Jeopardy in High Heels (High Heels Mysteries Book 12)

by Gemma Halliday

  Angela licked her lips. "Whatever gave you that idea?" she said slowly.

  "Dog's wife finding you naked in their bed was a pretty good clue," I told her.

  Her eyes darted to mine in the mirror before she spun to face us. "That's ancient history." She laughed, though it held a nervous undertone. "Eons ago."

  "Is that why you forgot to mention it earlier today when we were discussing Dog?" I asked. "You made it sound as if you hardly knew him."

  She shrugged. "I didn't think our history was relevant."

  "But you did date him?" Tina pressed. "I mean, it wasn't just a one-time thing?"

  Angela licked her lips again, though I noticed her lipstick stayed pristine. I vaguely wondered what brand she used. "Yes. Dog and I did have a relationship. But, like I said, it was a long time ago. And before you think I broke up his marriage," she said, directing her comment at me, "that was doomed long before I came on the scene. Dog told me he would have left his wife years ago if it hadn't been for his son."

  "How long were you two involved?" I asked.

  She stared down at the floor. "Almost a year."

  "So this was more than just a fling," Tina said. I could see her typing something on her phone.

  Angela nodded. "I met him shortly after I moved to LA. I was living in a crappy apartment off Sunset, waitressing at night and going to auditions during the day. I know, not a unique story, but still." She picked at a few stray hairs in her brush. "Anyway, being in Dog's music video for 'Put a Collar On It' was my big break."

  "And you started dating him."

  She nodded. "Look, I know you think I'm some sort of home wrecker, but that's not how it was. He loved me. We were going to get married."

  "Did he promise you that?" I asked.

  She bit her lip. "Yes. He said as soon as his album sales picked up again, he was buying me an engagement ring."

  "So what happened?" Tina asked, stylus hovering over her phone.

  Angela shot her a look. "Take a wild guess."

  "He cheated on you?" I offered. Really, it wasn't much of a guessing game.

  She nodded. "With Giselle Williams of all people. I mean, a lingerie model? How cliché can you get."

  About as cliché as being found in bed by your boyfriend's wife, but I didn't see any point in voicing that thought.

  "So you dumped him?" Tina asked.

  "Duh. Wouldn't you?"

  "Sounds like you were pretty upset with him," Tina said, a hint of the wicked grin tugging at the corners of her mouth again.

  "Of course! No one likes to be tossed aside for a younger woman." She paused, seemingly suddenly realizing what she was saying. "But that was forever ago. I mean, I've had nothing to do with Dog since then."

  "Until yesterday at the Jeopardy! taping," I pointed out.

  "That was the first time in years that we'd even laid eyes on each other," Angela said.

  "And what did you do when you did?" Tina asked. "Lay eyes on each other, that is."

  "W-well nothing," Angela sputtered. "I mean, we didn't even speak to each other. I had my dressing room, and he had his."

  "And you never even said hello?" I asked, thinking that seemed a little hard to believe.

  But Angela was sticking to her story. "No. I saw him briefly in the greenroom, but he avoided me completely. Which was fine by me. I had nothing to say to that man."

  "Did you notice if he had an energy drink with him in the greenroom?" Tina asked.

  The question must have caught Angela off guard, as she frowned. "I-I don't know. I wasn't paying attention to what he ate or drank. Why?"

  Tina shrugged and gave Angela a big smile. "No reason."

  "And why all these questions about Dog?" she asked, suddenly going on the offensive. Her eyes cut to me. "What does this have to do with me being your guest of honor at the gala?"

  Absolutely nothing. I glanced to Tina to take that one.

  "Oh, Dog was one of our wish granting celebrities too. Just making sure the press about his death doesn't overshadow your generosity to our cause." Tina gave her a big smile with teeth and everything.

  A small frown still sat between Angela's dark eyebrows, but her ego must have overridden her confusion, as she just said, "Oh. Yeah. Wouldn't want that." She glanced down at her diamond encrusted watch and rose from her seat. "If you'll excuse me, I'm due on the set."

  We took this as our cue to leave. Angela held the door open and avoided eye contact as we stepped outside. After it had closed quietly behind us, we waited outside for a couple of minutes, but she didn't appear.

  "Probably an excuse to get rid of us," Tina said as we walked outside. She glanced down at her phone, furiously typing in more notes as we walked back through the All My Husbands set.

  "So, are you printing all of this?" I asked, feeling just the teensiest bit bad for Angela. Granted, she was no real humanitarian, but I knew firsthand how it felt to have your name on everyone's lips for the wrong reasons.

  "You better believe it, sister," Tina said, leading the way back to my minivan. "Jilted lover offs cheating celebrity during chance encounter on game show."

  "If it was a chance encounter, where would Angela get antifreeze?" I reasoned, unlocking my car and getting inside.

  Tina frowned. "Okay, jilted lover plans poisoning of cheating celeb during golden opportunity on game show."

  I rolled my eyes. But as long as Fernando's name stayed out of it, Tina could run with her wild theories all she wanted.

  CHAPTER TEN

  As soon as I pulled into my driveway, Tina jumped onto her motorcycle and revved off toward the Informer's offices with her story. Happy to have put that matter to rest, I pushed in the front door.

  "Hi, I'm home," I called and slipped my heels off just as the twins came running and tackled me in a hug. My heart melted as I swept them into my arms and kissed them both on the cheek.

  "Ew. Girl cooties," Max complained, wiping it off.

  "We do not have cooties," Livvie argued.

  "No, we do not," I agreed, sneaking one more smooch on Max's cheek as he wiggled free.

  "Well, you have goopy lipstick," he said, running back into the living room in a fit of giggles.

  I couldn't argue that one.

  "Come see the house I'm making," Livvie said as she pulled me after him.

  She and Max looked to be in the middle of constructing a village with their Lincoln Logs. Mom and Faux Dad were seated on the sofa, watching that night's episode of Jeopardy! After admiring the kids' creativity, I flopped into the chair next to my stepfather. He looked more relaxed than the last time I'd seen him.

  "How are you doing?" I asked.

  He didn't answer, and for a second I thought he was purposely ignoring me.

  Mom smiled and patted his hand. "He's in the zone," she informed me.

  "Who is Aristotle?" Faux Dad shouted at the television.

  I leaned forward for a better look. Three other celebrity contestants stood behind the podiums. One was a regular on Saturday Night Live, though I couldn't remember his name. The second one was a nineties rock star who looked like he wasn't aging well, and the third was the former child star Pippi Mississippi, who these days was trying to make a name for herself in the pop world, simply going by Pip. Double Jeopardy! was in progress, and the category was Famous Speeches. The next answer flashed across the screen. Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

  Faux Dad pounded his fist into his leg. "Who is Lou Gehrig!?" He turned his head and seemed to see me for the first time. "Oh, hi, Maddie."

  I gave him a little wave before his attention turned back to the television.

  "So how did your emergency meeting go?" Mom asked me.

  I quickly filled her in on the chat with Angela, as well as the visits Dana and I had made earlier that day to Dog's ex-wives. "It sounds like Tina has an angle for her story that does not include Ralph," I finished with. "Thankfully."

  Mom let out a sigh. "That is a load off.
Thank you, honey."

  Faux Dad turned his attention momentarily my way. "You have no idea how much I appreciate your help, Maddie." He turned back to the screen in time to yell out, "What is cottage cheese!?"

  The twins giggled from their play table.

  Mom crossed one leg over the other in her skort. "So do you really think Angela Gold killed Dog?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. I mean she did seem pretty upset at how it ended with him, but it's hard to believe she'd hold enough of a grudge to kill him years later."

  "Unless there was something about their relationship she didn't tell you," Mom pointed out. "Something she didn't want Dog to let out."

  I nodded. "Dana thought of that too."

  "Well, what about someone he cheated on more recently?" Mom said. "Like the young wife."

  "Which one?" I joked. "But, yeah, it's possible wife #4 was harboring enough resentment to kill him. Or even in conjunction with wife #3."

  "What is praying mantis!?" Ralph shouted at the television.

  "Or the first wife," Mom pointed out. "You said she's the only one who didn't get alimony."

  "She said she didn't want it."

  Mom tilted her head to the side and gave me a get real look. "So she says now. But maybe Dog refused, and now that she's killed him so her son will inherit everything, that's her story."

  "I hadn't thought of that." I shook my head. "Anyway, it's in Ramirez's capable hands, so I'm sure he'll get to the bottom of it."

  The TV show announced a commercial break, and we watched as a picture of Dog appeared on the screen with Trebek's voice in the background. "We at Jeopardy! are deeply saddened by the loss of our recent celebrity contestant Doggy Z, who passed away suddenly last night. Our sympathy goes out to his family at this time."

  We were all silent a beat, contemplating that sad thought.

  "I wonder what will become of Aunty Mae now," Mom said, pursing her lips as the TV went to an insurance commercial. "I mean, she can't very well continue that cooking show without Dog."

  "She didn't seem like she wanted to do it with him in the first place." I filled her in on our conversation.

  When I was finished, Mom was still frowning at the TV. "Poor Dog. It doesn't seem like anyone in his life liked him."

  "From what I've heard today, I wouldn't say he's entirely blameless in that."

  "Shhh," Faux Dad said. "Final Jeopardy!'s starting."

  We watched as the answer from the category American Film Institute flashed onto the screen.

  The AFI ranks this movie quote at number thirty-one on their list of the Top 100 Movie Quotes. It's from the same movie as the quote rated at number one.

  "Yo, Adrian?" Mom guessed.

  "I'll be back?" I tried.

  Faux Dad's face broke into a grin. "After all, tomorrow is another day."

  "Isn't that from Gone with the Wind?" I asked.

  "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," Faux Dad said.

  "Ralph! Not in front of the twins," Mom scolded.

  He glanced with guilt at Max and Livvie, who were giggling again. "Sorry. I forgot about little ears."

  Livvie snickered. "Daddy forgets sometimes too."

  Both Pippi Mississippi and the SNL cast member had the correct answer, but Pippi had bet more and was pronounced the winner. Faux Dad folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the pillows. "Well, tomorrow night I'll learn the name of my other competitor. Pippi will be tough to beat."

  "She didn't end up with nearly as large of an amount as you did," Mom pointed out.

  Faux Dad smiled at her. "That doesn't matter. She's quick on the buzzer and gets almost every question she answers right. That's stiff competition right there."

  * * *

  After Jeopardy! ended, Mom and Faux Dad took off, and I contemplated my dinner options. Takeout sounded easy, but considering the burgers and fries I'd already consumed that day, I went for a more healthy spaghetti along with some prepackaged turkey meatballs I had in the freezer. The kids slurped, twirled, and even launched a couple of meatballs at each other. They were just finishing up and getting a wipe down when Ramirez walked in the front door.

  "Honey, I'm home," he said with a teasing lilt to his voice as he came into the kitchen. He gave the kids hugs before plopping into a chair next to them.

  "Hey," I said. "Just finishing dinner. You up for spaghetti and meatballs?"

  "Sounds great. I'm famished." He pulled me in for a quick kiss on the cheek as I set a plate in front of him. "How was school today?" he asked Livvie.

  "Good. Then we had cookies, and Grandma and Grandpa came over."

  "They did?" Ramirez said, twirling pasta on his fork.

  "Yeah, Mom had to go out," Max chimed in.

  Ramirez's pasta paused halfway to his mouth. "Where'd you go?" He looked up at me with a questioning gaze. So did the twins. My little blessings.

  "Nowhere special." I picked up the kids' empty plates from the table. "You guys, it's bath time. Go to the tub, and I'll be there in a minute."

  "Maddie." Ramirez narrowed his eyes.

  "Give your father a good night kiss."

  Livvie and Max both kissed and hugged him and then raced each other down the short hallway.

  Ramirez got up and grabbed a beer out of the fridge, eyeing me suspiciously as I stacked the kids' plates in the dishwasher. "So, this nowhere special you went. I take it this was after you ambushed me at lunch?"

  "I'd hardly call it an ambush," I protested.

  "Uh-huh." Ramirez sat back down, sipping his beer. "And this somewhere wouldn't have anything to do with Dog's death, would it?"

  I pursed my lips. "Not really." It had been more about his relationships than death, so not a total lie.

  "Not really? As in maybe a little bit?"

  I shrugged noncommittally, scrubbing a pan of red sauce.

  Ramirez sighed. "Okay, just please don't tell me you went to meet this friend of yours in the press."

  "I did not go to any members of the media." Technically, she came to me.

  I'm pretty sure Ramirez could hear the omission in my carefully chosen words, as he looked at me over his meal. "Maddie…"

  "Kids are waiting for me! Bath time. Why don't you finish eating and then relax and watch TV until I get back?" With any luck, he might fall asleep and this discussion could be postponed until tomorrow. Or next year.

  After the twins had been bathed and were cozy in their pajamas, I read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie while they yawned sleepily and took turns reciting the next line. On the rare days he was home on time, Ramirez often joined us in the bedtime banter. He loved to read to Max and Livvie as much as I did. When he didn't appear that night, I took it as a sign that he'd drifted off to sleep. I kissed the twins and turned out the light. I paused outside their bedroom door and cocked my head for noise from the living room. It sounded like a ball game was on the television. With a deep breath, I softly tip-toed into the room.

  Ramirez was stretched out on the sofa, his eyes closed. I couldn't help taking a moment to stand back and admire him. His dark hair was disheveled and his shirt unbuttoned and wrinkled, revealing a six-pack that was definitely not Dad-bod material. A light dusting of stubble ran across his jawline, which relaxed as he breathed deeply. I reached up to turn off the lamp next to him.

  His hand caught my wrist, and I jumped.

  "Holy cow. I thought you were asleep."

  He shot me a wicked grin and raised himself into a sitting position. "Not a chance."

  I sat down next to Ramirez, and he slipped an arm around my shoulders as he checked the playoff game's score. He nuzzled his lips in my hair. "So, where did you abandon the children to take off to today?"

  "I didn't abandon them." I gave him a playful elbow in the ribs. "They were being spoiled rotten by Grandma."

  He chuckled. "Okay, fine. But enough stalling, Lucy. Let's get to the 'splainin' part."

  I sighed. "Fine. I went to see Angela Gold."

  He
turned his attention away from the TV, his dark eyes falling on me. "Okay, I'll bite. Why?"

  "Did you know that she and Dog dated?"

  From the frown he gave me, I could tell he did not. "She told you that?"

  I nodded. "He cheated on his first wife with her." I quickly filled him in on the whole story, though I may have glossed over the details of exactly how I'd gotten each nugget of info.

  When I'd finished, he was nodding, his eyebrows still hunkered down in thought. "Well, it's interesting that Angela didn't share their history with us."

  "I assume that means you've interviewed her?"

  He nodded. "We've talked to everyone who was at the taping. ME wanted to get a clear picture of Dog's behavior that afternoon to try to pinpoint the time of ingestion."

  "And has he?" I asked. "Pinpointed it."

  "From what we've gathered, Dog started acting erratic on the set about an hour before the show taped. Which means he likely ingested the ethylene glycol shortly before then. It doesn't take long for the immediate intoxication to kick in."

  "Which means he drank it while on the set."

  Ramirez nodded again. "Or shortly before arriving."

  "Get anything back on the Invigorate bottle yet?" I asked.

  "Not that I'm sharing with you." He gave me a grin.

  I stuck my tongue out at him. "Well, Angela was on the set with Dog all day," I said. "She would have had plenty of opportunity to slip the poison into his drink."

  "There were a lot of people on the set that day," Ramirez observed. "And from what we've gathered, Dog had four ex-wives who didn't like him very much and some ex-girlfriends who weren't fond of him either."

  "His coworkers didn't like him much more," I mused. "Aunty Mae in particular."

  "So I've gathered." He cocked his head slightly to the side. "Did you go to meet with Angela alone?"

  I hesitated a second too long. I didn't want to lie to my husband, but on the other hand, I wasn't 100% sure what Tina planned to print. While she'd promised to keep my name out of it, I trusted her about as much as I trusted myself at a sample sale.

  "No, I wasn't entirely alone," I said slowly.

  "Entirely?" His eyes went dark with suspicion.