Read Death by Lime: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 5 for Free Online

that she wouldn’t be seen or noticed, Marilyn settled in for the long haul. She was determined to keep watch at her assistant’s home for as long as it took until the stalker was identified. She knew that it was completely overkill, but she even took a photograph of the delivery guy and his car. She wanted to have a record of everyone and everything that was going on in Kelcie’s life. As she looked through her mini-binoculars while the young woman’s food was being dropped off, she was glad to note that at least she seemed to be holding up better than expected, even managing to smile at the delivery guy.
    Marilyn had packed a sandwich and a thermos of coffee, which she hoped would keep her awake throughout the night. What she hadn’t thought of in advance was the fact that, after copious amounts of coffee are taken in to the body, at some point they’re going to have to make their exit. Fortunately, there was a gas station a block away if her bladder reached its breaking point, but she was really hoping that the stalker would show his cowardly face before she had to take that kind of break. She was doing well so far – she’d finished her sandwich and wasn’t a bit sleepy, which wasn’t that impressive since it was only just after eight o’clock.
    Staring at the bushes around the front entrance to Kelcie’s apartment, Marilyn watched for any subtle movement, glancing from one side of the door to the other. She didn’t have to wait long. Sitting up straight in her seat, her eyes straining through the binoculars as dusk eased into night, she was horrified when a plain white van with no side windows pulled up, and a tall, thin man in coveralls hopped down from the driver’s seat, heading straight for the apartment. Marilyn was out of her car in a flash, mace in hand, and startled the man just as he was about to ring the doorbell.
    “Don’t move!” she yelled in her best “tough chick” voice. “I have mace and I’m not afraid to use it,” she threatened.
    The man turned around confused. “What’s your problem, lady?” he asked, hands up in a defensive posture.
    “You. You are my problem, mister. You wanna tell me what precisely you’re doing here at this hour of the night?” she demanded, her can of mace pointed directly at the man’s eyes.
    “Unclogging a drain?” the man said dryly, clearly not impressed by her aggressive stance.
    “Don’t play games with me, I have no sense of humor at the moment,” Marilyn warned, waving the can of mace.
    “Clearly,” the man grimaced. “I’m telling you lady, I work for the guy who owns this place. He got a call from the lady who lives here – something about a blocked bathtub drain – so I came out to fix it,” he shrugged.
    “Do you honestly think I’m going to believe that?” Marilyn sneered.
    “I don’t really care what you believe. I’ve got a job to do, so you need to back off and let me get to it,” he replied tiredly. Just then Kelcie opened the door behind him and saw her boss facing off with a stranger.
    “Ms. Hayes?” she asked, confused.
    “It’s okay, Kelcie, I’ve got this guy under control. You call the police and I’ll make sure that he doesn’t go anywhere,” Marilyn directed.
    “Why would I call the police? He’s here to fix my bathtub drain,” the young woman responded.
    The repairman gave Marilyn a harsh “I told you so” look. Glancing at Kelcie, then at the man, and back again, she stood uncertainly, looking as though she could either lower her mace or use it at any second.
    “Is your name Bill?” Kelcie came out onto her front landing.
    “Yep, Bill Gibson,” he replied, not taking his eyes off of the madwoman with mace who was standing in front of him.
    “It’s okay, Ms. Hayes,” she called out to Marilyn. “He’s supposed to be here.” She came and stood beside the repairman. “It’s okay, Bill, sorry about the confusion. If you could go on up and check it out, that would be great,” she said,