Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

bag with it.” He braced his fists together and sagged against the side of Stan’s pickup. “After our last girl left for college, the missus started talking about storing our dishes in the garage and using the kitchen cabinets for fabric storage and the counter for her cutting space. It got so bad, I began to fear that I would have to keep my Cheerios in the refrigerator. In self-defense, I had that big room added on to the back of the house. Her sewing room is bigger than the garage.”

    Theo’s grin showed no sign of guilt. “I’m just doing my part to keep the economy moving.”

    Tony joined them, but he didn’t have a reason to smile. With his jaws clenched, he could feel the scowl that creased his face. It wouldn’t be long before he developed a pounding headache. Headaches and indigestion were not his favorite part of the job, he thought as he searched his pockets for antacid tablets. He found some in his shirt pocket but left them for later.
    The pressure in his skull increased with Wade’s news about the license plate. It had been stolen. And not just stolen, for pity’s sake. It belonged on Queen Doreen’s beige Volvo. Tony could hardly wait to ask the mayor’s wife why she had not reported the theft.
     
    He and Wade photographed and made notes of everything they could think of about the outside of the car. There wasn’t much to see except a couple of tire tracks and footprints that remained in the damp lot. The footprints most likely belonged to Tony.

    When the last of the clouds dissipated, the sun quickly dried things. Not even a drop of water remained on the car windows. Maybe it had something to do with the difference in air temperature, but he could swear there had been more heat around the car when it was first discovered than now with the sun shining on it.
     
    The sunlight also illuminated Theo’s wild blond curls. He grinned. He didn’t tell her that it made her head look like dandelion fuzz—at least he didn’t this time. The last time he’d said that, his dinner had been pasta from a can for three nights in a row. Who knew she’d be so sensitive about her tangled halo?

    This morning, though, she smiled at whatever Doc and Stan were discussing. To his eyes, she still looked more like the little girl he’d first met in Sunday school than the mother of two, business owner, author and quilt pattern designer that the rest of the world knew. Seeing her smile eased some of his tension and he moved to stand close to her, inhaling the clean scent of her shampoo. He addressed the men.

    “Okay Stan, if you are still ready, let’s do this. Wade has finished fingerprinting the door handles. Let’s get those snakes out of there. Then we can deal with the body.”

    Stan looked less eager now. “I hope they’ve had plenty of fresh air.”

    Tony sighed deeply, removed an antacid from his meager stash and popped it into his mouth and looked at the doctor. “I don’t think you’ll have to wait much longer, Doc, but I sure don’t envy you this one.” At the his lifted eyebrow, Tony just shook his head. “Come on along and you’ll see.”

    Sunlight reflected from Theo’s glasses as she turned to face him. Instead of speaking, he fluffed his wife’s hair, winked at her and accompanied Stan to the car. She followed, standing with the doctor, well out of the way.
     
    Tony watched as Stan slipped his hands into his gauntlets. All business now, Stan handed a pair of long tongs to Wade and lifted a large hook on a short handle. A cotton bag appeared in his hand like magic. To Tony, it looked a lot like the laundry bag that he had taken to college. The drawstring on it hadn’t lasted very long. He could only hope that this one was better quality.

    The three of them stood near the car and adjusted their gloves. Armed with their weapons of a laundry bag, a vaudeville hook and barbecue tongs, Tony guessed they resembled the Three Stooges more than they did anything else. Behind them, Doc