Read Death at the Trade Show: Target Practice Mysteries 3 for Free Online

walk the floor to see what products are selling, what the competitors are doing, and general industry trends. We are also meeting with some companies that are looking to be bought out by us.”
    Mary unwrapped a sandwich. “People want to be bought out?”
    “Oh yeah, there’s a lot of reasons people want to sell their company. They want to retire. They have plateaued and need more capital to expand. They want the money. They’re about to go under.”
    Liam pushed his chair away from the table and relaxed back into the seat. “Speaking of distributors. We need to talk to you about tonight.”
    Orion looked over at Liam. “Is tonight the game?”
    Liam nodded. “Connie reminded me.” He turned to us. “We usually get a box at a local game and invite our biggest distributors as a thank you for buying our products and as a casual way for them to discuss what they want to see from us. And Moo can’t come.”
    Moo jerked his head up to stare at Liam. Moo whined softly then lowered his head and batted his eyes up at Liam, but Liam was unmoved by Moo’s guilt attempts.
    Liam reached over to Moo and scratched his ears. “Sorry, buddy. You’ve a couple of options. You’re both invited to the game, and Jack offered to keep Moo in the car with him. Another is that Jack can drop us off at the game then pick you up food from wherever you want then bring it to the hotel. Or—”
    Mary jumped in. “We’ll stay at the hotel and get Indian food from that place that Jack told us about this morning.” Then she looked at me and cleared her throat. “I mean, that’s my vote, but only if Di agrees.”
    I smiled back at her. “That sounds great. What does the rest of the day look like for you guys?”
    Liam rolled his eyes. “Meetings. A million meetings.”
    Orion laughed. “It’s not so bad. After today, things lighten up a bit. The first day is always a crunch, as everyone wants to get all the important stuff out of the way.”
    I gathered up our trash. “Yeah, it sure seemed that everyone that raced past our table was off to somewhere important.”
    Liam got up from his seat and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t we give it until the end of the day, and if the table still doesn’t have much activity, then we can consider mixing it up?”
    ***
    I flopped onto the couch in our suite while Moo chomped on his dinner in the kitchenette. It had been a long day. “What do you want to order from the Indian place?”
    Mary peeked at me over a lowered newspaper that Jack had given her as she exited the car this evening. “Huh? Oh, food. Can you get a little of everything?” She disappeared behind the newspaper.
    I searched through the menu to find something that would work and copied our order onto a sheet of paper. Liam, Orion, and Elizabeth were in their rooms, getting ready for the game tonight.
    I checked my phone. Several emails and messages had come through. Minx and Tiger sent a few texts, as they were in the process of moving to the Westmound Center as on-site athletes. Minx wanted to know what the laundry facilities were like, so I typed up a reply explaining what was there and that she would definitely want to bring her own laundry basket.
    Tiger, on the other hand, wanted to know what the local singles scene was in town. I chuckled and suggested that he contact some of the single firearms instructors at the center. I never left the center in the evenings. I had everything I needed at the center already.
    Liam came into the room. He had changed clothing for the evening, adding a few layers. He came over and sat next to me. “Are you sure that you want to stay here?” Moo came over to Liam.
    “Yes, I’m really excited to stay in after a long day. Here’s our order.” I handed him the paper, our fingers brushing. A warmth flowed over me as I looked at him, and we smiled.
    “We’re good,” Mary said as she folded up the newspaper and pulled out a laptop from her bag and fired it up. “I have some