Drop Dead Sexy(71)

“Considering what we’ve seen in the last week, try me.”

“You know how I told you we’ve had a secret informant giving us information on The Shadow.”

“Yeah.”

“Turns out, Mr. Delaney was the informant.”

I gasped. “You’re joking.”

“It’s crazy, but I’m not.”

“How did you guys find out?”

“Our IT department started decoding Delaney’s laptop, and then all the emails from him to us showed up.”

“So that means that Krump killed Delaney too?”

“Yup. Apparently Krump worked as a hitman for the Dixie Mafia back in the day.”

“And he’s definitely out of prison?”

“Yeah, somehow the f*cker got released six months ago. Allegedly for good behavior.”

“I’m guessing the twenty-five years in prison didn’t change him since he’s been on a killing spree since he got out.”

“It’s looking that way. Listen, I gotta run up to Ellijay to have Olive sign a deposition. You wanna come with me. We could have lunch at that barbecue joint we liked. I know you said you wanted to go downtown and look in all the shops.”

“I really need to stay here and do paperwork.”

Catcher grunted. “You can do paperwork anytime. It’s a beautiful day, and I’ve got the top down.”

Damn him. He was such a bad influence on me. As I nibbled my lip, I glanced down at Motown who was snoozing at my feet. “Can I bring Motown along? He loves car rides.”

At the mere mention of “car”, Motown’s furry head jerked up, and he stared pleadingly at me.

“Sure you can bring him along. The more the merrier.”

I grinned into the phone. “Okay. Where can we meet you?”

“Come down to Jasper. We’ll meet at the shopping center off Hwy 515.”

“Okay. See you in thirty minutes.”

“Bye, Liv-bug.”

My heart flip-flopped. “Bye, Catcher.”



After meeting up, Catcher, Motown, and I headed north to Ellijay. We bypassed the barbecue place, so we could eat outside at one of the cafés downtown that was dog friendly. We did a little window-shopping, and then Catcher babysat Motown while I went inside a few places.

Once we were finished, we headed up the mountain to Olive’s. When we passed the turnoff where we’d had our hood hookup, I couldn’t help giggling.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking about our sexcapade out in those woods.”

Catcher waggled his brows. “Oh yeah.”

“Just make sure while you’re signing the deposition you don’t let Olive slip you any more male-enhancer.”

“Are you sure? That was some pretty epic f*cking.”

“Yes, it was. But I’m not sure my vagina can withstand another pounding like that.”

Catcher chuckled. “Okay, okay. No more man yarb for me.”

We pulled into Olive’s driveway. Since she didn’t own a phone, we hadn’t been able to call ahead to see if she was home. I guess we could have tried Jewell at The Crow’s Caw.

I had just reached for the door handle when my phone rang. After seeing it was Allen, I turned to Catcher. “Go on in. I need to take this.”

“Sure thing.

“Hey. What’s up?” I asked as I answered the phone.

“I’ve got a real cunt-bag on the phone who is demanding to talk to you.”

“Take a message, and I’ll call her back.”

“Uh, yeah, Ace, thanks for the tip. I’ve already done that. She keeps calling back.”

“Who is it?”

“Felicia Brown.”

I groaned. The unfeeling widow whose sons’ antics had led to all the craziness last week. “You have got to be joking.”

“She’s saying we’re charging her for things she didn’t agree to.”

“Patch her through,” I muttered. When the phone beeped, I said, “Hello, Mrs. Brown. What seems to be the problem?”

I spent the next ten minutes arguing with Mrs. Brown and defending my business tactics. Finally, I’d had enough. “Look, I’m not going to discuss this with you anymore. Either you pay the bill, or I’ll see you in small claims court.” When she started arguing with me again, I shouted, “Bye, Felicia!” into the phone before hanging up.

“What a bitch,” I grumbled as I tossed my phone into my purse. I threw a glance in the backseat to see Motown snoring away. “Figures. You sleep through everything, including me yelling at a cunt-bag,” I mused.

When I opened the car door to go join Catcher, Motown raised his head. “Stay, boy. I’ll be right back.” He yawned and then lay back down.

As I made my way across the yard, I was surprised I didn’t see or hear Olive’s hound dogs like I had the other day. They were probably off chasing squirrels in the woods. I climbed the steps and made my way across the porch. When I knocked on the front door, it creaked open. “Catcher? Olive?”

After pushing the door wide, I saw the living room and kitchen were empty. I stepped inside. “Hellloooo?”

“Well hello.”

The sound of a strange and incredibly creepy voice had me whirling around. A heavyset man in a red and white checked flannel shirt stood blocking the front door. I swallowed the rising panic down in my throat at the sight of Creepy Voice.