Daniel Stallings - Cleanup on Aisle Six

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR

CLEANUP ON AISLE SIX

Deftly told with a blend of suspense, humor, and terror, Cleanup on Aisle Six is a captivating mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Li Johnson is an unlikely yet entirely compelling protagonist.

Robert Rotstein, USA Today bestselling author of We, the Jury

Grocery clerk to the rescue! A supermarket murderer meets his match when Li Johnson sweeps up.

Carolyn Hart, author of the Death on Demand mysteries

Have no fear: The Minimum Wage Manhunter eventually produces a solution as ingenious as it is unlikely.

Kirkus Reviews

Broke and hapless, accidental sleuth Li Johnson just cant seem to catch a break, but can he catch a murderer? You cant help but root for this down-on-his-luck millennial as he finds himself entangled in another engaging whodunit!

Red Rock Books

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST LI JOHNSON MYSTERY

SUNNY SIDE UP

An Agatha Christie cast of characters seen with a modern eye, and with startling moments of both insight and compassion.

Anne Perry

Daniel Stallings debut mystery offers an appealing protagonist and a fresh viewpoint. Root for the underdog!

Carolyn Hart

Snarky and hilarious! I was cheering for newbie Li Johnson from the start, as he dealt with overbearing bosses, tyrannical passengers, and even murder on this pleasure cruise from hell!

Red Rock Books

This all-too-human amateur sleuth is a wimpy sad sack, but you root for him anyway. With all the things going against him, you want him to come out on top.

Terrance McArthur, Kings River Life

Very entertaining this brought in a new kind of detectivea millennial with a minimum wage job. I would like to see where Li Johnson goes after this one it would be fun to go along on another investigation with him!

JessicaMap Reviews

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Sunny Side Up by Daniel Stallings!!

Cozy Mystery Book Reviews

CLEANUP ON AISLE SIX

Daniel Stallings

Pace Press
Fresno, California

Cleanup on Aisle Six

Copyright 2019 by Daniel Stallings. All rights reserved.

Published by Pace Press

An imprint of Linden Publishing

2006 South Mary Street, Fresno, California 93721

(559) 233-6633 / (800) 345-4447

QuillDriverBooks.com

Pace Press and Colophon are trademarks of Linden Publishing, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-61035-343-4

135798642

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper.

This is a work of fiction. The names, places, characters, and incidents in this book are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental. Whenever real celebrities, places, or businesses have been mentioned or appear in this novel, they have been used fictitiously.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Stallings, Daniel, author.

Title: Cleanup on aisle six / Daniel Stallings.

Description: Fresno, California : Pace Press, [2019] | Series: Li Johnson murder mysteries; vol 2

Identifiers: LCCN 2019032413 | ISBN 9781610353434 (paperback ; acid-free

paper) | ISBN 9781610353564 (epub) | ISBN 9781610353564 (kindle edition)

Subjects: LCSH: Murder--Investigation--Fiction.

Classification: LCC PS3619.T3497 C54 2019 | DDC 813/.6--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032413

Contents

CHAPTER 1

Oscar the Grouch

Hearts were hard to find in the grocery store.

But thanks to his connections to an offal supplier, he got what he needed.

The Butcher tore the paper off the beef heart, his fingers twitching. He watched it bleed onto the cutting board, fresh from the chop shop. His eyes sparkled, and he caressed his lips with his tongue. The first steps of revenge tasted sweet. He seized a well-loved chefs knife out of a kitchen drawer. And he drove the blade into the meat.

Im killing you, Oscar. Im finally killing you.

All the anger boiling inside him for months raced in waves of blood across his arms, through his fingers, down the knife, and into the heart. Therapy. This was the therapy he needed. He hacked at the heart flesh, tearing it, trashing it, whittling it down to a more human scale. He once put Oscar on a pedestal, followed him as a disciple. He bought every book the man wrote. Then Oscar unleashed the monster inside him.

You snake! You ruined me! You attacked my family! You destroyed my friends!

The Butcher ripped the knife out of the meat, his face smudged with tears. He smeared them away with the back of his bloodstained hand. His swollen eyes surveyed his handiwork. Not bad. Here was the main course on Hannibal Lecters dinner table. A heart torn out of a human chest.

Just like mine. And he slammed the blade into his prey, leaving the knife jutting cockeyed out of the flesh. A knife in the heart. Far too fitting.

The Butchers eyes, still blurred with tears, lifted from the wreckage on the cutting board to a line of books on his countertop. The titles mocked him. Oscars books. He should have barbecued them, smirking as he watched the flames eat up all those lies. His hand pawed blindly at them, groping for the fattest volume. He let the book fall open and ripped out a page.

A small smile curled his lips. That felt GOOD.

He ripped out a few more. Then more. And more.

After he destroyed two chapters, he grabbed one of the torn pages, snatched a fat markera fitting shade of redfrom the magnetic caddy on his fridge, and scrawled out a message. A little card to put with his present.

FIRST WARNING.

Now it was all ready to be wrapped and dumped on Oscars doorstep.

Resigning? What the hell do you mean youre resigning?

Frank Dixon slammed the offensive letter onto his desk and launched to his feet. Angry arcs of color burned on his tan cheeks still pockmarked with old acne scars. His face became a perfect model of the Martian landscape. His thick lips twisted into a snarl.

What are you trying to pull, Oscar?

The man addressed as Oscar stroked the brass head of his ebony cane with a jaundiced thumb. He settled further into the leather visitors chair across from the desk, where his boss held his stance like a king under siege in his fortress. A cold, reptilian sneer slithered out from underneath a black broom of a mustache.

I believe Ive come to the end of my time here at The Shorewood Gazette. Oscars words oozed across his tongue like syrup. The sneer widened. Its not like you really wanted me here, Frank.

My personal feelings arent the issue here! Youre putting the paper in a hell of a bind!

The newspaper has never cared for my work. The public loves it, but you could never appreciate what I brought to the table, if you pardon the pun.

Franks scowl ripped through his face. Id be happier if you just toned it down in your reviews. Why do want to destroy people all the time?

Why should these establishments be permitted to serve substandard fare to their customers? Oscars tone was one of righteous indignation, the feeling a man who proclaims himself to be the Sword of God might feel. The citizens of Shorewood have every right to

You closed a caf because they mistranslated a French quote! How in heavens name is THAT news that the public needs to care about?

That imbecilic quote reflected the shoddy execution of their cuisine. They were no more French than I am.