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

something like this overshadow the entire fair week.”
    The fair might have brought in a lot of money for Rose Petal and community organizations, but I couldn’t have disagreed more. Letting a crime investigation sit idle seemed criminal in and of itself. If Victor had taught me anything, it was that once you found a trail of evidence, you didn’t let it grow cold. Letting George Spellman’s death go unlooked at for several days almost assured that the trail wouldn’t just go cold. It would ice over.
    “So if you do decide to do some of your own investigating or whatever it is you and that short fella do, I’d appreciate it if you two wait until the fair is over,” he said. He tipped his hat in my direction. “And I’d be mighty appreciative if I didn’t have to tell you a second time.”

6
    The stand was busier than before the discovery of George’s body, a combination of hungry people and curious onlookers. Pete and I couldn’t keep enough meat on the grill, as the orders came fast and furious. When our relief showed up, I had to double-check my watch to make sure the four-hour shift was over.
    “Well, that may have been the most exciting food-stand shift ever,” Pete said, collapsing on a wooden bench outside the stand. “My goodness.”
    “You can say that again,” I said, sitting down next to him and wiping down my forehead with a paper towel.
    The fair was in full swing now. The grounds were overrun with fairgoers, most clutching mammoth-size lemonades or waving cardboard fans in their pitiful attempt to escape the heat. Lines for the Tilt-A-Whirl and Kamikaze snaked sideways, kids whining as they waited their turn to defy death on the rickety rides.
    “Not often we lose an hour to a corpse and still do more business than normal,” he said, a sly grin on his face.
    “I can’t believe they’re letting us keep it open.”
    He raised a sweaty eyebrow. “Really? Not me. With all the stuff that goes on around here at the fair, nothing surprises me anymore.”
    I shrank back as a woman carrying a toddler with a dripping ice cream cone passed by. “That right?”
    He nodded. “Yep. Nothing stops the fair.”
    “Clearly.”
    Pete chuckled. “Right? You’d think something like this might’ve put a dent in the day. But if they’d tried to shut us down, she would’ve come out guns blazing.”
    “She? Mama?”
    He nodded again. “Oh, yeah. Mama Biggs and her entire crew.”
    “Crew?”
    “Matilda. Bruce.” He waved a hand absently in the air. “Woody and Wendy. Probably others I don’t even know about. That seems like one family tree with a lot of goofy branches.”
    “Who are they?”
    “They’re actually in charge of all the fair food,” he said. “They’re on the fair board, too. It’s like a clan or something. Or maybe gang is a better word for them. I’m not sure what the best word to describe them is.” He stretched out his legs and rubbed his knees. “But I didn’t for a second think the police would shut down the food stand. Pretty sure Mama’s got some under-the-table deal with them.”
    “Are Wendy and Woody related to Mama, too?” I said. “And, just so you know, I can’t believe we’re grown men referring to a grown woman as Mama.”
    He laughed. “Me, either. But I don’t even know her real name. I’m not sure if Woody and Wendy are related to Mama. I don’t think so. That might be a little too overt to make every member of her family a board member, even for Mama. Woody and Wendy are married, but you wouldn’t know it. They fight like cats and dogs most of the time. Woody should be here any minute.” Pete chuckled again. “You can’t miss him.”
    It amazed me that even after living in Rose Petal my entire life, there were still people I didn’t know. The town felt so small and so insular that I was always surprised when I heard a name or saw a face that I didn’t recognize. I’d known about the fair board as a group for years, but it wasn’t until