No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (No Such Thing As...: A Brandy Alexander Mystery) Read Free Page A

two-year-old daughter, Sophia. Marie’s exit was no big loss; he was never all that attached to her in the first place, (apparently her homicidal tendencies were a bit of a turn-off) but he would do anything in the world for his little girl.
    After Marie was sent packing, Bobby took a leave of absence from work so that he could concentrate on helping Sophia cope with the loss of her mother. I guess he thought a couple of weeks in Florida, in the company of a big rodent and a little mermaid would help take her mind off things—and if all else failed, there were always the ’gator farms.
    “Got back yesterday afternoon.” Bobby looked me up and down, his gaze resting on my torn pant leg and battered coat. He leaned over me, grinning as he swept my bangs out of my eyes. “Have you been getting into fights with the other kids at work? How many times do I gotta tell you to play nice?”
    I gave his hand a half-hearted slap. “Very funny. And don’t change the subject. Why are you lurking around in the parking lot of my place of employment? Oh no,” I said, suddenly panicked. “Nobody’s hurt, are they?” My ability to leap to the worst possible conclusion is world class.
    “No. Everything’s fine. I was on my way home and I saw Paul’s car in the lot. Sophia’s staying with Eddie’s mom tonight, so I thought I’d see what you were up to.” Eddie is Bobby’s friend and my best friend, Franny’s new husband. He is an extraordinarily nice guy with a really big mouth.
    “Okay, I see what’s going on here. Franny told Eddie I’m afraid to be alone and Eddie told you. And now you think you have to baby-sit me. Well, I’ve got a newsflash, DiCarlo. I’m fine!”
    Bobby puffed out his cheeks, expelling a breath of air. “You really need to get more sleep. You’re cranky.”
    Unhhh!
It’s not like the idea of spending time alone with Bobby didn’t appeal to me. The truth was it appealed to me way too much. Bobby and I had a ten-year history together. It’s been four years since we’d broken up, but the physical and emotional ties run deep. They’d been buried by a lot of anger on my part, but we’d made peace with that, and now with Marie out of the picture, it would be so easy to fall back into old patterns. I’d told him I thought we needed time to be friends again, without the complications of sex. Sensibly, Bobby had agreed with me. Only the predatory look in his eye begged to differ.
    I heard voices in the parking lot and noticed Tamra a few lanes over, walking towards her car. She was being escorted by Nelson, one of the night security guards. I called out to her and she waved, but she seemed distracted and tense. She looked about as happy to be going home to Jeff as I was, going home to an empty house.
    “Well?” Bobby said. You want company or not?”
    “Not,” I lied.
    “Suit yourself.” He pulled open the driver’s side door and watched me slide into the seat. “You’re really missing out,” he said, the grin on his face telling me he knew I wanted him bad.
    “Get over yourself, hotshot.” I threw the car in reverse and peeled out of there before I had a chance to change my mind.
    Traffic was backed up on Broad Street. I turned on the radio and caught the tail end of the news. A murder in the Bella Vista district, a robbery at gun point at an ATM on Rising Sun Avenue. City Hall is bracing for a protest next month over the scheduled execution of some guy convicted of murdering a co-ed, gas prices are up and the Flyers won in overtime.
    At the next red light I dug in my bag, pulled out my phone and punched speed dial for my friend Johnny Marchiano. John is in-between boyfriends, so I was hoping he’d be free for dinner and a movie at my house.
    “Yo, Sunshine, what’s up?”
    I ran the plan by him, enticing him with promises of take-out from Woo Chin’s.
    “Sorry, dollface. I’ve got plans for tonight.”
    “What kind of plans?”
    John hesitated a beat. “A party.”
    “Can I