Bosom Bodies (Mina's Adventures) Read Online Free PDF Page A

booths along the wall. The fake candle on the table cast strange shadows on the men’s faces. They both looked at her. She felt exposed and vulnerable. She also felt guilty and had no idea why.
    DeFiore motioned her over. Mina reacted as if thousands of disapproving eyes watched, while well aware less than a dozen people were in the room.
    She walked by a table and recognized the woman she served drinks to the night before. Was the woman cop talking to Angelina DeFiore 's partner? Aside from the t wo cops , Diego and Angelina, who appeared to be crying, Mina didn’t see any familiar faces among the rest of the women wearing the Bosom Bodies uniforms. They looked out of place in this dark, silent restaurant.
    “Sit down.” DeFiore wore a charcoal suit and a light grey silk tie with tiny, brownish reindeer on it. Nice seasonal touch . Mina remembered his fondness for imported ties. He looked her over, taking his time. His Asian eyes made it difficult to guess his frame of mind. “S o, who are we today? Mina Calvi?" H is glance slid to Mina’s shoes . "O r Ginger? "
    She caught his appraisal, and her stress let up.
    Mina scooted into the booth beside DeFiore , across from Diego. “It depends. Who are you today? The detective investigating a death or a hungry customer looking for a fulfilling meal?” She mentally patted herself on the back for thinking of the word “ fulfilling. ”
    His grim smile gave her the answer. He was there because of Barbara’s death, but why was Diego sitting with him? Was he going to listen in?
    Her stress rose again. “What happened?”
    “Don’t start. I ask the questions. How about you explain the Ginger charade? I know it is not because you need the job, so what gives?”
    Mina looked at DeFiore and then at Diego.
    “He is staying,” DeFiore said.
    Maledizione. “Why? Because he is the only male employee?”
    “No, because I like his fulfilling cooking.”
    Double damn.
    Diego never uttered a word, and yet his presence disturbed Mina in a physical way that annoyed her to no end. She hoped DeFiore didn’t pick up on it.
    She went over the whole scenario, Ginger’s wedding in Vegas, Mina substituting for her so she wouldn’t lose the job.
    “What’s the connection between this Ginger and Barbara Spencer?”
    “I dunno. I met them at the gym. Ginger taught yoga, and Barbara showed up for the same classes I did.”
    “Does Ginger have a last name?”
    “Miller. Her last name is, was Miller. She is married now. She is driving back today, maybe she is already home. You think Ginger knows about Barbara? When did she die?”
    “We don’t know yet.”
    “What do you mean you don’t know? Is this some kind of a joke?”
    “Her body was discovered this morning by two boys combing the beach with metal detectors. There was no I.D. on the body, but we located a car not far away. Going b y the sand and the marine layer residue, it hadn’t been moved since yesterday. Her wallet with her driver’s license and other personal items were found inside. We think she was jogging south of Corona Del Mar when a car hit her. The impact sent her body rolling down the steep hill. She landed on the beach below.”
    “Yeah, she likes to jog,” Mina said to herself. She couldn’t think of anything else. This was senseless. She tried hard to concentrate on Barbara, a woman she hardly knew. Did she have kids? Pets? A lover? Mina had no idea where Barbara lived. The gym was in Mission Viejo, Bosom Bodies in Balboa. Miles apart.
    “We're gathering information, trying to establish a time line. Apparently Sunday was her day off, and no one here has seen her since Saturday. How about you?”
    “No.”
    “No, what?”
    “I didn’t see her Sunday, or Saturday. She was gone by the time I got here.”
    “Whose idea was it for you to dress as Ginger?”
    “Both, Barbara and Ginger. I thought it would be fun. I’ve just moved. Anything to keep me from unpacking.”
    Diego hadn't budged or spoken.