Free The Puzzle Lady vs. the Sudoku Lady by Parnell Hall Page A

you wanted me to leave you alone.”
    â€œYou are impertinent.”

    Dennis grinned. “Yes, I am. Feels great, by the way. But that’s what winning is all about.”
    â€œI don’t believe you. There is no such man.”
    â€œThat’s a good attitude to take. It saves face and keeps you from having to do anything. Of course, you feel stupid when the facts come out.”
    â€œWhat facts?”
    â€œSend your niece back.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI can talk to her. I can’t talk to you.”
    â€œYou cannot talk to her.”
    â€œAs you like.” Dennis turned back to the bar and picked up his drink.
    Minami glared at him for a moment, then went back to her table.
    Michiko, without waiting for her, was cutting into the prime rib.
    â€œStay away from that man.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œHe is not a nice man.”
    â€œWhy, because he likes me?”
    â€œHe does not like you. He wants to use you.”
    â€œUse me how, Auntie?”
    â€œTo get to me.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œYou know what I mean. We have to be careful. We are not in our homeland.”
    Michiko made a face. “Please. When you say things like that, you make it sound like we are in a spy novel.”
    â€œWe are in a foreign country. We are not speaking in our native
tongue. It is not so easy to be clever with words. It is possible to make a slip.”
    â€œAnd wouldn’t that be awful . If we were to be embarrassed . To lose face .”
    â€œYou are rude.”
    â€œOh, pooh.” Michiko sawed at her meat. “You just do not want me to have any fun.”
    â€œThat is not true.”
    â€œIt is so.”
    â€œDo you think it is fun to drink with men in bars?”
    â€œI did not say that.”
    â€œWhat fun are you not having?”
    â€œI am not having any . I am just following you around. It is boring.”
    â€œYou knew it would not be Disney World.”
    â€œOh, pooh.” Michiko made a face. “And then you have to pretend to solve a crime.”
    â€œI do not pretend.”
    Michiko pushed a carrot around on her plate. “What do we do tomorrow?”
    â€œI have an interview with a newspaper.”
    â€œOh.” The girl rolled her eyes. “Whoopdedo.”
    From the door to the bar, Dennis Pride watched the two women with interest.
    Now how could he make something out of that?

Chapter 19
    Aaron Grant ran his column though spell-check and hit SEND. He resented doing that. He liked the idea of dropping it on the editor’s desk. He kept hoping the e-mail would screw up and make the editor prefer a hard copy. But it never did.
    Aaron went out, walked down the street to his car.
    Cora was leaning on the hood.
    Aaron smiled. “Hi, Cora. What are you doing here? Checking up on your competition?”
    â€œHuh?”
    He jerked his thumb. “The Sudoku Lady. She’s in there giving an interview.”
    â€œYou’re kidding.”
    â€œFreddie’s interviewing her about her sudoku books.”
    â€œShe’s up there right now?”

    â€œYeah. With her niece and some guy. I think he’s her agent.”
    â€œZombie in a suit?”
    â€œThat’s him.”
    â€œWell, isn’t that interesting?”
    â€œYou didn’t know about it?”
    â€œNo.”
    Aaron frowned. “So what are you doing here?”
    â€œOh. I want to talk to you without Sherry.”
    â€œThat sounds ominous.”
    â€œNot at all. You know I’m trying to move out so I won’t be underfoot.”
    â€œYou don’t have to do that.”
    â€œThat’s what Sherry says. She’s just trying to be polite. Now you’re trying to be polite. Everyone’s trying to be polite, and nothing gets said. You kids are young. You wanna start a family.”
    â€œWho says we want to start a family?”
    â€œOf course you want to start a family. Everyone wants to start a