Tansy Taylor Read Online Free Page A

not to giggle. I glanced at Callie, and her head was bowed down, her hands up over her face. I really hoped she was okay, and not crying. This was going to be hard for her.
    “Ya, er, yes ma’am. I’m Ronnie. I’m the lead salesman. I knew Buster pretty well. He did a great job getting all the cars ready for sale stickers. He also seemed pretty handy in the work bay.” He stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and puffed out his shirt. No way had this guy liked Buster, but at least he had the decency to keep it to himself and show some respect to Callie.
    I smiled at him and waved my hand in a circle in front of him. “I get a good sense of decency about you Ronnie. I’m sure that Buster left this world knowing exactly how you felt about him.” I didn’t notice a change in Ronnie’s aura, a good sign that he really was trying to have good intentions and while he did tell a fib, it was one that would make us, as Buster’s kin, feel better. Chalk Ronnie up to being of the non-evil variety. He still could be involved, but he wasn’t the mastermind behind whatever had happened. I took Callie by the hand and walked toward the front of the building.
    “Are you okay?” I spun her toward me and took a good look once we were out of earshot. Even if someone heard me, they wouldn’t think anything odd about it, after all, I was a grieving sister, and this was Buster’s long time girlfriend.
    Callie wiped her eyes. “I’m okay. I don’t know what came over me, but I got a case of the giggles worse than I ever have.”
    My shoulders drooped. “Giggles? I thought you were really crying.” I was shocked that she would be laughing at a time like this.
    “I know it sounds horrible. I tend to get the giggles when I’m nervous. Believe me, I’m not finding any of this funny, I just can’t help myself.” She still had tears streaming down her face, and I was pretty sure they included real ones. I handed her a tissue from my oversized purse.
    “I hope I make it through this.” She looked quite a wreck.
    “Listen. We’re good. Ronnie appears to be quite a smart guy, regardless of the way he dresses. If we got him fooled, I think we’ll be okay. Next time we just need to plan a little better.”
    Callie game me a weak smile. “Ya, okay… Sandra.”
    “Glad I can make you smile. Now, let’s get in there and see what we can find out.” I took her arm and we walked through the doors.
    Five salesmen and a secretary later we weren’t having any luck. Although I hadn’t sensed that these folks had the best scruples, none of them had caused me a chill or shown me any kind of evil aura.
    “Where to next?” I adjusted my scarf and tugged on my hat. My curly hair made it impossible sometimes to keep from looking completely disheveled.
    “I think we should head over to the wash bay, see who’s around that Buster worked with on a daily basis.” Callie pointed across the back lot at a metal building.
    “Sounds good.” From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure disappearing behind the large trash bin. The hair on my neck stood on end and a whoosh of cold air raced over me. Whoa! That’s never happened before. Whoever this dark stranger was, he was definitely putting off some interesting mojo.
    “Everything okay?” Callie was looking back at me. I’d stopped midstride.
    “Um, I think so. I just had a really strange feeling. I thought I saw something, over there by that dumpster.” I stood, peering at the dumpster, but there was no sign of movement.
    “You want to go check it out?” She asked, a bit of nervousness lacing her words.
    I nodded. “You stay here; I’m just going to go take a quick peek.” The dumpster was in front of a reflective window on the back side of the showroom. I couldn’t see in, but from what I recalled there was a back office area that looked out on the dumpster. I crept around to the side of the dumpster and peered at the reflection in the window. All I could