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

new face in town?” He took a hard slurp of coffee.
    I was feeling mighty ornery, I can tell you that. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.” I crossed my arms and gave him a mulish stare.
    “We have someone new in town?” Dr. Cryer asked as he approached the counter, tea glass in hand. “You get the chance, recommend me as the town dentist, won’t you, LaTisha ?” The man didn’t miss one beat as he slid onto the stool next to the Chief. He raised his voice for Hardy’s benefit as that one disappeared into the kitchen. “I’ve got a nice new set of teeth for you, Hardy. As soon as we get that last tooth out we’ll try them on.”
    “Can’t wait,” came Hardy’s mumbled reply.
    Dr. Cryer leaned forward and slapped a fiver onto the counter. “That’s for Hardy. He makes a great waiter.”
    Hardy rang the bell to let me know Chief’s sandwich was ready. The Maple Gap looked mighty good. The pepper relish dripped off one corner, a pretty red against the turkey and ham piled high.
    “You’ll be breathing fire with all that,” I cautioned as I slid the plate in front of Chief Conrad.
    His eyes were already glued to the platter. “I love hot food. Regina’s always mixing up salsa, trying to get just the right amount of heat.”
    “How’s she doing? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Regina Rogane -Conrad, newly married, or at least the most newly married woman we had in Maple Gap, ran Wig-Out, the hair salon. “She heard any good gossip?”
    “Things have quieted some since Eugene announced his plans on the landfill. Shame. That’s good ground out there.”
    It truly was good ground and right beside the school, making me wish they could hang on to the property, but money was tight.
    Chief munched the huge bite he’d taken. “Besides, I don’t put much into all those ladies chatting around, Regina’ll tell you that.”
    I had to snicker. “Do you good to be listening. No one knows people like women know people.”
    “Meaning men aren’t as tuned in?”
    “You’re tracking with me. Gossip might be wrong, but there is usually some level of truth mixed in, or mixed up, depending on how you look at it. If you can figure out the personality of the person spilling the gossip, then you’ll know how much is truth and how much is made up.”
    Chief picked up his sandwich for another bit. “I’m listening.”
    “If you’ve got someone who has low self-esteem, like my Lela had for a while there in her teen years, then you can guarantee whatever gossip they drop is going to be riddled with a little spice because they want people to think they know more than they truly do.”
    “To make themselves feel important.”
    “Regina, now, she’s a lot like my Shayna , got herself a good head. Not low in the self-esteem department. Shayna says things straight out. Never had time for anyone who didn’t tell the truth. Regina’s like that, and having listened to women’s lips all these years, she’ll be your inside track to what is more truth and what’s fairytale.”
    Chief cocked his head sideways. “You not only majored in police science, but you’re getting your degree in basic humanity.”
    “Honey, I’ve got my doctorate in that. If anything’s taught me to tune in to people, it’s those seven babies of Hardy’s and mine.”
    Chief took a swig of coffee, dabbed his mouth, and narrowed his eyes. “So this little speech, LaTisha . Is there something you’ve caught wind of that you’re trying to figure out? Or is this type of information just free to the poor, uninformed male masses?”
    “Free information.”
    When he took a bite of his sandwich, I decided to make my escape to the kitchen before he dug too deep and I buried myself. On my return trip from the dining room to deliver some plates, Chief snagged me into another conversation.
    “You know, LaTisha , with all those new people in town, it’s not so strange that William saw someone he didn’t recognize. Right?”
    Chief