Diners, Drive-Ins, and Death: A Comfort Food Mystery Read Online Free PDF

here.”
    “Maybe it slipped behind something. Maybe it slipped under the fridge or an end table. Come on. Dry your eyes, and let’s look around.”
    The red bandanna appeared in a flash, and ACB dried her eyes and blew her nose. In another flash of red, the bandanna disappeared again.
    “Let’s rock and roll, Trixie.”
    Finally, ACB was back from the land of the lovelorn and ready for action. “Let’s search the kitchen first,” I suggested. “That’s where I’d leave a note.”
    For a man who always looked unshaven and grubby whenever I’d seen him, Nick was an immaculate housekeeper. Not a fork was out of place. Not a fragment of uncooked spaghetti was on the floor. Not a piece of eggshell was left on the stove. His stainless-steel fridge didn’t have one magnet on it or one fingerprint.
    And there wasn’t a note to be found anywhere.
    “Trixie, let’s try the living room.”
    The living room was sloppier. There was a Harley blanket draped over the couch, which was a little crooked. Oh, and the lines of his vacuum cleaner were not all going in the same direction. What a slob!
    No note. No tablet. No laptop. No cell phone. There was nothing electronic that we could check for a clue. A Harley calendar had nothing written on it except an entry for two days ago that said
Doc Stanley. Noon.
    “Who’s Doc Stanley?” I asked.
    “Dentist. He’s on Seventh North Street in that ugly building that our not so beloved Mayor Tingsley owns.”
    “How about calling Doc Stanley? Find out if Nick went to his appointment.”
    “I’m way ahead of you.” ACB was already punching in numbers on her cell phone. I heard her ask if Nick Brown or Nick Brownelli had seen Dr. Stanley on Tuesday.
    It didn’t take long before she shook her head and mouthed the word
no
. She clicked off her phone and it disappeared into her muumuu. No wonder she never carried a purse.
    I shrugged. “It was worth a try.”
    “Nick would never miss a dental appointment. He took great pride in the fact that all his teeth were his—no bridges, no caps, no root canals. He’s had just a handful of cavities.”
    ACB walked over to the couch and slid off the Harley blanket. She put it around her and flopped down on a brown recliner next to the couch. This must have been her spot when they were watching TV. She started drifting off into her memories again, and I quickly realized I was losing her.
    “And my Nick had a great smile. It was like Sal’s, but when Nick smiled, little dimples appeared. I loved to watch for those dimples. Andhis teeth were such a brilliant white. You know, Trixie, they reminded me of Ty Brisco’s teeth.”
    That was more than enough dental discussion, but it did remind me that I was long overdue at the dentist myself.
    Time to corral ACB and get her to focus. I needed to get back and get some sleep before my shift, or I’d fall asleep in the dough for the dinner rolls that I planned on making.
    “Let’s search Nick’s garage,” I blurted, startling Antoinette Chloe out of her daydreams.
    She blinked then turned to me. “Excellent. Let’s go.”
    After she locked the front door, we went to his two-car garage. As clean as Nick’s house was, his garage was even cleaner.
    Tools hung on Peg-Board in order of smallest to largest. Little plastic boxes with drawers were labeled: #4 N AILS , HEX BOLTS , WASHE RS, FLATHEAD SCREWS , and on it went, cabinet after cabinet. Then the big red metal cabinets began and stood guard all around the circumference of the garage.
    “Antoinette Chloe. Is that Nick’s car?” It was a white Sebring convertible with a black rag top.
    “Yes. And that’s his motorcycle.” She ran her hand lovingly over the black leather seat, then the sidecar.
    “Does he have any other vehicles?”
    “No.” Her eyes grew as wide as my platters at the diner. She knew where I was going with my question.
    “So, if Nick left town, it had to be by some other way. Like what?”
    “Bus,” she said. “But