Tax Cut Read Online Free Page A

again. Kris was mortified.
    Gee, I thought Mandy was bad , I thought as I looked down at my wet clothes. When Kris finally caught up to him, Kris, Jr. took off running again. This time, he slammed into a waitress who was carrying a tray of drinks. She dropped the glasses and various colorful liquids spilled all over Kris, Jr. He started to wail. Kris grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him back toward our table, but before he could get there, the owner came out of the kitchen, and screamed at Kris and Kris, Jr. in his thick Italian accent, “Get out of my restaurant, get out, get out!”
    Big Kris dragged little Kris out of the restaurant. I threw some cash on the table and joined them in the parking lot, having exited through the side door. I was beyond thankful we hadn’t been seated in the same room as my future bosses. I would have been mortified.
    “I don’t even know where to begin to apologize. Your clothes are ruined—I’ll buy you a new shirt,” Kris said.
    “It’s okay , Kris. That was probably one of the most interesting dates I’ve had.”
    Kris, Jr. started screaming and tried to wriggle away from him. “I’ve gotta go,” Kris said with a longing look in his eyes. “I hope you’ll let me make this up to you.”
    “I’m looking forward to it,” I said as I headed to the other end of the building where my car was parked. I sulked back to my car, disappointed in how the date went. I must not have been watching where I was walking, because my heel slipped out from underneath me on a patch of black ice and bam ! Down on the asphalt I fell, cracking the back of my head. I sat up and looked around. I blew out a sigh of relief when I realized Kris was nowhere in sight and didn’t witness me falling on my rump. I was also happy my new bosses weren’t in the parking lot either. I scrambled to my feet. I had ripped my pants. I placed my hand on the back of my head and found I was bleeding a little. I imagined I would have a nice headache in the morning. I jumped in the car and drove home with a severe injury…to my ego.
    My parents were confused when I showed up back at home less than an hour from when I left, with a gash on my head, my clothes tattered, and my body smelling like a winery.
    “ What happened?” my mother asked, alarmed.
    “You don’t even want to know,” I said.
    “So, I’m taking it your date didn’t go well?” my dad asked.
    “It was an epic failure,” I said. Then I went to my room to change.
     
    * * *
     
    I awoke early the next morning with my head pounding, as I predicted. I dragged my feet down the hallway and into the kitchen to find the ibuprofen. I was hoping Mandy didn’t wake up before the meds had a chance to kick in. Snickers sat whining at my feet, letting me know his bladder was full. I let him out the back door, then I went to the front door, cracked it open, and reached out to get the morning newspaper. I saw that there was a lead in the Vinny Buttiglieri case. The article said the police suspected mafia involvement. A snapshot of Gino and Cal flashed in my head. Nah , I thought. Vinny was found in Bordentown, which was more than an hour away. It couldn’t possibly be the same people. With a name like Buttiglieri, it seemed to me that he could have been involved in the mafia. The news put my mind at ease that the killing of Vinny wasn’t job related.
    It was nearly noon when my phone rang for the first time of the day. I was in the middle of cooking lunch, so I didn’t answer. The answering machine clicked on and I heard Kris’ voice. He left a message apologizing for our date. It wasn’t really his fault, but it was certainly a nice gesture on his part to apologize.

 
    Chapter 3
     
     
    “Why do you suppose the police are suspecting mafia in Vinny’s case? Are they on to us?” the first killer asked.
    “Relax. You worry too much. If they were on to us, they’d be raiding our houses right now with their search warrants. They don’t know