diner served burgers and sandwiches named after 1950's actors, musicians and such. I settled on Bleu Suede Shoes - a charbroiled burger smothered with bleu cheese and served on a grilled Kaiser bun. Thick cut fries topped it all off. I would have to walk ten miles to burn off the calories, but it was well worth it.
"Care if I join you?" Clint stood next to my booth with his hat in his hands.
"Sure." I looked up at him and felt my cheeks flush a little. "I just ordered, but you can probably catch Steph before she gives the order to the kitchen."
Stephanie walked over to the booth to set down my root beer. "Hi there, Clint. What can I get for you?"
"I think I'll get the Chubby Checker. Can you put an extra slice of pepper jack cheese on it for me and hold the onions? And a glass of tea, please." Clint set his hat on the seat next to him and leaned back. "What a day! The whole town is going nuts with Huey Long's murder. I've had about a hundred calls from people saying they saw someone in their backyard and can we come check it out. Everyone's on edge and people are scared. I haven't had a bite to eat all day."
"It’s a small town. People are nervous that someone they go to church with might be a killer. Any word on how Carla died? I read about her odd death in the newspaper." I sipped my root beer through my straw. I looked up at him and fluttered my eyelashes at him. I hoped I looked like a young ingénue from a 1950's classic film.
"Do you have something caught in your eye?" Clint asked ruining my attempt at channeling Marilyn Monroe. "No. It'll take at least a few days to get the toxicology reports back from Carla's autopsy. Chris is a mess. He and Carla had been going through some tough times with their marriage, but just the week before had started marriage counseling. They were even talking about starting a family. Now, Carla is dead and no one knows how or why. Poor guy."
"It's sad. I'll be honest with you. Carla has never been very nice to me, but I certainly didn’t want her dead. I feel just awful about Huey, too. He was always grabbing at me and making lewd comments, but I think he was just a lonely little man who didn't realize that he came across as creepy rather than suave." I shook my head sadly. Stephanie came with our plates of food. We both were silent while we savored our burgers.
"I'm so hungry right now that I could eat ten of these," Clint said after taking another bite of his burger. "Can we talk about something else besides death, please? I think I've just about had my fill after the past few days."
"Well, I can tell you all about how I thought I had silverfish in my genealogy collection." I grinned across the table at him. "In the library world, that's big time crime."
"How did you manage to solve the case?" Clint played along.
"It turns out that it was just a piece of thread from a bookmark that Mrs. Grimes saw. Her eyesight is getting as bad as her hearing. Poor thing." I took a bite of my fries. I grabbed the salt shaker and shook some onto my plate.
"You are a true crime stopper," Clint chuckled. "Mrs. Grimes was one of my calls from today. I had to go through every room in her house looking for a possible burglar. It turns out that the noise she heard outside was just a stray cat going through her garbage."
We ate in companionable silence after that. When I had finished off the last French fry, I sat back in my seat to find Clint watching me. "What?" I asked uncomfortably. "Do I have something on my face?" I wiped my mouth with my napkin.
"No. I was just sitting here thinking how nice it is to spend time with you. I'm comfortable with you. Most girls feel the need to chatter about nothing because they have to fill the silence. You don't ever do that. I like it. You did miss a spot of bleu cheese on your cheek though." He reached across the table and wiped the corner of my mouth with his napkin.
"Care if I join you?" Clint stood next to my booth with his hat in his hands.
"Sure." I looked up at him and felt my cheeks flush a little. "I just ordered, but you can probably catch Steph before she gives the order to the kitchen."
Stephanie walked over to the booth to set down my root beer. "Hi there, Clint. What can I get for you?"
"I think I'll get the Chubby Checker. Can you put an extra slice of pepper jack cheese on it for me and hold the onions? And a glass of tea, please." Clint set his hat on the seat next to him and leaned back. "What a day! The whole town is going nuts with Huey Long's murder. I've had about a hundred calls from people saying they saw someone in their backyard and can we come check it out. Everyone's on edge and people are scared. I haven't had a bite to eat all day."
"It’s a small town. People are nervous that someone they go to church with might be a killer. Any word on how Carla died? I read about her odd death in the newspaper." I sipped my root beer through my straw. I looked up at him and fluttered my eyelashes at him. I hoped I looked like a young ingénue from a 1950's classic film.
"Do you have something caught in your eye?" Clint asked ruining my attempt at channeling Marilyn Monroe. "No. It'll take at least a few days to get the toxicology reports back from Carla's autopsy. Chris is a mess. He and Carla had been going through some tough times with their marriage, but just the week before had started marriage counseling. They were even talking about starting a family. Now, Carla is dead and no one knows how or why. Poor guy."
"It's sad. I'll be honest with you. Carla has never been very nice to me, but I certainly didn’t want her dead. I feel just awful about Huey, too. He was always grabbing at me and making lewd comments, but I think he was just a lonely little man who didn't realize that he came across as creepy rather than suave." I shook my head sadly. Stephanie came with our plates of food. We both were silent while we savored our burgers.
"I'm so hungry right now that I could eat ten of these," Clint said after taking another bite of his burger. "Can we talk about something else besides death, please? I think I've just about had my fill after the past few days."
"Well, I can tell you all about how I thought I had silverfish in my genealogy collection." I grinned across the table at him. "In the library world, that's big time crime."
"How did you manage to solve the case?" Clint played along.
"It turns out that it was just a piece of thread from a bookmark that Mrs. Grimes saw. Her eyesight is getting as bad as her hearing. Poor thing." I took a bite of my fries. I grabbed the salt shaker and shook some onto my plate.
"You are a true crime stopper," Clint chuckled. "Mrs. Grimes was one of my calls from today. I had to go through every room in her house looking for a possible burglar. It turns out that the noise she heard outside was just a stray cat going through her garbage."
We ate in companionable silence after that. When I had finished off the last French fry, I sat back in my seat to find Clint watching me. "What?" I asked uncomfortably. "Do I have something on my face?" I wiped my mouth with my napkin.
"No. I was just sitting here thinking how nice it is to spend time with you. I'm comfortable with you. Most girls feel the need to chatter about nothing because they have to fill the silence. You don't ever do that. I like it. You did miss a spot of bleu cheese on your cheek though." He reached across the table and wiped the corner of my mouth with his napkin.
Similar Books
