Hickory Smoked Homicide Read Online Free

smiling down at them. He wore, as usual when he was off-duty, one of the pastel button-down shirts that had earned him his nickname. But then, at a very fit and trim six feet seven inches and two hundred and fifty pounds, who was going to give him grief over his choice of clothing?
    “I was just wondering what was going on at this table, that’s all,” said Pink, grinning. “I don’t know when I’ve seen such stormy faces. Even Morty looks upset, and he’s usually such a laid-back guy.”
    Colleen scooted over and patted the space next to her on the booth. “Well, have a seat and I’ll be happy to fill you in, hon.” Lulu could tell that that wasn’t exactly what Pink had in mind—he was a sitting-at-the-lunch-counter kind of guy. But he took a seat, and Colleen said, “We’re all furious with Tristan Pembroke. Mad enough to spit!” Lulu flagged down a waitress and asked her to bring Pink’s usual order, since she knew her regular always ordered the same thing.
    The indignant Colleen filled in Pink with her story. “Pansy won Miss Peach, Miss Magnolia, and Miss Barbeque,” said Colleen. “But she’d get a whole lot further if certain people weren’t cheaters. And so would Coco,” she added. “There’s no reason why Coco shouldn’t have won a Little Miss pageant by now. It’s all Tristan Pembroke’s sabotage.”
    Pink was looking like he wished he’d sat over at the lunch counter and hadn’t come over to their table at all, thought Lulu. “I remember hearing some sabotage story some time back. But you’re saying she’s doing other things to make Pansy lose?”
    “Oh, she does little petty things from time to time that don’t help—like stealing Pansy’s duct tape.”
    “Duct tape?” asked Pink in a weak voice.
    “It helps keep dresses and swimsuits in place,” said Colleen. “It’s very important to keep stuff from falling out of their swimsuits. But Tristan does other things, too—she votes against her and makes the other judges vote against her, too. And y’all know what she did to Pansy a few months ago—it made big news.” Lulu didn’t actually know about it, but Colleen wasn’t giving her a chance to ask her. “And Tristan is clearly using some insider information to get ahead when she’s coaching girls. All I have to say is that she better look out. One of these days, I’m coming after her.”
    Pink raised his eyebrows at Colleen.
    “Oh, shoot. I keep forgetting you’re a cop, Pink. Don’t worry.... I’m not planning on putting a hit on Tristan.”
    Pink looked relieved and picked up a spicy corn muffin for a big bite.
    “Not yet, anyway.”

Chapter 3
    Later that afternoon, Lulu’s son, Ben, said to his wife, Sara, “Mother is going to be so excited. For a while I’ve been following this guy online who has a food blog that’s gotten really big. He does interviews with chefs, posts recipes, interviews cookbook authors . . . the works. He has a following in the thousands on his blog and is huge on Facebook and Twitter, too.”
    Sara said, “Why would your mama be interested in that, Ben? She’s not a blog reader and sure isn’t on Facebook and Twitter.”
    “He’s packed up shop and moved to Memphis, that’s why. Think about it, Sara—it’s a fantastic opportunity to introduce him to Aunt Pat’s. Besides, barbeque just isn’t food in Memphis—it’s a culture . He’s going to be dying to find out more about how barbeque meshes with life here in Memphis.”
    “If you say so,” said Sara doubtfully.
    “I was talking to Derrick the other day, and your nephew knows more about social-media branding than you can shake a stick at! I’m thinking that’s the way to move Aunt Pat’s into the twenty-first century, Sara. We’ll embrace the food bloggers—especially this guy, who is such a huge influence. They have a much bigger audience than the newspaper food critics. We don’t have to rely on only local traffic—we could make Aunt Pat’s a real