Ramirez nodded. "I saw them putting her into an ambulance as I pulled up."
I bit my lip, hoping help had gotten to her quickly enough.
"Can you tell me what happened?" my husband asked in a soft voice.
"I think so." I gave him the quick, condensed version of everything, starting with the fake text from Tina and ending with her braining John over the head with a signature Aunty and the Dog skillet.
"Did the EMTs look at your head?" Ramirez asked, eyes going to the back where I could feel a lump forming already.
"They said I'm fine." I bit my lip. "Ish."
"You should go with them to the hospital. I'm not good with just fine-ish." He paused. "If anything happened to you…" He trailed off, his voice husky with emotion.
The tears started to flow from my eyes again, and Ramirez's also looked a bit watery. He pulled me close for another hug and then exhaled sharply. "You'll be the death of me," he whispered.
The set began to fill with people who'd heard the sirens and come to see what all the commotion was about. A couple of set security were instructing them to "Stand back," and I watched as Chloe and Laura arrived, worry clear on their faces as they ran toward the now awake John. They watched in shock as a policeman handcuffed him to a gurney, reading him his rights in a monotone. John would not look at either one of the women. My heart broke for Laura, who started to sob uncontrollably. Chloe put her arms around her, and I could see her holding back tears as well.
"Maddie!"
I turned at the sound of someone calling my name and saw my mother pushing her way through the crowd, followed closely by Mrs. Rosenblatt and Faux Dad.
Ramirez released me, relinquishing hugging rights as Mom tackled me in a tight embrace. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine."
"She will be after she goes to the hospital to get checked out," Ramirez put in.
Mrs. Rosenblatt flung her arms around my neck, almost choking me in the process. "We were so worried when you didn't come back. I knew something was wrong. I sensed it, and you know my senses are never wrong."
Faux Dad stepped forward to give me a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright, hon." His expression was grave, and I immediately thought the worst.
"I hope I didn't ruin the show."
He kissed my cheek. "You didn't ruin anything. Besides, you're more important to me than any old competition."
His words touched me. "Thank you."
Mom blew her nose into a tissue. "Isn't he just the sweetest thing?"
Faux Dad shot me a gigantic grin. "Oh, and by the way, I won."
"What?" I shrieked and threw my arms around him again. Faux Dad laughed, Ramirez pumped his hand, and Mom started to cry. "When I left, you were behind in the score."
Faux Dad reached for my mother's hand. "I was a nervous wreck at first. This whole week has been a lot of pressure. Then I thought about those kids."
"Kids?" I asked, confused.
"At the children's hospital." He shook his head. "This was a charity competition. It was about them, not about me winning. When I remembered that, well, the nerves seemed to melt away."
"I went backstage at the Double Jeopardy! break. He was so in the zone then," Mom added with a smile.
He kissed Mom's cheek. She blushed, but I knew that she was loving the attention.
"What about Angela?" I asked. "And Pippi?"
Mrs. Rosenblatt giggled. "Angela thought she had it in the bag. She was in first place going into Final Jeopardy!, but she had the wrong answer. Pippi got it right, but she was a thousand dollars behind your stepfather. He bet it all, except for one dollar."
Faux Dad winked at me. "You'll never guess what the question was."
"Something to do with fifties hairstyles?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Nope. The category was America's States, and the question was, 'It's the state that's the second highest in red meat production.'"
I laughed out loud. "Let me guess. Iowa?"
"Of course," he said grandly. "Angela wrote down Nebraska, which is actually number one. She was so angry that she swore. On camera. On live TV."
My eyebrows rose. "That must have gone over well."
"I'll say," Mrs. Rosenblatt agreed. "I mean, I'm sure the censors caught it, but I'll tell you that network mucky-muck who's married to Aunty Mae was not happy. Looked about ready to pop something."
"I'm so proud of you," I told Faux Dad.
He smiled at me fondly. "Well, what do you say we celebrate tomorrow at the salon. Mani-pedis all around!"
I grinned. "You know me so well."
Faux Dad squeezed my mother's hand as he looked over at Ramirez. "Jack, what would we do without these Springer women in our lives?"
"I've no idea." Ramirez winked at me. "And I hope that I never find out."
* * *
"How is Aunty Mae?" Marco asked as he crunched on a tortilla chip. He was wearing a pair of linen Bermuda shorts, a Hawaiian shirt with the tails tied into a neat little bow just above his belly button, and pink flip-flops with flamingos printed on them. "Has anyone talked to her?"
It had been a week since the incident with John at the In the Kitchen set, and Marco, Dana, and I were sitting on my back patio together sipping cocktails. Marco and I were eating tortilla chips with homemade salsa that Mama Ramirez had brought over the day before.
Livvie and Max stood a few feet away throwing a ball back and forth on the lawn. The temperature was a bit cooler today, only in the low eighties, so we planned to enjoy it while it lasted.
"You heard she's out of the hospital, right?" I asked. "She's expected to make a full recovery."
Marco scooped some salsa onto a chip. "Thanks to you!"
"And Tina," I added.
"I actually talked to Mae yesterday," Dana jumped in, sipping her margarita. "I passed her coming out of Blick's office, and she said she's feeling fine. She looked great."
"She was at her husband's office?" Marco asked. "I would have thought they'd be on the outs right about now. You know, with everything coming out about the affair in the press." Which it had, making headlines for the Informer all week long, thanks to Tina.
Dana shrugged. "Just the opposite, actually. Mae said Blick was really shaken up when they rushed her to the hospital. She said he never left her side the whole time. I guess the thought of losing her made him realize how much she meant to him."
"That's sweet. Who knew he had a romantic side?" I stretched my legs out on the empty chair next to me.
"Mae sure didn't," Dana went on. "She said it was like he was a whole new person. She said he even confessed to her that he had suspected about Dog and Mae before Dog's death. In fact, we were right—that was what he was arguing with Dog about right before the show. He'd seen Mae go into Dog's dressing room and had suspected it wasn't to swap recipes. Anyway, this whole thing has brought the two together again. Mae said they're even going on a second honeymoon to reconnect just as soon as sweeps week is over."
"Well, good for them," Marco said, crunching on a chip. "She deserves some happiness."
"Any idea what they plan to do with the show now?" I asked, watching my kids' game of catch start to turn into dodge ball. I took another sip of my margarita, gauging whether parental intervention was needed.
Dana nodded, eyeing the chips. But, being as her pilot had just been picked up for a full season, she didn't dare ingest the calories. That latex suit wasn't getting any smaller. "Mae said they're doing a revamp of the In the Kitchen show and planning to start shooting a new season as soon as they get back from their honeymoon."
"So she did get her solo show?" Marco asked.
"No, Blick won that battle once again. She's got a new co-host starting up."
I sent a raised eyebrow her way. "You would think Blick would be wary of that particular scenario again."
Dana laughed. "Well, I think he's pretty safe on that score. Mae's new co-host is female. The new show will be called In the Kitchen with Aunty Mae and Pip."
"No way!" Marco slapped his bare thigh. "Pippi Mississippi?"
Dana nodded, grinning. "Apparently she got enough positive response from the Jeopardy! viewers that Blick thought she'd speak to their demographic. It'll have sort of a spin where Aunty is teaching the next generation to cook."
"Look, I'm getting goose bumps." Marco stretched out his arm for us to see. "I just love happy endings."
I rattled the ice cubes in my empty glass, trying to decide if I wanted a refill as Livvie threw her rubber ball at Max's shins. "Well, not everyone got a happy ending. You did see Tina's article in the Informer today, didn't you?"
Marco scrunched up his nose. "What is that snake up to now?"
"Hey now, that snake saved my life," I reminded him. Which, while it didn't mean I'd be calling her up for a girls' trip to the mall anytime soon, I did feel a little defensive on her behalf.
"Fine," Marco conceded. "She's a snake with half a heart." He shrugged. "So what did the article say?"
"It was about Angela Gold," I told him, deciding I wanted that refill after all and reaching for the pitcher of margaritas on the table. "She was fired from All My Husbands for her outburst on Jeopardy!"
"Ha!" Marco threw his head back and laughed. "Serves her right."
"Well, I was honestly surprised." I sipped from my fresh drink. "She'd been on the show for a long time."
Dana shook her head. "No one is indispensable in Hollywood. I've learned that the hard way before."
"Well, according to Tina, they're terminating her contract, citing a morality clause, and killing off her character. Kaley Kingston is supposed to die in a horrible fire."
"Of course, Kaley could come back in a year or two, played by another actress," Marco reasoned, licking salt off his fingers. "Then we'll find out she didn't die in the fire and was nursed back to health by some gorgeous guy who's in love with her, and she had to have major reconstructive surgery, which made her prettier and younger looking."
I couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped me.
"What?" he said. "They do it all the time."
"I have to feel a little sorry for her," Dana said, swirling the last of her drink around in her glass. "I mean, losing it all like that. Falling from fame, suddenly out of work."
"Actually, she's not totally out of work," I told her.
"Oh?" Marco said.
I shook my head. "According to Tina, she's set to appear on Bachelor Bikini Island. After the whole story came out about her being G-Money and Dog's ex-girlfriend, the producers thought it would provide some fun conflict if she and Blakely were competing over the same men."
"I can only imagine how Blakely felt about that," Dana said, giggling.
"Well, it's hard to feel too sorry for any of Dog's exes. They're all four million dollars richer," Marco pointed out. "I think they can afford to drown their sorrows, huh?"
"Except for Laura," Dana said. "I can't imagine anything is a comfort to her right now."
I nodded, the thought of her devastation sobering me instantly. "From what Ramirez told me, John's looking at life in prison. He said Laura's hired a high-priced attorney to fight the charges, but with the confession he gave Tina and me…well, it's going to be an uphill battle."
"Will you have to testify?" Dana asked, a frown marring her features.
I shrugged. "It's possible. I guess it all depends on how his defense plays out. But it could be months, even years, before they wade through all the motions and actually get to a trial. So, we'll see."
"How sad," Marco said, shaking his head. "Her only child going to prison for the rest of his life. And she's probably going to end up spending the whole inheritance on legal fees."
"She never wanted Dog's money to begin with," I reminded him. "I honestly believe that now. She really did just still love him."
"What about Chloe?" Dana asked, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. "Did she break off the engagement?"
"She did." The kids' ball landed next to my chair, and I threw it back to Max. "I can't say I blame her. Murder is one of those things that's a little hard to overlook in a relationship."
"I can't help but think she must feel guilty. You know, having been at the center of it all," Dana added.
I nodded. "Though, none of it was her fault." Ramirez had conducted the interview with her when they'd brought the whole family down to the station, and while he hadn't told me everything that had been said on the grounds that it was now evidence, he'd been kind enough to give my curiosity the broad strokes. "Chloe said she hadn't even known who John's father was when they started dating. It wasn't until much later that she learned it was Dog. At that point, she decided it was probably just best to not mention that she'd met him before."
"Met?" Marco said, another giggle escaping. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"
I shot him a look but couldn't help smiling. "Okay, she did a little more than just meet her idol. Which was why she decided to keep it quiet from John. She thought Dog would do the same, but she misjudged their relationship by quite a bit. And obviously she hadn't realized how close to the edge John had been."
"Poor girl. That's all a lot for someone her age to go through," Dana said.
"Well, what I want to know is: did you end up getting a restraining order against Body Builder Barbie after her surprise visit?" Marco asked.
I shook my head. "No, when I told Ramirez about it, he had a couple of uniformed officers show up at the gym and gently ask Caitlyn to please lose my address."
Dana smirked. "I wish I'd seen that."
"I heard they did it right in front of Poiku during Hularobics." I grinned. "Anyway, after everything came out in the press, Blakely called and apologized for Caitlyn's outburst and said she'd come clean to Caitlyn about everything. So hopefully we've seen the last of them."
"How did Caitlyn take it?" Dana asked.
"That Blakely had been buying weed from Dog?" I asked. "Not well. She said Caitlyn didn't speak to her for two whole days. But, after Blakely explained the health benefits of marijuana to Caitlyn, she did a little research on her own and finally came around. In fact, Blakely told me that the two were going to use part of their mutual inheritances to set up their own High Yoga studio."
"High yoga?" Marco asked.
Dana turned to him. "It's where you puff first then twist and stretch. It's supposed to bring a higher form of enlightenment."
"It's a higher form of something, that's for sure," I mumbled, snickering.
Dana yawned and stretched lazily. "Hey, don't knock it till you try it."
"Try what?"
We all turned to see Ramirez standing in the back doorway, a box of pizza in one hand and a beer in the other.
"Hey, I didn't hear you come in," I said, rising and taking the pizza from him with a peck on the cheek.
"Got off early. Thought I'd surprise you with dinner."
I lifted the lid. Pepperoni and olives. The man knew the way to my heart.
"Anyone want pizza?" I offered.
But Dana was already rising from her chair and gathering her purse and sunglasses. "Sorry, the temptation of chips was almost too much to resist. If I'm going to fit in skintight latex, pizza and I need to keep our distance from each other."
"I've gotta go too," Marco said, taking the cue that the party was breaking up.
"You sure?" Ramirez asked. "I've got plenty to share."
Marco shook his head. "Thanks, but rain check. I'm opening the salon early in the morning. We've had to expand the hours since Fernando's TV appearance. And we're still booked out for the next month. Can you believe it?" He sighed. "The price of fame, dahlings."
I laughed as he gave me a couple of air kisses and I walked him and Dana out. By the time I made my way back to the yard, Ramirez was already digging into his first slice and the twins each had pizza in hand as they switched from ball to a game of tag.
"So, early day?" I asked, refilling my margarita glass as I grabbed a slice
of pizza.
Ramirez nodded. "That, and I missed my wife." He sent me a wink.
"Why do I have the feeling you're buttering me up for something? Pizza? Compliments? What's next?"
Ramirez chuckled. "Actually, I was just feeling grateful." He paused, and I could see a seriousness shadow his features. "I read over the first responders' reports from Tina today." He turned to face me. "She didn't spare any details in her account of what happened."
I swallowed my pizza slowly. "Well, Tina's a tabloid journalist. She tends to exaggerate."
"Hmm." He gave me a look like he didn't believe that. "Anyway, after reading her account, I started to get the feeling that maybe she was your friend in the press." He paused. "Not Felix."
I took a deep breath and set my slice down. Time to come clean. "Yes and no."
He sipped his beer. "Go on."
"Yes, Tina is the one who first heard about the ethylene glycol and wanted me to ask you about it."
"Yeah, I love being an anonymous source."
I cringed. "Sorry. I didn't think she'd put that it came from the police in her article."
He shook his head, glossing over it. "So, tell me about the 'no' part."
"I actually did see Felix. Briefly. Just to tell him to get Tina to lay off of Fernando. She'd found out he's really Ralph, and she was going to print it."
He nodded. "I'm hoping she's backed off that now?"
"She has. We settled on a truce." Which had consisted of me letting her take credit for the identification and capture of Dog's murderer and her promising to keep Fernando's real identity a secret and forget she ever found it. From my side, it was an easy concession.
Ramirez nodded. "So I'm guessing Felix didn't help you out."
"No," I said. "He said he didn't control his reporters. See? He's useless to me," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Hmm." Ramirez sipped his beer.
"Come on," I told him, moving around the table to put my arms around his neck. "You couldn't really be jealous of Felix."
"No, of course not." His tone was unconvincing, but then he grinned wickedly as he drew me closer to him. "There's no reason to be. I've got something he doesn't."
I pretended to guess. "Let me think. A gun?"
Jeopardy in High Heels (High Heels Mysteries Book 12) Page 23
