Grab & Go (Mayfield Cozy Mystery Book 2) Read Free

He’d hurt me, betrayed me, and I’d felt as though I could handle that, but this extension, the harm he caused, no matter how indirectly, to my friends, innocent people — I ground my teeth together.
    Gus laid a warm hand on my shoulder. “We should be heading back.”
    I jumped. “What? Why?”
    “I’ll stay,” Etherea said. She was already cradling the twins in her arms. “The sheriff’ll want to talk to you two.” Her jaw was set in a firm line. “Witnesses.”
    Sidonie squeezed my hand again and gave me a wavery smile. “Go. Hank’s strong. He’ll fight through.”
    I hoped with every fiber of my being that she was right.
     
    oOo
     
    I sat in the middle because that’s the protocol when a woman and two men are riding in a pickup with a bench seat. My shoulders bumped back and forth between Walt’s and Gus’s as we rumbled down the road. I’d left the keys for Hank’s truck with Etherea and felt fidgety now that there was nothing for me to do — except worry. I hate sitting still when my mind’s racing.
    I wished I hadn’t given the Gonzales family so much space after the birth of their twins. I’d just assumed they’d appreciate not being bothered because I’m that way myself, but maybe Hank would have felt more comfortable telling me about his concerns sooner if I’d been more present.
    Unless he’d only recently come across the evidence of Skip’s participation in the business. His comments seemed to hint at that — like Hank had been working to put the pieces together and just come to some preliminary conclusions.
    I’d spent the past few weeks helping Clarice explore and turn hospitable the derelict mansion we lived in — dusting, vacuuming, polishing and laundry, loads and loads of laundry. Everything about the place was industrial-sized since it was built as the main residence, dormitory-style, for a poor farm and also served time as a nursing home before being shuttered in the 1960s.
    It had been a relief to lay low for a while, recover from my brief but terrifying kidnapping experience surrounded by only friendly faces without a drug cartel enforcer in sight. I should have known it was too good to last.
    The FBI had promised me that they were watching all the known haunts of Giuseppe Ricardo Solano, otherwise known as Joe. Since no one with a badge had mentioned to me that he’d been spotted, I suspected he’d found a new place to hunker for a while. He’d successfully vanished — for the time being.
    This morning’s incident felt different. Joe had sent me a disembodied finger as an early warning. Not exactly subtle. But a drive-by shooting? That was blatant. I’d gotten a good look at the shooter and a decent look at his driver. They didn’t seem concerned about being identified. Maybe they hadn’t counted on any witnesses surviving the assault.
    But would Joe wait for a couple weeks and then send this kind of in-your-face message? No, it seemed much more likely that what happened today had been prompted more recently, and probably by Hank’s inquisitive digging through records.
    “Punkin,” Gus broke into my thoughts, “don’t know what Hank was up to, but is there any chance the shooting was directed at you?”
    It was only because of Gus’s efforts that I’d been found after the kidnapping. He seems to have a vested, strongly paternal interest in me now.
    I gave him a weak smile and shrugged.
    He grunted and resumed studying the green, tree-packed scenery. A brown sign that said ‘Now entering May County’ flashed by.
    I could feel Walt watching me out of the corner of his eye. He probably had as many questions as Gus did but was even better at holding them in. What answers could I give them? I only had questions myself. I leaned into Walt’s shoulder a little bit more and left it at that.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 3
     
    Walt parked across the intersection at Gus’s combo post office and service station, and we