Begging for Trouble
Page 29
“We weren’t fighting. We were uncovering evidence.”
Grinning, she glanced at Rudy. “I believe the dogs were helping find the evidence.”
“Okay, that’ll work.” He stood, walked to her chair, and drew her to a stand. “Vince and the captain are on your side.”
“I just have one question,” Ellie began, still hoping to avoid the promised discussion. “What did Judge McDonald have to do with all this?”
“Yeah, what?” Rudy yipped.
“Ah, well, I got the court records for Pearson’s last three busts. The first two cases were heard by McDonald. Number three was Lowenstein’s. McDonald warned Pearson that his third arrest would be jail time, but Lowenstein let him go. That frosted McDonald’s ass, so I went to him for the search warrant.”
“And he was happy to okay it?”
“Correct.”
Ellie sank into the warmth of his chest. It sounded like maybe, just maybe, she was off the hook for this one.
“Now it’s time for that talk I promised you.”
Uh-oh. She raised her head, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “Okay.”
“I’ve been thinking. We’re pretty tight when you mind your own business—”
“Excuse me. I always mind my own business.”
“Okay, we’ll skip that. How about if I mention how nice it would be if we could share a bed—on a more regular basis.”
“It would be nice, yes, but—Hey, are you saying all I’m good for is a steady roll in the hay?”
When his face flushed, her heart flipped over in her chest. What was he getting at?
“No. No!” Sam cleared his throat. “But I’ve been thinking. Since all I want is to keep you safe—”
“Which would be nice—if you didn’t bully me.”
“Okay, so maybe that happens, but I think I’ve found a solution to our—er—my problem. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I decided you need a keeper, and I’m volunteering for the position.”
“No, no! A thousand times no! I’m her keeper,” Rudy ruffed. “For now and for always. That’s my job.”
Ellie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“It’s time we thought about a more permanent solution.”
She was torn between running to her boy and telling him she needed two keepers or hugging Sam tight. Rudy would always be her number one, but having Detective Doofus near in a more personal way couldn’t hurt.
Then Sam kissed her again, and every thought in her head disappeared. A minute later, he let her go and gazed into her eyes. “I think we should move in together.”
“What? Nooooo!”
She took a breath, exhaled slowly. “Move in—as in live? Here?”
He grinned. “Uh, yeah. I thought that could work. Your place is bigger, there’s more closet space, and—”
“Stay where you belong, you idiot. Out of our lives.”
Ellie caught a glimpse of Rudy, now lying flat on the floor with his front paws over his eyes. “You want to live here, with Rudy and me?” She bit her lower lip, thinking. “And people would know?”
“Well, of course people would know.” His gaze narrowed. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Thoughts of her mother, of Vivian, and the guys on the police force flashed through her mind. Biting her lower lip, she cocked her head and smiled at her boy.
Sam lifted her chin with a finger and she read the love in his eyes. “Ellie, hey, I’m up here.”
She smiled and heaved a sigh. “Okay, sure. We’re flexible. We can handle it. Right, Rudy?”
“Oh, brother.”
Read on for a preview of Judi McCoy’s next Dogwalker Mystery,
Till Death Do Us Bark
Coming from Obsidian in August 2011
When Viv’s sister mentioned her fiancé, Vivian set her empty wineglass on a passing waiter’s tray and put her free hand on her hip. “I’d be happy to help, Arlene, but you’re forgetting something. I have yet to meet the man. I thought you’d been hiding him somewhere for a big unveiling.”
“Hiding him? Of course not. He’s been with patients all afternoon. He gets so involved in caring for them, he sometimes forgets to come up for dinner. I sent Julio to get him at least twenty minutes ago.” She huffed out a breath. “And where did Mickey go? If that man went to the cottage and corralled him into talking about business, I’m going to pitch a fit.” She scanned the terrace. “And Dr. Bree? Where the hell is everyone?”
Ellie gazed over the crowd and saw why Arlene might have been concerned. The bull-doggish Mickey appeared to be missing, and it sounded as if he was a business acquaintance—not a real uncle. But who in the heck was Dr. Bree that Arlene thought she was so important?
Arlene stomped her foot. “This is crazy. It’s our night to celebrate, and he’s supposed to be here.” She heaved another sigh. “And his so-called close friends, too.”
“Maybe he got cold feet after he met some of your family,” teased Viv. “Just remember, you can’t blame me.”
Arlene missed the humor in her baby sister’s statement. “Something must have happened to him, but I can’t imagine what.” Spinning in a circle, she broke out in a full-fledged dither. “Julio! Julio! Oh, where is that man?”
A w w w k! Julio! A w w w k! Where is that man! A w w w k!
Mimicking Arlene’s voice to a T, a large parrot who’d been tucked in a corner near Ellie burst into the fray by flapping his wings and wagging his head. Ellie had watched his beady eyes follow folks as they passed and kept to herself. Birds were not high on her list of animal favorites, and she hadn’t wanted to rouse his curiosity, so she’d kept her fingers to herself and ignored him for most of the night.
The guests laughed, but Arlene began to wring her hands and pace. “I’m going to send a few of the catering staff out to look for the four of them. How can we have a prewedding celebration when the groom, the best man, Martin’s only true friend, and the head of the hired help is missing?”
A w w w k! Missing. There’s money missing, Marty, and I want my share. A w w w k! Or I’m gonna! A w w w k! Julio! A w w w k!
“Oh, hush, Myron,” Arlene admonished. Flapping her arms much like the parrot, she tottered off on her stilettos talking to anyone in her path.
“I don’t know how Arlene lives with that crazy bird imitating everything she says.” Viv gave the parrot the evil eye.
“I was meaning to ask,” Ellie began. “What’s up with him?”
“Myron is an African Grey that Arlene rescued from a pet store that was closing after the first Myron died. She said he kept her company while she grieved, but I don’t understand how. All the idiot does is imitate whatever he overhears.”
“Sounds kind of spooky, if you ask me,” said Ellie. “Who’s voice was that just now asking for his share?”
“Beats me, but the parrot’s been living in the doctor’s office while the interior of the house was being painted. She probably should have left him in there until this whole affair was over.”Viv shook her head. “I’m starving. I hope the other guests arrive soon so we can eat. And Dr. Kent, too. I can’t imagine where’s he’s been hiding.”
Ellie had snacked on a dozen delicious canapés, so she was fine in the food department, but it did appear the other guests were getting restless. When she glanced across the terrace and no longer saw “hunky guy,” she thought to take her friend’s mind off eating by questioning her about the stranger.
“I’ve met just about everyone, but what’s up with the tall, dark-haired man who was standing alone in the opposite corner a while ago? No one introduced us.”
“I wish I knew, but I have no idea who he is either,” said Viv. “I thought he might belong to Dr. Kent’s family, since he’s not a part of mine, but Arlene’s already told us who’s here from Dr. Kent’s side.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out before the weekend is over.” Ellie gave her wineglass to another waiter. “I’m going to check on Rudy for a minute. You want to come to t
he pen and see Mr. T?”
“Okay, sure. Lead the way.”
They took the stairs down to the lawn and searched for Rosa’s teenage daughter, Maria, who was supposed to be supervising the canines, but she was nowhere to be found. Ellie opened the gate, walked to her boy, and stooped to ruffle his ears. “Hey, how are things going?”
“Boring, boring, boring,” Rudy gruffed. “That Yorkie is a pain in the behind, and so is some Jack-a-Bee named Greta. T and those Boston Terriers do not get along, so it’s a good thing nutty Arlene brought them upstairs. It’s been quiet since they left.”
Ellie looked to her right, where Viv was giving Twink a belly rub. “He looks fine now.”
“So when can we come up and mingle?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll find out. Right now, our hostess is in distress. Seems she can’t find her fiancé.”
“I’d be in distress, too, if I had those pointy things she calls shoes on my paws. Arlene acts like she’s had one too—”
A round of shouts, not Arlene’s or Myron’s, broke out and Ellie stood. Glancing across the yard, she saw a man wearing a catering jacket running toward the house from the guest cottage.
“El doctor, es muerto! Help. El es muerto!”
Also in the Dog Walker Mystery Series
Death in Show
Heir of the Dog
Hounding the Pavement