Watchin' The Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance Read Online Free Page A

and
beaten down by the turn of events.
    The best man feels sorry for the bride and
says, “Let me help you with those plates.”
    She answers, using her best Blanche Dubois
voice, “Why, thank you. I’ve always depended on the kindness of
strangers.”
    He corrects her, “I’m not a stranger.”
    “But I’ve only known you for a few
hours.”
    “I feel like we’re known each other for
years,” he says, looking at her with bedroom eyes.
    Isabella notices that the man in the black
suit who was standing in line with them has had a little too much
to drink. The volume of his talking grows increasingly louder. He
stands up and says to everyone in the room, “Let’s have Cristal for
everyone. All around. It’s on me.”
    Everyone turns to look at him.
    “Really?” members of the cast say, looking at
each other, puzzled.
    He answers, “Yes. Really. Bartender, give us
your finest champagne. It’s on me.”
    Clearly this is not part of the act, but the
bartender says, “Okay. Whatever you say, sir.”
    Isabella looks at Nicole and says, “How weird
is this?”
    Nicole says, “I won’t turn down a nice glass
of Cristal.”
    “Me either,” Isabella says.
    She asks Joshua, “How do you like the show so
far?”
    He says, “It’s kind of fun.”
    “You’re not having a good time?”
    “How could I not have a good time in the
company of you two lovely ladies?”
    That’s the second time he’s mentioned how
good Nicole looks tonight. Does he want her or me?
    “You look funny, Isabella,” Nicole says.
“What are you thinking?”
    “Oh, nothing. I’m just wondering who the
murderer is going to be.”
    They eat their entrees and suddenly hear a
scream off in the other room and a lot of commotion. The maid of
honor comes out into the dining room and says to the other actors,
“Come quick. Something’s happened. I think he’s been
murdered!!”
    The piano player builds the suspense,
melodramatically.
    Gunther looks scared and Isabella reassures
him. “Don’t worry. It’s part of the show.”
    “Oh, okay. I didn’t know. I’ve never been to
one of these things.”
    Isabella tells him what she has read about
these types of shows while Nicole and Joshua strike up their own
conversation. They talk about the Black Keys concert that Nicole
just went to. Joshua tells her that they are his favorite band.
    Isabella, not wanting to be left out, says,
“I think they have too many rough edges. They sound like a garage
band. Besides, that lead singer’s hair always looks dirty. What’s
up with that?”
    Joshua says, “They sound like a garage band
because they’re trying to sound like a garage band.”
    “Oh, I see,” Isabella says, wanting to say,
“Well…excuse me!”
    All of a sudden, the lights in the dining
room grow almost completely dark and a man steps out from the
kitchen with a flashlight. It’s the best man and he walks over to
the wedding table, looking for something on the floor.
    He shines the flashlight around the room and
walks back into the kitchen. Next, Henri comes into the dining room
carrying his own flashlight and looking for something on the floor
by the bride’s chair.
    He doesn’t find what he’s looking for either.
When the lights come back on, the diners are relieved: it was
difficult to see their plates while they’ve been eating.
    Then, they hear a loud thud and another
scream, but this time it’s coming from inside the dining room. They
look around and see the lady in the polka dot dress standing and
pointing at a body on the floor. She yells, “Oh my God! My
husband!” She kneels on the floor next to him and cries, “His
head’s bleeding!” The lady who came with her kneels down next to
her and shouts to the crowd, “Somebody call an ambulance!”
    Isabella looks at her friends and says, “I
don’t think this is part of the show.”

Chapter Six
     
     
    Everyone looks down in horror to see the body
on the floor. Blood is pooling around the poor man’s head. One