Sweet Ginger Poison Read Online Free PDF

her I had
important information regarding the Navy Newcomb case.”
    He cleared his throat, and tried to sound
authoritative. “It’s not really a case . It was probably just an
accident.”
    “I don’t know, Chief. When Reverend Bideman and I
dropped by to tell Kayla Hanker about Navy, she was acting strangely.”
    “Well, I imagine so—after you told her that her
boyfriend was dead.”
    “But that’s just it. She didn’t seem very upset about
it. She told us she’d just gotten out of bed, yet she was wearing tennis shoes.
And her car engine was still warm. She’d apparently just come home from
somewhere.”
    “Maybe she made a quick trip to a convenience store
for a pack of cigarettes.”
    “And she was embarrassed for us to find out that she
smokes? I don’t think she’s the type of person that cares what people think
about her.”
    “Who knows? It could be anything. And I certainly
don’t see how any of this is relevant to Navy’s death.”
    “But—”
    “—I appreciate you trying to help, but this is my job.
So, please—just let me do it.”
    “I didn’t mean to imply…I’m sorry. But please let me
know what you find out. Navy was delivering cakes for me when he died. I want
to know what happened to him.”
    “I’ll let you know. And thanks again, Mrs. Lightley.
Goodbye.”
    That was all he needed—some amateur crime dog sniffing
around for clues. He was the chief of police. He was in charge.
    Sure—every other man on the Coreyville police force
had more years of experience than he did. But his Masters in Criminal Justice
had given him the advantage. Nobody else had a masters. It didn’t matter that
he had graduated near the bottom of his class.
    The chief leaned back in his plush leather chair and
admired his wall of educational accomplishments. The massive walnut frames made
even his Coreyville High School diploma look like something from Harvard.
    The phone rang.
    It better not be Mrs. Lightley calling back with
another ‘clue.’
    “Chief Foenapper.”
    “Daniel, come up to my office.” The mayor hung up.
    What was he upset about today? The mayor had
called Daniel to his office every day this week.
    The first floor of the courthouse was occupied by the
Justice of the Peace Courtroom, the water department, and various other
offices. The police department was located on the second floor. The mayor’s
office and other city administrator offices were on the third floor. The entire
fourth floor was the city jail.
    Daniel pushed the elevator button, and immediately
became impatient. He took the stairs, two at a time, up to the third floor and
walked quickly to the mayor’s office. He knocked timidly.
    “Come in, Daniel.” said the mayor.
    Daniel walked in and shut the door behind him.
    “What’s going on, Daniel? I understand you may have a
murder on your hands.”
    “ Murder? No, I don’t think so. And how did you
find out? It just happened a couple of hours ago.”
    “Murder is big news in a small town, Chief .”
    “But I don’t believe it was murder. I think he just
tripped and fell.”
    “Well, whatever it is, I want this thing put to bed in
a hurry. That’s the way we do it here in Coreyville now, right? Now that we’re in charge.”
    “Right, Kip.”
    The mayor jumped to his feet, and was instantly in
Daniel’s face. “Don’t you EVER call me that again. My name is Houston Kassle.
There is no Kipford, Kip, or Kippy anymore. You know that.”
    Yes. And Daniel also knew that his old buddy would
like him to quit being two inches taller than Kip. But at five-foot-seven,
almost every man in town was taller than the mayor. That really irked him. He
didn’t seem to mind tall women . Probably because he felt most of them
would love to go out with him.
    The two twenty-seven year olds had been best friends
since elementary school. Even back then, Kip was shorter than everybody else in
his class. It was actually the thing that brought the two boys together.
    One day during