the vamp, and she certainly liked the looks of Graf and our fair sheriff.”
“I’ll bet she likes handcuffs,” Tinkie threw in.
“Oh, stop it. I think we should investigate who threw that incendiary device through the window.” I didn’t want to sit around twiddling my thumbs and making up sexual scenarios for the history professor. I’d just had my fill of witnessing kinky sexual moments, thanks to the butler at a wealthy estate during my last case.
“I think we should let Coleman and DeWayne handle the attack or whatever it was. Once they finish, we’ll have a look for ourselves.” Tinkie turned to me. “Do you think that bomb-thing was meant to scare Olive off?”
“Maybe. Or it could be she set the whole thing up to—” I stopped mid-sentence when the handsome man I’d noticed at the bar earlier that morning came up to our table. This time I paid a lot more attention.
He wore an expensive tweed sports jacket with leather patches, brown slacks, casual and expensive leather shoes. His salt-and-pepper hair was carefully cut, and the dark mustache highlighting his sensual mouth was trimmed to perfection. This was a man who cared greatly about his appearance.
“Excuse me, I’m Dr. Richard Webber,” he said. “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. Did someone try to blow up Dr. Olive Twist?”
“We’re not certain what happened,” I said smoothly. “Are you a friend of Dr. Twist’s?”
“Some would say colleague, others might say competitor. I believe the good doctor’s premise is flawed and I intend to prove it.” His charming grin revealed twin dimples and eyes that crinkled at the corners. “I see a giant flapdoodle brewing. I predict excellent fun.”
A man who enjoyed a “flapdoodle.” Now, that was a development I hadn’t expected. “Are you psychic or do you intend to start this … flapdoodle?”
“I like to think I’ll be instrumental in putting the wheels in motion. You see, Dr. Twist has behaved in a most unethical fashion.”
“How?” Tinkie was on it like a chicken on a bug.
“It’s not a simple story. May I join you?”
Oscar got a chair from a nearby table and we made room for Dr. Webber to sit with us. When Oscar offered a drink, Dr. Webber opted for iced tea. “Dr. Twist has stolen my concept and research. Worse than that, though, she’s intent on perverting the true facts and she’ll stop at nothing. I have the real documentation for the Lady in Red. Olive Twist is a dangerous woman who won’t let anything get in the way of her ambitions.”
“Then you know her intentions about the Lady in Red?” Tinkie was grim.
“I know them and I abhor them.” He swallowed and glanced out the window for a long moment as an angry flush rose up his neck.
“Can you stop Dr. Twist from using the Lady in Red for her own personal gain?” I needed to know what silver bullets he might possess.
He inhaled slowly, controlling his temper. “There’s a ninety percent probability I can halt that mule in her tracks.”
I loved his colorful language, and I could see my friends approved, too. He actually made a set-to with Olive sound like fun, but big talk did not necessarily mean effective action. “How will you accomplish this?”
“I can’t give away all of my trade secrets,” he said. “Just believe me, I have ammunition that will stop her.”
His secretiveness led me to question his credentials in the “torpedo Twist” realm. “Do you know each other?”
“That’s a complicated question, my dear. I slipped in under the radar and I’ve been watching her for the past two days. All I can say is, thank god I’m not her assistant. Why that boy doesn’t slit her throat while she sleeps, I’ll never know.”
He’d pretty well captured my feelings about Jimmy Boswell. The only thing worse than being Twist’s paid employee would involve marriage or blood kinship. “He sleeps on the floor beside her bed.”
“So I’ve been told.” Webber
“I’ll bet she likes handcuffs,” Tinkie threw in.
“Oh, stop it. I think we should investigate who threw that incendiary device through the window.” I didn’t want to sit around twiddling my thumbs and making up sexual scenarios for the history professor. I’d just had my fill of witnessing kinky sexual moments, thanks to the butler at a wealthy estate during my last case.
“I think we should let Coleman and DeWayne handle the attack or whatever it was. Once they finish, we’ll have a look for ourselves.” Tinkie turned to me. “Do you think that bomb-thing was meant to scare Olive off?”
“Maybe. Or it could be she set the whole thing up to—” I stopped mid-sentence when the handsome man I’d noticed at the bar earlier that morning came up to our table. This time I paid a lot more attention.
He wore an expensive tweed sports jacket with leather patches, brown slacks, casual and expensive leather shoes. His salt-and-pepper hair was carefully cut, and the dark mustache highlighting his sensual mouth was trimmed to perfection. This was a man who cared greatly about his appearance.
“Excuse me, I’m Dr. Richard Webber,” he said. “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation. Did someone try to blow up Dr. Olive Twist?”
“We’re not certain what happened,” I said smoothly. “Are you a friend of Dr. Twist’s?”
“Some would say colleague, others might say competitor. I believe the good doctor’s premise is flawed and I intend to prove it.” His charming grin revealed twin dimples and eyes that crinkled at the corners. “I see a giant flapdoodle brewing. I predict excellent fun.”
A man who enjoyed a “flapdoodle.” Now, that was a development I hadn’t expected. “Are you psychic or do you intend to start this … flapdoodle?”
“I like to think I’ll be instrumental in putting the wheels in motion. You see, Dr. Twist has behaved in a most unethical fashion.”
“How?” Tinkie was on it like a chicken on a bug.
“It’s not a simple story. May I join you?”
Oscar got a chair from a nearby table and we made room for Dr. Webber to sit with us. When Oscar offered a drink, Dr. Webber opted for iced tea. “Dr. Twist has stolen my concept and research. Worse than that, though, she’s intent on perverting the true facts and she’ll stop at nothing. I have the real documentation for the Lady in Red. Olive Twist is a dangerous woman who won’t let anything get in the way of her ambitions.”
“Then you know her intentions about the Lady in Red?” Tinkie was grim.
“I know them and I abhor them.” He swallowed and glanced out the window for a long moment as an angry flush rose up his neck.
“Can you stop Dr. Twist from using the Lady in Red for her own personal gain?” I needed to know what silver bullets he might possess.
He inhaled slowly, controlling his temper. “There’s a ninety percent probability I can halt that mule in her tracks.”
I loved his colorful language, and I could see my friends approved, too. He actually made a set-to with Olive sound like fun, but big talk did not necessarily mean effective action. “How will you accomplish this?”
“I can’t give away all of my trade secrets,” he said. “Just believe me, I have ammunition that will stop her.”
His secretiveness led me to question his credentials in the “torpedo Twist” realm. “Do you know each other?”
“That’s a complicated question, my dear. I slipped in under the radar and I’ve been watching her for the past two days. All I can say is, thank god I’m not her assistant. Why that boy doesn’t slit her throat while she sleeps, I’ll never know.”
He’d pretty well captured my feelings about Jimmy Boswell. The only thing worse than being Twist’s paid employee would involve marriage or blood kinship. “He sleeps on the floor beside her bed.”
“So I’ve been told.” Webber
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