An Ex to Grind in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 5) Paperback – September 4, 2014

An Ex to Grind in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 5) Paperback – September 4, 2014 Read Free

Book: An Ex to Grind in Deadwood (Deadwood Humorous Mystery Book 5) Paperback – September 4, 2014 Read Free
Author: Ann Charles
Tags: The Deadwood Mystery Series
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Victorian boarding house loomed in front of us, reminding me of an unkempt gentleman down on his luck. Weeds stuck out of the wrought-iron fence like loose threads. White paint flaked onto the brown grass around its foundation joined by torn asphalt shingles from the roof. A faded rectangular sign confirmed I was at the Galena House.
    I parked, squeezing as tightly as possible against the concrete wall in front of the house to leave room for passing cars. Streets on this side of Deadwood were made for horse carriages, not old pickups with side mirrors.
    “Well, the woman who called and asked me to meet her here didn’t sound like she had a shrunken head,” I told him, “so we might as well see what’s going on.”
    “A woman called you? What’d she say?”
    “Something about nine sharks and that she needed to see me now because she’d be dead soon.”
    He grunted. “No shit.”
    We sat there staring up at the boarding house in silence. It was an old style Italianate. Some of the fine cornices had crumbled, but the two columns bracketing the porch stood tall and bright like they’d been recently painted. A shadow moved across the upstairs window. Was that the woman? As I watched, the shadow returned, obscured behind a white gauzy curtain.
    Someone was waiting for me.
    I pushed open my door as far as the wall would allow, still wondering how heads could be shrunken and then written off as something natural. Harvey joined me on the sidewalk leading up to the house.
    “Let’s go see what this mystery woman wants,” he said.
    The gate opened without a sound, giving me pause. I’d expected a squeak of resistance. The porch creaked something awful as we crossed to the front door.
    I held up my knuckles to knock and Harvey bumped me aside, turning the knob and pushing it open.
    “Harvey!”
    “What? They’re apartments. Nobody knocks on the outside door. You have to go inside.”
    Surprisingly, apartment number four wasn’t up the wide, oak staircase that looked to have been refurbished, the varnish still glossy. It was at the end of a long white hall that smelled like fresh paint. I could see drips of white here and there on the edge of the dark blue carpet.
    An old-fashioned brass knocker in the shape of a grandfather clock made a solid thwack on the wooden door thanks to Harvey.
    “I’m supposed to knock seven times.” I added six more thwacks.
    His bushy eyebrows rose. “Any other instructions I should know before we step inside?”
    “Yeah, stay out of trouble. I don’t need Detective Cooper harping on me about dragging his uncle into any more of my schemes.”
    I looked back down the hall. The light coming in through the front door windows seemed to lessen. Rain must be moving in, the gray clouds thickening even more. That or it was an omen. I chewed on my lower lip. I preferred the rain prediction, even if it would give me a helmet head of frizzy curls.
    Harvey knocked again with the brass clock, seven more times. We waited, passing shoulder shrugs and frowns back and forth.
    I put my ear to the door.
    “What do ya hear?”
    “Ticking,” I said.
    “Like a bomb?”
    “No. Like a clock ticking.” But there were no footfalls. No floorboards creaking either. Nothing but tick-tock, tick-tock.
    “Are you sure she said apartment four?”
    “Positive.”
    “Is her number still on your phone?” When I nodded, he pointed at my purse. “Give ‘er a call back.”
    “Good thinking.”
    “That’s why you need me along. I’m the brains of this operation. You need to focus your purty head on smilin’ for more billboards.”
    I wrinkled my nose at him. Pulling up her number, I hit the call button and listened. My phone rang in my ear. On the other side of the door, a phone trilled in response. After the tenth ring, I hung up.
    “Maybe she had to run out,” I said. “We can come back some other time.”
    Harvey reached out and turned the knob. The door creaked open. “Or we could let ourselves in and

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