Death by Sudoku Read Online Free

beside Liza. It was clear that Hank didn’t like the idea of her with another man—especially one as compelling as Derrick. Then his eyes went wide with recognition. “Wait a minute! You’re Derrick Robbins!”
    Of course , Liza thought. After his role on Spycraft , Derrick’s the patron saint of geekdom.
    Caught between jealousy, frustrated love, and hero worship, Hank veered away from Liza like an iron filing attracted by a very strong magnet—Derrick. He stuck out his hand.
    Derrick shook it.
    “You were the coolest thing on Spycraft !” Hank said breathlessly.
    With a wry smile and a wink for Liza delivered behind Hank’s back, Derrick led Hank away. They’d actually gotten a dozen feet from Liza before Hank belatedly looked back over his shoulder at her. “We’re both in the third round—I’ll talk with you then!”
    Not if I can help it , Liza thought.
    She turned away, very thankful indeed to Derrick for running interference, and saw Will Singleton rushing across the lobby. The little man was making an effort to be calm as he led Liza to a private lounge. “This place makes its money from business travelers, mainly during the Monday through Friday rush. I figured they’d be happy to get some bodies in here over the weekend. But it looks like they’re a little discombobulated.”
    Liza saw what he meant when she glanced around at the table featuring neat pyramids of soda, juice, and bottled water . . . but apparently, no ice. Will caught the look and collared one of his minions to get a supply. “I’ve tried calling the kitchen. No response so far. Go upstairs and hit the ice machines in each floor if you have to,” he ordered. The sudoku guru’s decisive tone evaporated as he turned to his guest of honor. “Looks like we’re going to be roughing it a bit. But I’m going to make it work.”
    Soon enough, Liza was ensconced in the most comfortable chair available, her eyes closed and a glass of iced water in her hand. Maybe I should have come down yesterday , she told herself. Will did offer me a room. But that would have meant leaving Rusty in a kennel, or imposing on some friend to dogsit.
    Barely a week after returning to Maiden’s Bay, she’d encountered a mutt wandering the neighborhood and ended up rescuing him from the local animal control unit. Judging from the reddish cast of his coat, Rusty had some Irish setter in his background, but he didn’t have that breed’s high-strung temperament. Still, he hated to be left alone, and Liza had suffered surprising regret at leaving him. She’d never been so attached to anyone that a day’s absence worried her like this.
    Keep this up, and I’ll be adding a herd of cats and a shawl to the mix , Liza told herself. I’ve already got the rocking chair. She was supposed to be establishing a new life for herself, not becoming an eccentric hermit. Maybe this tournament was just what she needed, an opportunity to get out in the world, see people, and do something she enjoyed.
    She smiled to herself. If that meant dealing with Hank Lovelorn, so be it. And if Derrick Robbins wanted a contest, he’d get one. Bring on the sudoku!
     
Most of the crowd in the lobby boiled through the double doors when they opened. A brass plaque announced the space was the Irvine Room. Old-line hotels would have called it the ballroom. In modern hotelspeak, it was an event room. Liza had used about a million of them in her career as a publicist, as venues for major announcements, project launches, or Q-and-A sessions. This particular space was probably aimed more at business events, sales conferences, or maybe high-end computer fairs.
    She ran a professional’s eyes over the room as she stepped inside. Commercial carpet, about five years old from the pattern—due to be replaced soon. Four sets of accordion-style partitions, all of them retracted into the walls. Pillars set against the walls in the Skytrails Hotel chain colors, not for any load-bearing function but to