shade of pale red lipstick and a kind of dusky, frosted shadow that made her cornflower-blue eyes larger and more luminous than ever. Her indigo blouse had a deep neckline and she wore a silver cross on a long chain that dangled flirtatiously above her generous cleavage. A faint waft of floral scent floated across the table and James had a pleasing sensation of breathing in a cluster of dew-covered wildflowers.
Before James could speak, Dolly hurried over to the booth as fast as her two rubber-shoed feet would allow, the ends of her apron strings trailing out behind her plump bottom like a kite’s tail. “Lucy, darlin’! Don’t you just look a picture! Isn’t she stunnin’, Professor?”
James nodded dumbly. He cast a shy grin in Lucy’s direction and then began to carefully study the surface of his coffee cup as if he were an augur.
Dolly’s eyes shifted eagerly from Lucy to James as she took Lucy’s order for coffee. “I’ll just leave you two alone,” she whispered conspiratorially after placing a cup and saucer delicately on the table.
Lucy watched her move off and then giggled. “Dolly is somethin’ else, isn’t she? She’s probably got every booth bugged so she can catch up on all the latest news.”
James laughed in agreement and immediately felt the tension drain from his clenched shoulders. “But she is right about you. You do look … great,” he stammered.
“Thanks. The sheriff sent me to Waynesboro this morning to pick up the specialist’s report on the Polar Pagoda fire. Our only fax machine is busted again. So I decided to visit a friend of mine who just opened up a beauty shop there before headin’ back. I could have returned with a purple mohawk and the guys in the office would never have noticed! They’re all obsessed with the upcoming Law Enforcement Bowling Tournament!” she snorted.
“Who’s the specialist?”
“A fire investigator sent out by the company insuring Willy’s business. Chief Lawrence met him at the scene after we had gone. I guess the two of them collaborated in order to figure out what happened.”
“A fire investigator,” James said thoughtfully. “Wow. Did you get to read any of his report?” James asked, his curiosity distracting him from the personal topic that he had meant to discuss.
“Of course! I read the whole thing while Cindi was workin’ on my hair.” Lucy gave James a tender look. “You know I can’t resist knowing as much as those chauvinistic deputies I have to work for.”
“Oh, it won’t be too long now before you’re working right alongside them, Lucy.”
Lucy’s smile lit up her face. “It’s nice to have your confidence in me, James. You are so sweet.” She reached across and brushed his hand with her fingertips. James felt his heart quicken in his chest. “Anyway, both this investigator and Chief Lawrence ruled that the fire was a case of arson!” Lucy’s eyes danced with excitement.
James took a sip of coffee and grimaced at the thin, foreign taste of skim milk where his thick and creamy half-and-half should be. “Was it caused by some kind of negligence on Pete’s part? Can you tell?”
“Negligence is strongly implied in the report. Looks like whiskey was spilled all over the back of the shop, especially around the cardboard boxes where the T-shirts were kept. Somehow this specialist could follow the trail of the fire and discover its source. Pretty cool, huh? There were also several cigarette butts, Pall Mall Lights I think, in the same area. So I guess Pete was just hanging out, drinking and smoking his whole shift long. Guess he didn’t get too many customers that night or someone would have noticed he was drunk.”
“Everyone in town was at the Brunswick Stew Dinner. That’s why he had so little business.” James paused and frowned. “But I always remember Pete as a chewing tobacco man. Have you ever seen him smoke?”
“No, but who knows what the man did in private?” Lucy shrugged. “It
Before James could speak, Dolly hurried over to the booth as fast as her two rubber-shoed feet would allow, the ends of her apron strings trailing out behind her plump bottom like a kite’s tail. “Lucy, darlin’! Don’t you just look a picture! Isn’t she stunnin’, Professor?”
James nodded dumbly. He cast a shy grin in Lucy’s direction and then began to carefully study the surface of his coffee cup as if he were an augur.
Dolly’s eyes shifted eagerly from Lucy to James as she took Lucy’s order for coffee. “I’ll just leave you two alone,” she whispered conspiratorially after placing a cup and saucer delicately on the table.
Lucy watched her move off and then giggled. “Dolly is somethin’ else, isn’t she? She’s probably got every booth bugged so she can catch up on all the latest news.”
James laughed in agreement and immediately felt the tension drain from his clenched shoulders. “But she is right about you. You do look … great,” he stammered.
“Thanks. The sheriff sent me to Waynesboro this morning to pick up the specialist’s report on the Polar Pagoda fire. Our only fax machine is busted again. So I decided to visit a friend of mine who just opened up a beauty shop there before headin’ back. I could have returned with a purple mohawk and the guys in the office would never have noticed! They’re all obsessed with the upcoming Law Enforcement Bowling Tournament!” she snorted.
“Who’s the specialist?”
“A fire investigator sent out by the company insuring Willy’s business. Chief Lawrence met him at the scene after we had gone. I guess the two of them collaborated in order to figure out what happened.”
“A fire investigator,” James said thoughtfully. “Wow. Did you get to read any of his report?” James asked, his curiosity distracting him from the personal topic that he had meant to discuss.
“Of course! I read the whole thing while Cindi was workin’ on my hair.” Lucy gave James a tender look. “You know I can’t resist knowing as much as those chauvinistic deputies I have to work for.”
“Oh, it won’t be too long now before you’re working right alongside them, Lucy.”
Lucy’s smile lit up her face. “It’s nice to have your confidence in me, James. You are so sweet.” She reached across and brushed his hand with her fingertips. James felt his heart quicken in his chest. “Anyway, both this investigator and Chief Lawrence ruled that the fire was a case of arson!” Lucy’s eyes danced with excitement.
James took a sip of coffee and grimaced at the thin, foreign taste of skim milk where his thick and creamy half-and-half should be. “Was it caused by some kind of negligence on Pete’s part? Can you tell?”
“Negligence is strongly implied in the report. Looks like whiskey was spilled all over the back of the shop, especially around the cardboard boxes where the T-shirts were kept. Somehow this specialist could follow the trail of the fire and discover its source. Pretty cool, huh? There were also several cigarette butts, Pall Mall Lights I think, in the same area. So I guess Pete was just hanging out, drinking and smoking his whole shift long. Guess he didn’t get too many customers that night or someone would have noticed he was drunk.”
“Everyone in town was at the Brunswick Stew Dinner. That’s why he had so little business.” James paused and frowned. “But I always remember Pete as a chewing tobacco man. Have you ever seen him smoke?”
“No, but who knows what the man did in private?” Lucy shrugged. “It
Similar Books
