Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights Read Free

lip under, one of his Bogey habits, and didn’t look happy. “We’ll probably lose most of them. The new place, if we take it, is going to take time to remodel. If we buy this place, we want to do it right. It will be ours . You know, the hardest type of business to get off the ground is a restaurant. It’s got to appeal to people.”
    “But we already had a following , and it did appeal to them,” I reminded him. “I think people will come back, even if we move. We were a novelty with our ambiance and you looking like Bogey. And I have to admit, I enjoy dressing in the styles of the 1940s.”
    Chris patted my hand, apparently thinking he needed to comfort me . “People will remember the fire, and the fact that they could have died. We’re going to have to prove ourselves before customers come back.”
    I shook my head which caused my long, messy auburn hair to fall in my face. “I don’t agree.”
    “They’re going to read about a grease fire and believe that our kitchen was dirty . It wasn’t, but that’s what they’ll think.”
    “Again, Chris, I don’t agree . We received top ratings from the health department and it was in the newspaper. This fire was purely an accident.”
    “What was that reporter’s name – the one we had to deal with last year when that other murder happened?” Chris asked. “I’ll bet we could get her to do a story about the new place. Maybe we could talk her into coming in to see how we refurbish it and sort of follow the process.”
    “That’s a great idea,” I said . “Her name was Sharon, but I don’t remember her last name. I’ll call the newspaper and get a phone number for her.”
    “ Good idea,” Chris said. “And you’re right about keeping busy. Let’s go see this place while Mikey’s still in school. We can take him to see it later, if we buy it. Get the dogs and let’s go.”
    “You know we shouldn’t have had the dogs at the restaurant,” I said, “but if we hadn’t taken them, Luis might have died in the fire.”
    “They were never near the food,” Chris said. “They were in the office in the back. I have to admit though, it’s a good thing we didn’t close the door or they couldn’t have gotten out. And it’s a good thing the Health Department didn’t know they were there.”
    I reminded Chris that we needed to clean up before we went anywhere, and that he should probably call the Realtor to see if we could meet him and get inside to see what we’d be working with if we took it. I rubbed my eyes, deciding to use some drops to see if I could get rid of the redness.
    “You ’re the brains in this outfit, shweetheart,” he said, slipping into his Bogey persona. “I don’t know what I’d do without ya.” He curled his upper lip under again before giving me his best Bogey smile.
    “And don’t you forget it,” I replied, smiling back . “Last night you said you were the brains.”
    ***
    We arrived at the new location a couple of hours before time to pick Mikey up at school. The Realtor was waiting for us.
    “Okay, Bogey Man,” I said, surveying the building . “This isn’t a restaurant. It’s a brick house. An old brick house. I thought you were taking me to see a restaurant site. Would you like to explain?”
    His face beamed . “Picture this with a big sign out in front. We’ll convert it to a restaurant and bar.”
    “You make that sound so easy . There’s so much to look into,” I said. “Zoning – ”
    “Already checked . Look around you. Do you see any other homes? No? That’s because this was rezoned to a commercial district.”
    “Oh . But we’d have to renovate – ”
    “I’ve already talked to Big D about that,” Chris replied . “He’ll help us. All we have to do is invite him to a barbeque and he’ll take the job. Well, maybe we’d have to invite a single woman for him to meet, too.”
    Big D is a friend of Chris’s who happens to be a contractor, and his name is Dav ey. He also happens to be a