Tony Dunbar - Tubby Dubonnet 06 - Lucky Man

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Book: Read Tony Dunbar - Tubby Dubonnet 06 - Lucky Man for Free Online
Authors: Tony Dunbar
Tags: Mystery: Thriller - Lawyer - Hardboiled - Humor - New Orleans
Moskowitz Memorial Labs?”
    “Cletus Busters,” he admitted, puffing out his chest. “I had a lot of luck in both of those trials.”
    “I’d like to hear about it sometime,” she said. “Do you want me to play in the field, Buddy?”
    Close up, Tubby could see that his fan was truthfully no spring chicken, but she had made a very favorable first impression.
    “I’m going to have you start in center,” Buddy told her.
    The woman— Tubby guessed she was about thirty— tapped the brim of her cap with two fingers and gave Tubby a nod.
    “The sun sure is hot, huh?” she said in parting and trotted back to her bench.
    “Nice lady,” Holly said. “And single, too.”
    “Yeah?” Tubby had found himself oddly smitten by this woman. He gradually let his stomach back out.
    “She’s been staying at our church for the last couple of months. She cooks for the kids.”
    “What kids?” he asked, concerned.
    “Runaways, mostly. We’ve got bunks for ten and a lot of floor space, and we usually stay full. We try to clean up a few of the problems caused by our special combination of beaches, dockside gambling, and too much plain-old Mississippi. Didn’t Debbie tell you about our mission?”
    Tubby had never thought to talk to his daughter about it. “How did she, uh, meet you, Buddy?” he asked.
    “She just drifted in,” the preacher said vaguely. “You should talk to her about it sometime.”
    “I will.” It was frightening what parents did not know about their children’s lives.
    “Turn in your rosters if you’re playing!” the umpire cried from his seat in the bleachers.
    Tubby failed to bring up the subject with his daughter.
    ***
    Tubby’s team was trailing six to zip in the bottom of the seventh inning so his captain, Square Botts, had finally told him to pick up a bat. By that time his neck was sore from stretching and twisting to keep the center fielder in view. Despite being all elbows she had caught most of the pop flies that had come her way. She also had one hell of an arm, and once she got her grip on a ball she could peg it all the way home.
    With visions of knocking one over her head and out of the park, Tubby took the first pitch. He felt a bit dizzy from the excitement.
    “Strike one!” the umpire yelled.
    He could almost feel the high fives his teammates would give him when he tagged the home run.
    “Strike two!”
    He was going to swing at the next pitch unless it was three feet over his head.
    Buddy floated one right over the plate, and Tubby connected with all of his convictions. Like a seventeen-year-old he pounded up the base path.
    The ball sailed high— so high that it was still up there when the slugger rounded first. The shortstop backed up; the center fielder ran in.
    “I got it, I got it,” Faye cried, and she did. With a solid thunk the ball landed in her glove just as Tubby thundered to second.
    “Great catch!” he called happily, panting, lingering, pandering.
    “Nice hit,” she called back, wiping sweat from her brow. She smiled.
    “How about lunch?” he suggested.
    She waved and ran back to her position.
    “Batter up!” an umpire yelled, reminding Tubby where he was. He loped back to the bench.
    ***
    Tubby caught up to her after the game and renewed the invitation. Why he liked her, he wasn’t quite sure. Maybe because she was not exactly pretty. Maybe because when he smiled she smiled back.
    “Want a bite to eat?” he asked, not very elegantly.
    “I’m with the gang.” She indicated her teammates who were rounding up gloves and balls and drinking victory sodas.
    “The plan is to shop at the Riverwalk and eat before we head back,” Buddy Holly informed them as he walked by.
    “You could catch up with your crew there in two hours, easy,” Tubby said.
    “We’re sweaty,” she pointed out.
    “Not a problem,” Tubby laughed. He knew lots of great places where nobody would mind.
    He ended up taking her to Liuzza’s by the Track, and they had cups of

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