A Catered St. Patrick's Day Read Free

talking about people in general or is there someone specific you have in mind?”
    Brandon ran his hand through his hair, which Bernie noticed was standing out in all directions, then zipped up the hoodie he was wearing. “Just in case,” he said instead.
    “Just in case what?” Bernie asked.
    Brandon crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “Just in case,” he repeated.
    “Now you’re not making any sense,” Bernie told him.
    Brandon didn’t say anything. Instead he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
    Bernie studied him for a moment. “Are you afraid you’re going to get arrested?” she asked gently.
    “It had crossed my mind,” Brandon admitted.
    “Why don’t you tell Auntie Libby what happened,” Libby coaxed.
    Brandon jammed his hands in his pockets and pressed his lips together.
    “After all,” Bernie pointed out, “isn’t that why you called us down here in the first place?”
    “I guess you’re right,” Brandon said.
    And so he did.

Chapter 2
     
    T he story Brandon told Bernie and Libby went like this: The night before had been on the dead side at RJ’s. At six o’clock there had been twenty people in the bar and that number had dwindled down to twelve by ten o’clock. At 12:50, six more people had departed, leaving only the guys from the Corned Beef and Cabbage Club drinking at the bar.
    By one o’clock Brandon haiv d started washing the glasses, wiping down surfaces, and prepping for the next day. Now, all the time he was doing that, the guys from the Corned Beef and Cabbage Club were pestering him to bring in one of the kegs and crack it open so they could have an early taste of the green beer.
    “Not that it’s great stuff,” Brandon commented.
    “We know,” Bernie said. Cat piss were the words that came to mind when describing it, and although she’d called it that before, she didn’t say that now.
    “I mean,” Brandon continued, “even though I told them there was no friggin’ way that was going to happen, they just wouldn’t let it go. Finally I had to tell them to shut up or get the hell out and they chose to leave.”
    Bernie buttoned her coat. The sun was deceptive. It was chillier outside than she thought it would be. “So these six guys ...” she prompted.
    “Five guys and a girl,” Brandon corrected.
    Bernie raised an eyebrow.
    “Her name is Liza,” Brandon said.
    “Liza Sepranto?” Libby asked.
    Brandon nodded.
    “That’s new,” Libby observed.
    “Not really,” Brandon told her. “She’s been hanging out with them for a while.”
    “I guess we’ve gotten out of touch with those guys,” Libby observed.
    “We’ve never been in touch,” Bernie reminded her sister.
    “Believe me, either way it’s no great loss,” Brandon said.
    “Okay. So they left willingly. What happened next?” Bernie asked, getting back to the matter at hand.
    “Well, I finished cleaning up and I was cashing out when I heard a noise in the back.”
    “How long after they left was this?” Bernie asked.
    Brandon thought. “Probably twenty minutes. Maybe half an hour at the most.”
    Libby dug a piece of dark, single-origin chocolate out of her parka and ate it. Chocolate helped her concentrate. “What kind of noise?”
    Brandon shrugged. “People talking. Something heavy being moved. Anyway, I opened the door and took a look. And don’t you know it, there was Mike Sweeney trying to open up one of the barrels. So I go out there and we get into it.”
    Bernie shuddered, visualizing the worst. “How badly did you get into it?” she asked, knowing Brandon’s temper and his strength.
    “Bad enough,” Brandon admitted. “I was pissed, so I decked him. He was just lying there. For a moment, I was a little worried, but then he kind of came around and Duncan and Liam picked him up and dragged him off. No foul, no harm.”
    “That was lucky,” Bernie observed.
    Brandon shrugged. “I guess it was. Anyway, I locked up and went home and went to bed. And