Read Cantina Valley (A Ben Adler Mystery Book 1) for Free Online Page A

rarely came up, despite the fact that she was devout in her beliefs.   And Ben?   His parents had raised him as a fundamental Christian, with heavy doses of Taoism and Buddhism thrown in to the gumbo pot.
    “Always the same guys with him?”
    “Yes.”   Then her eyes seemed to beam with an idea.   “They seemed awfully friendly with that Bigfoot hunter once.”
    “Marlon?”
    “Yeah.   They sat at the end of our tasting bar for a long time talking last month.”
    “In October?”
    She nodded.
    October was one of the winery’s most busy months, with people trying to capture one more day of sun before the rains of winter came to Western Oregon.
    That was interesting, Ben thought.   Why had Marlon lied to him?
    Ben put the photo back inside his jacket.
    “I’m confused,” Sonya said.   “Why did this lawyer come to you for help?”
    He had never really told Sonya what he had done in the military.   To the layperson he could just say he was retired military and leave it at that.   Many thought the military was like a large mass of trained killers who only knew how to pull a trigger.   They had no idea of the complexity of the equipment used, especially in the Air Force and Navy.   Or even the tanks and helicopters in the Army.
    “As I said, my former commander sent her my way.”
    “What did you do in the Air Force again?”
    There was no again.   This was the first time she had really asked this question.   “I was an agent with the Office of Special Investigations.   It’s like the Air Force’s version of the FBI.”   And the CIA.   But she didn’t need to know that part.
    Her eyes got round.   “What?   Wow.   Is that why you still carry your gun everywhere?”
    “Partially.   What did you imagine I did in the Air Force?”
    She shrugged.   “I don’t know.   Something to do with airplanes, I guess.”
    “Every career field is related to keeping the jets in the air, Sonya, from the cooks to the pilots.   I made sure we had a quality force.”
    Sonya pointed a finger into his chest.   “This isn’t over, Ben.   I want to know more.   But I have to get back to work.”
    “Yeah.   I need to be moving on as well.”   Back to Marlon’s house to find out why that Bigfoot asshole lied to him.    “Why don’t you come by on Saturday.   I’ll have some fresh smoked fish.   You can pair a nice wine with that, I’m sure.   Some pinot something or other.”   He smiled at her, knowing she was cringing inside.   His intent.
    “Sounds good.   Six p.m.?”
    “No, let’s do eighteen hundred.”   He confounded her constantly with military time.   It was their thing.
    She glanced over her shoulder and then moved in and kissed him quickly on the lips.   Then she turned and left.   He watched her tight little butt in those yoga pants as she walked back to the office.   He guessed she would look even better if she’d skip a day or two of running each week.
    Ben went out to his truck and sat behind the wheel.   For a microsecond it looked like the sun threatened to poke through the clouds.   But it was just a tease.   Now the rain pounded down onto the heavy steel of his 68 Ford like it was punishing him for his carnal thoughts of Sonya.
    On his way back home he stopped by Marlon’s place, but the man wasn’t home.   Or he just wasn’t answering the call at his gate.
    When he got to his own gate, a sheriff’s truck was sitting outside.
    Ben pulled up alongside the sheriff’s vehicle and got out.
    Deputy Sheriff Lester Dawson got out and spit some tobacco juice into the wet dirt.   Then he extended his hand to Ben.   They shook and stared at each other for a moment.   The two of them had gone to high school together, but Lester had been two years ahead of Ben.
    “I heard you took over the place when your parents passed,” Lester said, and then shoved his tongue into the wad of tobacco under his lower lip.
    “Yeah, I had just retired from the Air Force,”