Free Murder on Wheels by Lynn Cahoon Page B

a B ACK IN AN H OUR sign. She turned off her computer and went over to shut and lock the mayor’s office door. “You don’t have to buy. I’d give my firstborn to get out of here today.”
    â€œYou don’t have any kids,” I reminded her as we walked out into the courtyard.
    Amy turned toward me, flashing her outdoor smile. “Haven’t you ever heard of a figure of speech?” She leaned her head back and stretched out her arms. “I love sunny winter days.”
    The weather had been beautiful, except the longer we went without rain, the more serious the area’s drought problem got. “So, tell me about the meeting. Did they come up with any good ideas?”
    Amy narrowed her eyes as we approached the diner. Lille’s Thursday’s lunch specials were written on a chalkboard set up on the sidewalk. Meat loaf plate and a spring chicken salad. Even the soup of the day sounded amazing—chicken tortilla. She held the door open for me. “Why are you so interested in water conservation? I thought you were going to slip under the table when Marvin was looking for volunteers.”
    I slid into our favorite booth, and as I unwrapped the silverware from the paper napkin, I kept my head down. “Believe me, I have no interest in serving on the committee.”
    â€œThen, why would you . . .” Amy stared at me. “I knew something was going on. I could feel it. Jackie and Harrold?”
    Carrie tapped menus on the table. “You two know what you want? Or do you need these?”
    I pushed one of the menus toward Amy. As I opened the other one, I focused on Carrie, giving her my best innocent smile. “We’ll need a few minutes.”
    â€œSeriously, you have to spill, I can’t believe the two of them would . . .” Amy took a breath and I kicked her under the table. “Ouch.” Amy leaned down and rubbed her leg.
    â€œKeep your secrets. It’s not like I won’t find out soon anyway. This is a small town, remember?” Carrie waved at a couple coming in the door. “Just let me know when you’re ready to order. I can’t stand all this drama.”
    I watched her walk away, then turned to Amy, who was staring at me like I had seven heads. “You can’t say anything. Aunt Jackie will think I told you.”
    â€œBut you didn’t, I guessed.” Amy flipped her pixie cut behind her ears. “Wow, I never would have seen that coming.”
    â€œYou and me both, sister.” I tried to focus on the menu. My aunt and her love life had surprised me from the moment she’d decided to move into town to help me with the store. I turned to the page describing the salads and told myself to be happy with my choices. The pep talk wasn’t working.
    Amy gasped, pulling the menu away from my eyes with one finger. Even though Amy surfed more weekends than not, her nails still were pretty and polished, something I hadn’t done in years. “Does Josh know?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t think so. She swore me to secrecy about their date tomorrow night. I’m covering her shift.” I guess my version of keeping a secret meant I didn’t take an ad out in the local paper or post the information on my Facebook page. Although I had thought about announcing I would be working in case any of my regulars wanted to stop by and keep me from being totally bored. Friday evenings often got a lot of date traffic, both from the local teenagers and from the day tourists who just wanted to get away on a date night. But not during dead season. Not for the first time, I thought about adding music to the mix by hiring a local band hoping to make it big by playing just the right gig where they’d be discovered. I pointed my finger at my friend. “Don’t tell anyone.”
    Amy leaned forward in the booth. “Do you want to know what happened?”
    I leaned over just as I heard Carrie clear