Death and Relaxation Read Online Free PDF

again and that seemed to be the signal he’d been waiting for. He bolted back to his toy box.
    “It’s not against the law to be naked on your own property,” I said. “As long as your neighbors don’t complain you’re in the clear. So where were you last night?”
    “Around six? Jump Off’s. Had dinner. Burger: double cheese, double onion, and a couple beers.”
    “No fries?”
    He shrugged.
    “Do you have something against fries?”
    “Does this crime involve fries?” He was still smiling. I was trying not to.
    “Answer the question, Mr. Bailey.”
    “I wouldn’t accuse them of murder, but it’s rather suspicious how many heart attacks they leave in their wake.” He raised one eyebrow.
    I nodded slightly. Well played.
    “Were you with a date?”
    “As in fruit?”
    “As in person.”
    Spud was back. Dropped a stuffed fish this time. I petted his head, and he was off.
    “Steve—a guy who wants me to convert a space in Tillamook—sat with me for a bit.”
    “How long did Steve stay?”
    “He left around eight, I think.”
    “And how long did you stay?”
    “One o’clock or so.”
    “Pretty late on a Sunday night.”
    “I didn’t have anywhere to be in the morning. What’s this about, Laney? What happened?”
    Spud arrived at a trot and dropped a cow at my feet. I knew the routine. I scratched behind his ears and Spud dashed off again.
    “Did you see Dan Perkin there?”
    He frowned and settled back a bit, his body relaxing into the couch, one arm out across the back of it, the other with his hand loose at the side of his leg. People who wore guns tended to do that: keep their hands clear so they could get to weapons in short order. Maybe the city boy did it to keep his cell phone hand free.
    “I saw him. He came in right after me. Yelled at Chris for a while.”
    “Did you hear what they were talking about?”
    “The same thing everyone is talking about—the Rhubarb Rally. You are starting to freak me out, Delaney. What happened?”
    “Let me finish and I’ll tell you.”
    “Is everyone okay?” Gone was the easy smile and easy body language, though he hadn’t moved. He was taut, alert, coiled to spring into action and fix whatever was wrong. I didn’t know how he did it. He hadn’t moved, and yet in the span of a breath he’d gone from easygoing to dangerous.
    It was sexy as hell.
    “Everyone’s okay,” I assured him. “No one’s hurt. Can you tell me anything specific you heard Dan and Chris say?”
    He ran one hand over his tousled hair and tipped his head to one side, finally bending his elbow and resting his head on his fingertips. “I wasn’t really paying attention. I tend to tune Dan out. He was angry. Demanded to see Chris. Chris didn’t seem upset—you know how he is.”
    I nodded.
    “He offered Dan a free beer. That made Dan angrier. I think Dan told Chris he was a liar, a cheater, and was trying to put him out of the running in the drink category by bribing judges.” He shook his head. “Why did they add so many new categories to the rhubarb contests?”
    “To spark more community involvement. Which appears to have been wildly successful,” I said dryly.
    “I hate rhubarb,” he muttered.
    “So do I. But it draws people together to argue over family recipes and triples the business in town. That’s the foundation of a civilized world. Was that all you heard?”
    “There was some sort of dramatic accusation at the end of it all. Dan yelling that as God is his witness he would do whatever it took to keep Chris from winning the prize.”
    “And how did Chris handle that?”
    “He smiled and told him something like ‘good luck with that.’ No—he told him, ‘Bring it on.’”
    “Anything else?”
    “Like what? It would help if I had an idea what you think I might have heard.”
    I didn’t answer yet. “One last thing: did you see a woman having drinks with Chris?”
    “Blonde, mid-twenties, French accent? Wore a silk western shirt mostly