JUSTICE Is SERVED (Food Truck 7) Read Online Free PDF Page A

arrived home Sunday morning, and I stayed in bed for most of the day. Being out until all hours of the night made me sleepy on Sunday morning along with the realization that I’d be getting up at 4am on Monday made me long for sleep above all else. So I turned off my phone and curled up in my new sheets, thinking of nothing more dangerous than what to have for dinner.
    Monday arrived long before I wanted it. I rolled out of bed and managed to have the truck at our typical spot on Elm Street by 5am. Elm Street ran along side of Government Square in downtown Capital City between Fourth and Fifth. The north and southbound streets were numbered, and the east and westbound streets were named after flora and fauna. It made the downtown fairly easy to navigate. So did the lack of traffic at 5am on a Monday morning.
    Carter rolled in at nearly 6 o’clock, complaining about the time and the lack of available hours in a weekend. I noticed that he had a cup of the local coffee shop’s coffee in hand, which meant that Aaron had driven him to work. His other option was the bus, which I was certain didn’t make stops so that Carter could grab a cup of coffee.
    Carter had started working for the food truck when Land had taken over Basque in the Sun, the second food truck. I needed another person to prepare the condiments and hot dogs while I manned the cash register and the coffee.
    He’d needed a job just out of chef school, but he’d also had to move home to help his chronically ill mother. She’d been in better health for a while, but recently Carter had shared that her health had taken a turn for the worse. I knew that every available cent went to her care and skyrocketing medical bills, which is why I’d given him a used PC at one point. My thoughtfulness stopped short of buying him a car as well, but Aaron drove him to work several days a week.
    “So I heard that you went and had a murder without me?” he said after taking a sip of coffee. “That’s not very nice of you.”
    I shrugged. “I had no idea that anything was going to happen. Since when do dead bodies come to mind when you think about a wedding?”
    “Yours will definitely have a murder or seven,” Carter quipped. “So tell me everything.” He continued to cut up the cabbage for the cole slaw as he waited for me to start. Slaw dogs were a perennial favorite at the food truck, and Carter usually started the week with them. The rest of the condiments were rotated, and Carter tried to add in a new set of condiments once a month for variety.
    I finished getting the coffee ready and told him the story of the mustard tablecloth and the dead body in the bathroom. It didn’t take long, but I told him everything I knew. He didn’t ask any questions during the entire process.
    I had barely opened the window for business when I spied Detective Jax Danvers in line. Great, I thought, this is just what I needed. He had undoubtedly come to make my life a bit more miserable.
    Fortunately, he waited his turn in line, so I could practice a few zingers should the occasion arise. He ordered a coffee to go. He got out his wallet to pay, but I waved it away, hoping he’d take the hint. I thought it would be hard to be mean to me if I’d just comped his coffee.
    Normally, he stops by around 1:30pm, when business is light so that he can impart whatever clues he wants to drop on us or any warnings he may have without interrupting our sales.
    Today though, his comments apparently couldn’t wait until a lull in the business traffic.
    “What?” I asked when I saw that he had no intentions of walking away. I knew the man behind him, and I began to fill his order while waiting for Detective Danvers to express himself. I felt my nerves start to jangle, waiting for him to say something.
    Carter sensed my mood and came up front to help out. Typically, no one ordered hot dogs until after 9am, so he had three hours to get the condiments and prep work done. He took over the register,