Free Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights by Marja McGraw

my conversation with Mrs. Stanhope.
    “It was smart of you to butter her up and invite her to our gyp joint after it opens,” Chris said.
    “It won’t be a gyp joint.” I was irritable and I knew it. “Our restaurant will be classy, not a cheap diner.”
    “Sorry, I couldn’t think of another phrase to use . We’ll talk to Mikey about the bones and keep it toned down. When we investigate, we’ll keep him out of it. He’ll never even know we’re up to something.”
    “ In your dreams. Mikey is pretty savvy about a lot of things. But seriously, I’ve thought about that, Chris. I don’t want to put Mikey in any danger. Maybe we shouldn’t look into this, after all.”
    “This is a crime that probably took place over sixty years ago, Pamela . The killer is most likely deader than a doornail by now.”
    “ Au Contraire , there’s every possibility that the killer is still alive. I repeat, I don’t want to put Mikey in danger.”
    “Okay, if it even looks like we’re getting in too deep, we’ll cool our heels and back off. Deal?”
    I had some serious reservations about the investigation, but Chris did make sense – in a way. We certainly wouldn’t bring the investigation home with us, other than discussions. I nodded, reluctantly.
    “So what did Big D have to say?” I asked.
    “He had a great time with Sharon last night. But somehow I have a gut feeling that isn’t information you want to hear. You’re not too fond of Sharon, are you?”
    “ It’s not that I don’t like her, but that I’ve heard stories about her involving herself in situations she shouldn’t be connected to. Actually, I wanted to know what he said about completing the construction and getting the restaurant up and running.”
    “Oh, that . It shouldn’t take more than a couple of months, tops. We’ll have that place open before you know it. We need to think of a name for it though. I asked Big D to take care of your office as early as possible so you can get in there are start putting things together. We’re going to need new menus, an advertising plan, and… I still think if we can solve this murder it will actually help the business.”
    I was more than skeptical . “We’ll see. You sound like we’re going to run right out and solve it. We don’t even have any details yet. Not a one, other than there is a dead body that was buried in our cellar.”
    “Janet will fill us in,” Chris said, sounding confident.
    “I hope she has something to fill us in about. I doubt if she knows too much yet. I got the feeling that there wasn’t really anything there in the way of clues.”
    “Maybe they’ve identified him by now . What was the name in his wallet? Charles something – oh yeah, Charles Blakely. That would be a beginning. And you know that once they have a name they can start searching for family. I wonder if they have missing persons records going back that far.”
    “I think so, but what do I know?”
    “I guess we’ll find out, Sugar.”
    Mikey opened the back door and walked in, followed by two panting dogs . He must have given them quite a workout.
    “ Ace, have a seat here at the table,” Chris said, pulling out a chair for him.
    Mikey look puzzled . “Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?”
    “Now why would you think that? Have you done something lately that we don’t know about?”
    “No, sir . My life is an open book.”
    I started to laugh . I couldn’t help myself. “You’re so funny sometimes, Mikey. How do you come up with these things?”
    He looked very pleased with himself . “I don’t know. I just do.”
    Chris cleared his throat . “No, you’re not in trouble. But you could be if – ”
    “What did I do?” Mikey held his hands out, palms up.
    “Here’s the thing,” Chris said. “You’ve been telling the kids at school about a dead body in our cellar.”
    “But there was one, wasn’t there?”
    “Yes, there was,” I said, “the key word being was . The police are