Free Checkered Thief (A Laurel London Mystery Book 3) by tonya kappes

Sharon ordered.
    “Is she expecting you?” I questioned. Trixie would kill me if I showed up with Sharon unannounced. Trixie and Sharon had as much of a love-hate thing as me and Sharon.
    “Yes. I told her I was going to bring the pie over this morning.  We just need to stop and pick it up.” Sharon didn’t bother looking at me. She stared straight ahead with a stiff jaw.
    When we got back to town, I took River Road instead of going down Main Street to go back to Sharon’s house. After we stopped by her place to grab the pie, I turned right on Fifth Street.
    “Look-y there.” Sharon Fasa pointed to Shear Illusions hair salon on the right. “Brittany is making her rounds, isn’t she?”
    “I guess.” I slowed to a crawl and looked in the window. Kim Banta, the owner of Shear Illusions, was cutting away on Bethany’s hair. It made me wonder if Brittany would cut her hair the same way once we resolved this mess.
    “It’s a shame about you and Derek.” Sharon tsked from the front seat.
    “What are you talking about?” I asked.
    It wasn’t the first time people in town have rooted for my friendship with Derek to become more than just a friendship. Like Trixie, everyone thought that since we grew up in the orphanage, we should get married and live happily ever after.
    Guess what? Screw happily ever after. It left a bad taste in my mouth thinking about it.
    “Trixie swears you have an undying love for Derek and I could see it when you two saved me.” Sharon’s words didn’t sit well in my gut. Or maybe I was just hungry.
    “Listen, Derek and I are just friends.” I gripped the wheel and took a sharp left on Main Street, gunning the gas toward the orphanage house. “He is happy with Brittany and I’m happy with . . .”
    “Honey, don’t say Jax.” Sharon shook her head. “Rita Brown told me about your little tiff in The Cracked Egg and something about him finding you facedown drunk at Lucky Strikes.” She leaned over and sniffed me. “Oh dear.” She put her hand to her head. “You aren’t still drunk are you? I should’ve asked before I got in the car with you.”
    “Too damn late.” I turned into the driveway and pulled up to the front of the house, putting it in PARK.  “You’ve been riding with me for forty minutes there and forty minutes back. And I’m going in here to get another swig before I go kick Rita Brown’s ass.”
    “You will do no such thing.” She flung the door open and moved faster than I had ever seen her. She bolted up the steps after me and rushed through the screen door.
    “Trixie!” I screamed down the hall as I darted toward the kitchen. “Where’s the bottle?”
    “Are you nuts?” Trixie sat at the kitchen table bench, Henrietta in her lap happily sleeping.
    “She is nuts, Trixie.” Sharon gasped for air. Her fingers grasped around opposite sides of the pie plate. “She is drunk.”
    “She is not.” Trixie’s smile met her eyes. They glistened in amusement. “I gave her the cure.” She referred to the mixture she’d given me this morning.
    “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” I slurred my words and looked up at the clock and realized I couldn’t play around anymore. It was after lunch and I hadn’t made it to my first stop.
    “See!” Sharon stuck the pie on the counter and pointed. “She’s drunk!”
    “Nah.” I flung a loose wrist in the air.
    Trixie laughed and put Henrietta on the floor before she got up. She opened the cabinet door and took out a couple of plates and a knife from the drawer. “Did you see my prize?”
    “I did.” I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ve got to go.”
    “Where are you going?” she asked.
    “I’ve got some business to take care of.” I waved her off, trying to knock her off my trail. She seemed awfully curious about my whereabouts and it wasn’t normal for her to do. “You two enjoy your prize pie and watch some SyFy.” I grabbed her tinfoil hat off the counter and stuck it on top of her head.