Stay At Home Dad 03-Father Knows Death Read Online Free

squashed beneath it.
    “Thanks, man,” he said, the cigarette bobbing in his mouth. “This sucker’s heavy.”
    I helped him maneuver it so that it was up against the back wall of the food stand’s kitchen. We lowered it down easily and Bruce slipped the dolly out from under it, wiping streams of sweat off his face.
    “Guess that’s as good a place as any,” he said, staring at it.
    “Good enough,” I said. “As long as the cord reaches the outlet, we can get to it right there.”
    “You workin’ in there today?” he asked.
    “Yeah.”
    “Score me a hot dog or somethin’?”
    “We don’t get free food. Sorry.”
    He frowned and I got the distinct impression he thought I was an idiot.
    “Can I ask why you’re wearing a wig?” I asked.
    He grinned, exposing yellowed teeth. “It’s tradition.”
    “Tradition?”
    “Every year, I wear it,” he explained. “I had too many beers one year and put it on and wore it. Just took off. It’s kinda become a thing. Plus, everyone knows who I am. Kinda hard to miss it.”
    “I’ll say. Are you on the fair board, too?”
    He nodded. “Yep.” He leaned against the freezer. “That’s why I’m doing all the heavy lifting.” He dissolved into laughter at his own joke.
    “You know George?” I asked.
    His laughter died out and he stared at me. “Why?”
    “Just asking.”
    “You heard something?”
    “No, I was just curious.”
    “Hmm. Right.” He shrugged. “Sure I knew him. Everyone knew him. He was always around here.” His mouth twitched. “But we weren’t like buddies or anything, all right? I mean, like, I’d wave at him and say what’s up, but not like we went drinkin’ together or anything like that.” He shook his head.
    I started to respond, but he wasn’t finished. “So maybe I didn’t really know him. I shouldn’t say that. I was aware of him. Yeah. That sounds better.”
    I was almost sorry I’d asked the question. “Okay. Got it.”
    “You hear anything different from anyone, you correct them, all right?” he asked, craning his neck at me.
    “Sure. Yeah.” What an odd request, I thought.
    He seemed satisfied with that answer. “All right, then. I’m gonna go get me a beer over at the garden. Board members drink free over there .” He grinned. “I’d invite ya, but I guess you gotta get back to cooking hamburgers or something.”
    I nodded and headed for the stand. Anything was better than spending another moment talking to Bruce.
    Leon Cotter was standing near the back of the stand, chewing on a toothpick and adjusting his Rose Petal Sheriff’s Department hat on his flat, wide head.
    He nodded at me. “Deuce.”
    “Sheriff,” I said. “Busy morning, eh?”
    The toothpick shifted from the left side of his mouth to the right. “Could say that.”
    Leon had just stepped into the sheriff’s role in town and no one really knew how to take him. He was quiet and tended to keep to himself. Tall and lanky with a ruddy complexion, he was completely bald beneath the hat. He wasn’t seen out and about very often and, given that Rose Petal didn’t have a whole lot of crime, that was okay.
    “You thinking about looking into Mr. Spellman’s death?” he asked, casting a sideways glance at me.
    “I don’t think so, no,” I said, unsure of how to answer after my meet-up with Mama Biggs.
    “Good,” he said, nodding. “We probably won’t get the ball rolling on this until the fair ends.”
    “Really?”
    “We don’t want anything getting in the way of the fair,” he said. “It’ll be fine. He’ll still be dead.”
    “But don’t you think letting the investigation sit still might put you at a disadvantage?” I asked. “I’d think you’d want to act quickly.”
    “Which is why I’m the sheriff and you’re not,” he said, half a grin settling on his mouth. “This fair is the most important thing in town. We’ll preserve evidence. We’ll begin the preliminaries. But the biggest crime would be letting