Free Dead in the Water (Kate Ryan Mysteries Book 10) by Kate Sweeney Page B

Devon Avenue. Stop and see some of your old cronies and talk a little mayhem. Then go home to Margaret.”
    “That sounds like a good idea. I think I will.” I kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning. I love you.”
    “I love you, too. Now shoo…”
    I stuck my keys in my jeans pocket and took a deep breath of good old Chicago air and started walking. I loved the smell of the city. Even the exhaust. It mingled well with the street vendor and his hot dogs and fresh pretzels. And speaking of which…I walked up to Mr. Totino’s Vienna Hot Dog stand. I loved his red, white, and green umbrella.
    “Kate, how are you? I see you all the time, you never stop much. What do you like today?”
    “Hey, Mr. Totino.” Now my mouth was watering. “Just a dog and kraut. Little mustard.”
    “Sure.”
    The steam rose when he opened the metal top, and I took a whiff of pure heaven—steaming hot dogs. I’d been to many cities around this country and in some other countries, and they all tried to make the “Chicago dog,” but it just didn’t work. Maybe it was the water in this city, I don’t know, but no one made a great hot dog like Chicago. And while we’re at it, why doesn’t anyone outside of Chicago know what an Italian beef is? Or giardiniera, for that matter. That spicy concoction on a juicy beef is almost as good as a hot dog.
    “Here ya go.”
    I licked my lips as I gently took the delectable dog from him. I fished out a few bucks and handed it to him. “Keep the change.”
    “Thanks. So what makes you stop here today?” he asked. “Sit?” He offered the park bench next to his wagon. “I have time. Not too busy this time of day. Good thing you don’t come around lunchtime.”
    I sat and took a healthy bite of the soft steamy bun. The sauerkraut was just tangy enough. “Heaven,” I said with a mouthful.
    Mr. Totino puffed out his chest. “Of course. I have best hot dogs in Chicago. Now tell me.” He sat next to me and patted my knee.
    “I just needed to take a walk.”
    “Got a lot on your mind? How is PI business?”
    “It’s fine,” I said absently and took another bite.
    “Something is bothering you,” he said softly and sat back. “How is your lady friend?”
    I glanced at him and chuckled. “Maggie is fine, too. We’re doing well.”
    “That is good,” he said. “She still volunteers at the hospital?”
    “Yes. A few times a week.”
    “She should open her own office. She’s a good doctor. Yes?”
    “Sure she is.”
    “You’re smiling.”
    “I am?” I self-consciously took another bite and finished the dog.
    “Yes. It’s because you are happy. You have your PI business again, you have a girlfriend. Is all good in your life.”
    He was right. It was all good in my life.
    “Mr. Totino, can I tell you something?”
    “Of course.”
    “I’m…I’m thinking of asking Maggie to marry me.” I waited for his reaction.
    He struck a thoughtful pose and nodded slowly. “I know nothing of such things, Kate. Can you do that now?”
    I laughed and tossed my napkin in the trash. “Yes, we can. Not everywhere, but in Illinois now.”
    “Then why would you not?” he asked softly. “Remember, I do not know of things like this. But you are a good person.” He sat back and watched the throng of late afternoon crowds shuffling by and standing on the corner waiting for the bus. “I see much from here. Good people, some not too good. Everybody has something going on in their lives. And I say, if you are good person and you love good, then who cares who you love?”
    “Thanks, Mr. Totino.”
    “I am very liberal man for someone who comes here from Italy forty years ago with a wife and five babies. Now another hot dog?”
    I stood and shook his hand. “Nah, thanks. I’d better be moseying…Thanks, Mr. Totino.”
    “You are welcome. Come by again, and bring Maggie.”
    “I will. Thanks.”
    I walked down Devon, feeling like a salmon swimming upstream. I loved the