Vengeance Is Mine Read Online Free Page B

know. The bartender said it was a mixture of eight different types of liquor.”
    â€œI believe it.” Les snapped his fingers for the waitress, who was hovering close to their table.
    â€œI’ll have a Grain Belt. And when you come back, we’ll be ready to order.”
    â€œTell me all about your meeting, darling.” Trish laid her hand over his, and Les noticed that she had just had her nails done. They were a half inch longer than they had been this morning.
    â€œIt was a conference at police headquarters with Steve Radke and Margaret Whitworth.” Les lowered his voice. “About Ray Perini’s murder.”
    â€œWell, I certainly hope the police department does its job. This sort of thing isn’t good for your career. The only time the Minneapolis stations carry news from St. Cloud is when something bad happens.”
    â€œI know.” Les sighed deeply. He thought of what would happen if Ray’s murder received statewide publicity. St. Cloud would get the reputation for being a dangerous place to live. Having the state reformatory on the outskirts of the city was bad enough even though it was St. Cloud’s main tourist attraction. The granite wall that surrounded the reformatory had been built in the nineteenth century. The prisoners had quarried the rock themselves. It was the second longest continuous granite wall in the world. If you couldn’t afford to go to the Great Wall of China, you could always drive to St. Cloud to look at the prison.
    â€œWell?” Trish leaned forward, and the fabric of her dress strained across her breasts. For a moment Les lost complete track of the conversation. Trish had a fine set of knockers. Of course, she was gaining a bit of weight around her hips, but she was still a very attractive woman.
    â€œOh, yeah. The meeting.” Les searched around for something he could tell Trish. “We were just trying to figure out how to get ahold of Barney Schultz, that’s all. Well, I’d better look at the menu. Our waitress should be back any minute.”
    Les studied the menu even though he could recite it from memory. He had lunch at the Sunwood at least twice a week. If he thought about Ray Perini much longer, he’d lose his appetite.
    â€œI think I’ll have the beef dip platter. With au jus.”
    â€œLes, ‘with au jus’ is redundant. I told you that last time.”
    â€œOh, yeah.”
    â€œI get the distinct impression there’s something you’re not telling me, Les.” Trish gave him a stern look. “Every time I ask about that meeting, you change the subject.”
    The waitress rushed up to their table with Les’s beer. “I’m really sorry it took so long. Sixty people for the optical workers’ convention checked in this morning. It looks like they’re all in the bar.”
    â€œNo problem”—Les sneaked a quick glance at her name tag—“Barb. You’re a student at the college, right?”
    â€œYou remember me?” The waitress grinned from ear to ear. “I met you only once, and that was a year ago at the campus rally. I’m a sophomore now. I’ll be old enough to vote for you in the next election.”
    â€œJust don’t change your mind before October, Barb. I need the college vote, especially from pretty coeds like you.”
    The waitress blushed and giggled slightly. “Would you care to order now, Mrs. Hollenkamp?”
    â€œI’ll have a small chef salad, no dressing. And black coffee later. Dieting is such a bore.”
    â€œBut you don’t have to diet, Mrs. Hollenkamp. You look just fabulous.”
    â€œThat’s very sweet, Barb. You’ve made my whole day.”
    Les grinned. He’d be hard put to decide which woman was more insincere.
    â€œI’ll have the beef dip with . . . uh . . . that’s all. Just the beef dip. Oh, and when you bring Mrs. Hollenkamp’s coffee, bring me