Your Goose Is Cooked (A LaTisha Barnhart Mystery) Read Online Free PDF

“Take that tea to Dr. Cryer while I work on these orders.” He nodded and filled one glass with OJ and the other with milk, I locked in on the cocky grin splitting his face.
    “Chief Conrad,” his voice boomed, and that in itself let me know I was hot on his trail because Hardy’s not a loud sort . . . unless he’s up to no good.
    I lasered down the length of him, radar on, and detected that I-know-something-you-don’t glint.
    He got real close to the chief. “Seems our longtime buddies have had a falling out. I was asking Carl Baereum about the mayoral race, expecting him to take up for his good buddy Mayor Taser . Instead he got hot. Said he was done with the likes of Eugene Taser , that Maple Gap would be better off if Mayor Taser was a cold body in a wood coffin.”

 
     

 
    Chapter Five
    Hardy’s news made me perk up a mite too much. I felt Chief Conrad’s eyes hard on me.
    “Something wrong, LaTisha ?”
    I immediately pulled some napkins from the dispenser and fanned myself. “Powerful hot in here.” Was, too, probably more because my conscience was heating up. “ You wanting to know about hot flashes? They come on a body real fast-like and squeeze all the moisture out.”
    Chief’s head swiveled to Hardy, looking a little lost at the swing in topic.
    Hardy had that look on his face that questioned my sanity. “Only hot flash you’ve ever had was that time you testified in church about burning your ni —”
    “You hush.”
    Hardy raised his eyebrows at Chief Conrad, who did his best to cover a smile.
    And this is the downside of small-town living. Everyone in Maple Gap had heard that testimony and remembered how I stuttered to cover my slip of the tongue. “I meant baby bottle nipples and you know it!”
    Hardy slapped his leg and bent double. I felt the heat climbing up my neck, setting my face on fire all over again.
    “Thought Pastor Haudaire was going to have a stroke,” Hardy grunted out the words.
    Chief hid behind his cup of coffee; it looked more like he was trying to bury his face in the mug.
    “What’s going on over there?” someone yelled from the dining room. Sounded like Dr. Cryer’s voice.
    “Nothing to worry your head about,” I hollered back. Every eye in the place was on us now.
    Hardy straightened long enough to catch a breath and wheeze out, “Remember LaTisha’s testimony at church?” He bent back double and kept right on guffawing like a hyena.
    “Oh!” I heard Dr. Cryer let out his own cackle. Before I knew it, there was a chorus of laughter behind me. I wasn’t about to turn around. I decided, instead, to squelch the fire of Hardy’s fun and hope all the little fires would drop to a smolder.
    “You have an appointment with Dr. Cryer in thirty minutes.”
    He kept right on laughing.
    “He’s gonna be pulling that last tooth out.”
    His laughs faded to a strange cackling giggle.
    “He told me his assistant would be out and for me to wear rubber gloves and bring my best pliers so I’d have me a good grip.”
    Hardy choked out one last laugh, then went ramrod straight. His cocoa eyes rolled to me. “You told him to put me out, didn’t you?”
    I raised my brows. “If you don’t stop laughing at me, he won’t need to put you out, I’ll do it myself. For free. Then I’ll yank that tooth.”
    I could see the bulge of Hardy’s tongue as it ran over his gold front tooth. “Can I use this tooth in the dentures?”
    Don’t ask me what he loved so much about that gold tooth. “How am I supposed to know? The whole set should be dipped in gold. Cost enough. Now get those drinks delivered and get to cooking before I put you in the deep fryer.”
    Hardy held up his hand to admire his dark chocolate skin tone. “I’m already grilled well done.”
    Chief Conrad let out another laugh at that, while Hardy whisked up the tray of drinks. Chief finally stopped kissing his mug, though I saw the smirk tug hard on his lips. “So, LaTisha , what was this about a