Diner Knock Out (A Rose Strickland Mystery Book 4) by Terri L. Austin Page A

green technology.
    My spidey sense started to tingle. Could Wyatt Sanders be a part of the fight club? After all, Will Carlucci owned Rob. This could be the same type of setup. Jimmy didn’t strike me as an overly bright bulb, and he didn’t specify what type of work he did for Sanders and Associates. I wondered if Jimmy was part of Wyatt’s stable. Andre would say I was jumping to conclusions, but my gut told me I was right. Then he’d argue that my gut wasn’t a good investigative tool, but he wasn’t here, therefore, he could suck it. So sad, too bad, Hardass.
    I added Wyatt Sanders to the list of people I wanted to interrogate and fell asleep with my notebook tucked under my pillow.

      
    Sundays at the diner catered to early bird sinners and afternoon saints. Since the Fourth of July was right around the corner, Ray added a patriotic item to the menu: blueberry-strawberry pancakes topped with whipped cream. For some reason, people loved themed food.
    Throughout the morning, Roxy and I caught snatches of time where we could chat. I briefly told her about Wyatt Sanders and she described Sugar’s new routine. Something about floating scarves.
    At eleven, right before the church crowd congregated, Andre stiffly walked into the diner. He marched up to the empty table I’d just finished bussing.
    “I see you’ve heard about our patriotic pancakes,” I said with a smile.
    To be fair, he didn’t usually return my witty banter with a quip of his own, but today he was even more humorless than normal. “I’d like to speak with you.” He glanced around the diner, his sharp gaze raking over the checkerboard floor, the faded wallpaper. “Alone. Now.”
    Whew, someone rebooted on the wrong side of the bed this morning. “Sure.”
    Roxy cruised over and gave him a wink. “How’re tricks, Officer Thomas?” Her puffy blue and white dress was very Alice in Wonderland , complete with a pair of fuzzy white rabbit ears shooting up from her blue hair.
    His eyes did a slow glide over her. “Why do you dress like that?”
    She nodded at his navy Dockers. “Why do you ?”
    He sighed and turned back to me. “Miss Strickland. Now.” He strode down the hallway to the small office.
    Roxy’s brows shot up. “What’s up his butt this morning?”
    I had a sinking feeling that bypassed my stomach and slid all the way to the soles of my feet. Somehow, someway, Andre had found out about my missing person case. “Can you cover my tables?”
    “Yep. Don’t keep him waiting or he might bust a microchip.”
    “Good one.” I shuffled to the office, where Andre stood with his back to me. “What’s up?”
    Pivoting, he clenched his jaw so tightly, I was surprised his molars didn’t dissolve into dust. “There’s only one reason I’m not firing you this minute. One.” He held up a finger to prove his point.
    I waited him out, crossing my arms and barely tilting my eyebrow, the way Sullivan would.
    Andre dropped his hand and we stared at each other. Hell, I could stand there all day. The only person I could never outlast was my boyfriend. The one who didn’t give me a house key or take me out in public. Jeez, every time I broke it down, my relationship with Sullivan sounded pathetic.
    “Miss Strickland.”
    My eyes snapped back to Hardass. “Yes?”
    “I know what you did.”
    I kept my lip zipped.
    “You took a case behind my back.”
    Yep, he’d found out, all right.
    “Pro bono, I might add.”
    I simply nodded.
    “And you’ve been telling people we’re partners.” He said “partners” like it was the vilest word in his vocabulary.
    “Yes.” Taking a deep breath, I raised my chin and braced myself for the tongue-lashing I deserved. “So why aren’t you firing me?”
    He took two menacing steps forward. Behind his glasses, anger glowed in his hazel eyes. On the outside, he wore a mask of irritation, but inside I sensed he was an active volcano. All that hot, pent-up rage flowing beneath the surface, ready