Ghost On Duty (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by J. D. Winters Page B
Authors: J. D. Winters
Ads: Link
okay.”
“I’m sure he is. He’s used to living on a cliff over the ocean with a forest for his backyard. I’m sure he knows how to handle himself.”
She was right, of course, but I wanted him home with us.
I looked at the time and wondered if I should call McKnight—whose name turned out to be Roy, by the way. Roy. Like Roy Rogers. The good guy who rode to the rescue. Yep. I sort of liked that.
Anyway—I thought about calling Roy to see about going over to get the parrot. But that made my shoulders sag. After all, if I couldn’t be trusted to keep a cat safe, how was I going to do with a parrot? And they could talk and tell people when you did a lousy job of taking care of them. What had I signed up for, anyway?
I closed my eyes and leaned back, thinking. I wasn’t ready to call him. I wanted some time to digest the phone call from Peg, the sight of Bobby’s hoard of stuff, the question of where Silver had gone, and the guns.
The guns! I’d let that one slip. Roy had said there were no guns once they cleared the house. How could that be? I’d seen plenty when I’d been there the day before. Something wasn’t quite right about that.
Okay, that was what I would do. I’d go out to Ned’s house, take a look around, see if I could get in and see the situation for myself. After all, Roy had used me as a source of information. I had an official orchid—not on me, but still. Hey, I was practically an honorary cop myself. There just might be something that the police had overlooked. Why not? It happened all the time.
In the meantime I’d stop by Jill’s coffee bar and have some lunch. That brightened my outlook. I swung by and parked outside, going in to find the clientele relatively sparse and Jill happy to see me.
“I know it’s a little early for lunch,” I said as I sat at the counter. “But you do have sandwiches, don’t you?”
“Of course.” She pointed out the display case. “What’s your pleasure? We’ve got barbecued meatball sliders, baked chicken flautas, Empanadas, chicken salad, ham and swiss on rye, paninis.”
“Oooh, those meatballs look delicious. I’ll try one of those. Just a small one, though.”
“Oh I know,” she said, teasing me. “A big one’s probably 600 calories. Take a small one and it will only be 550 calories.”
I gave her a pathetic look. “Did you really have to go and ruin everything?” I wailed. “Forget the meatballs. I’ll have an open faced watercress finger sandwich, hold the mayo.”
Her smile was smug. “We don’t make those here. Take the meatballs. You’ll thank me for it.”
I groaned, but we laughed and I took the meatball sandwich. It was heavenly. “This sauce is great,” I said as I devoured it. “What’s your secret ingredient?”
Jill leaned close and whispered. “Star anise. We got it from a Chinese recipe.”
I savored it. “Mmmm. The taste reminds me of something.” I frowned, trying to think, and then it came to me. “I know! Crack seed!”
Jill frowned at me. “Crack seed? What’s that?”
“Oh! You’ve never had crack seed? When I was a kid in Hawaii….” But I stopped myself. I said that too often. A wave of nostalgia swept over me. I saw a young girl, walking barefoot in the red dirt, chewing on a chopped off section of sugar cane and feeling the sun on my back. I was more homesick for the islands than I sometimes realized. Maybe it was time for me to go home.
But how could I do that? I’d been on the mainland for years now and my life was so entangled with these friends and family members here that I wasn’t sure I’d know what to do with myself in Hawaii anymore. But someday---someday.
“Crack seed,” I said, getting my focus back. “Okay, I think it was originally brought from China and called see moi. What it is is--plums fermented in spices-sort of half way between fruit and candy. Sometimes you get it with the seed broken open and that interior taste of the nut
“I’m sure he is. He’s used to living on a cliff over the ocean with a forest for his backyard. I’m sure he knows how to handle himself.”
She was right, of course, but I wanted him home with us.
I looked at the time and wondered if I should call McKnight—whose name turned out to be Roy, by the way. Roy. Like Roy Rogers. The good guy who rode to the rescue. Yep. I sort of liked that.
Anyway—I thought about calling Roy to see about going over to get the parrot. But that made my shoulders sag. After all, if I couldn’t be trusted to keep a cat safe, how was I going to do with a parrot? And they could talk and tell people when you did a lousy job of taking care of them. What had I signed up for, anyway?
I closed my eyes and leaned back, thinking. I wasn’t ready to call him. I wanted some time to digest the phone call from Peg, the sight of Bobby’s hoard of stuff, the question of where Silver had gone, and the guns.
The guns! I’d let that one slip. Roy had said there were no guns once they cleared the house. How could that be? I’d seen plenty when I’d been there the day before. Something wasn’t quite right about that.
Okay, that was what I would do. I’d go out to Ned’s house, take a look around, see if I could get in and see the situation for myself. After all, Roy had used me as a source of information. I had an official orchid—not on me, but still. Hey, I was practically an honorary cop myself. There just might be something that the police had overlooked. Why not? It happened all the time.
In the meantime I’d stop by Jill’s coffee bar and have some lunch. That brightened my outlook. I swung by and parked outside, going in to find the clientele relatively sparse and Jill happy to see me.
“I know it’s a little early for lunch,” I said as I sat at the counter. “But you do have sandwiches, don’t you?”
“Of course.” She pointed out the display case. “What’s your pleasure? We’ve got barbecued meatball sliders, baked chicken flautas, Empanadas, chicken salad, ham and swiss on rye, paninis.”
“Oooh, those meatballs look delicious. I’ll try one of those. Just a small one, though.”
“Oh I know,” she said, teasing me. “A big one’s probably 600 calories. Take a small one and it will only be 550 calories.”
I gave her a pathetic look. “Did you really have to go and ruin everything?” I wailed. “Forget the meatballs. I’ll have an open faced watercress finger sandwich, hold the mayo.”
Her smile was smug. “We don’t make those here. Take the meatballs. You’ll thank me for it.”
I groaned, but we laughed and I took the meatball sandwich. It was heavenly. “This sauce is great,” I said as I devoured it. “What’s your secret ingredient?”
Jill leaned close and whispered. “Star anise. We got it from a Chinese recipe.”
I savored it. “Mmmm. The taste reminds me of something.” I frowned, trying to think, and then it came to me. “I know! Crack seed!”
Jill frowned at me. “Crack seed? What’s that?”
“Oh! You’ve never had crack seed? When I was a kid in Hawaii….” But I stopped myself. I said that too often. A wave of nostalgia swept over me. I saw a young girl, walking barefoot in the red dirt, chewing on a chopped off section of sugar cane and feeling the sun on my back. I was more homesick for the islands than I sometimes realized. Maybe it was time for me to go home.
But how could I do that? I’d been on the mainland for years now and my life was so entangled with these friends and family members here that I wasn’t sure I’d know what to do with myself in Hawaii anymore. But someday---someday.
“Crack seed,” I said, getting my focus back. “Okay, I think it was originally brought from China and called see moi. What it is is--plums fermented in spices-sort of half way between fruit and candy. Sometimes you get it with the seed broken open and that interior taste of the nut
Similar Books
