I turned toward her. "No, Mom. I'm Vicky's evil doppelganger here to steal her glamorous life."
    " Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer." Mom stepped outside to get a better look at my companion. She shook Dad's shoulder to break his trance. "Look who's here, Artie."
    Turning around, a giant smile lit his face, like seeing me at my own home was a wonderful surprise. "Vicky!"
    I waved weakly.
    "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?" Mom peered over the rims of her reading glasses, perched on the edge of her nose, like she was deciding on a cut of beef at the butcher's.
    I swallowed hard and directed an apologetic glance in Smoke 's direction. "Mom, Dad, this is Smoke. He's Spring Cleaning's newest employee."
    My mother looked disappointed. No doubt she 'd hoped I'd brought home a date. My dad on the other hand glared at Smoke suspiciously. He might have been engrossed in his picture-taking, but he knew all too well the kind of "undependable riffraff" I'd been forced to take on in the past.
    " He's a friend of Mike's," I said quickly.
    The suspicion cleared from Dad 's features immediately. "Nice to meet you!" He stepped forward to shake the hand of a friend of Mike.
    " Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Spring." He shook my father's hand and nodded politely in my mother's direction.
    " So I'll see you tomorrow, Smoke?"
    He raised his eyebrows and refused to take the hint that I wanted him to leave. "Do you have a special place you store the waste?"
    " I can take care of it. You can go." I frowned at him.
    The edges of his eyes crinkled with amusement, but his voice stayed politely businesslike. "As soon as I've finished helping you load up for tomorrow."
    " No need. As you can see, I've got help." I waved my arm toward my parents as though they were magical helper elves.
    " For goodness sake, Vicky, let the man help you," my mother chastised. "You'll stay for dinner when you're done, Mr. Smoke?"
    He didn 't correct her about his name. Instead he flashed a grateful smile in her direction. "I'd like that, ma'am."
    I didn 't like it, not one bit. I