Ruff Justice

by Laurien Berenson

  “We know that Jasmine was getting pet-sitting jobs for several girls, including you,” I said. “And that while you were taking care of people’s dogs, you were also checking out their houses to see if they had anything worth stealing.”

  “That’s not how it happened,” Amanda said quickly. “I mean, not really.”

  “Explain it to us,” said Aunt Peg.

  “In the beginning, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t even suspect.” Amanda was the picture of wide-eyed innocence. “I just wanted to have a job where I worked for myself. Jasmine suggested pet-sitting and it seemed like a great idea. She said she could help me get started with a few referrals. I was so grateful to her for that. It meant that I didn’t have to keep working in the mall.”

  “Go on,” Aunt Peg encouraged.

  “It started out perfectly. I loved pet-sitting. And I was good at it.” She glanced Aunt Peg’s way.

  “Yes, you were. The Poodles loved you and you took wonderful care of them. It’s a shame that wasn’t all you were doing.”

  Amanda’s face went still. She looked ashamed. For a moment, I almost felt sorry for her.

  “When I would return to my apartment after a couple of days away, Jasmine would come and welcome me home,” she continued. “She always asked about the houses I’d been to and the things I’d seen. We laughed about bad decor and ugly artwork. I thought she was just curious, maybe even a little nosey. But it never occurred to me that her interest was anything more than that.”

  “But eventually you found out,” I said gently. “Didn’t you?”

  Amanda nodded. “One of the families I had worked for was robbed. They told me about it when I went to sit for them again. The husband and wife were devastated. They’d lost some things that were irreplaceable. Things that Jasmine and I had talked about. But even then, I didn’t put it together. I thought it was just a terrible coincidence.”

  Amanda paused and bit her lip. “Until it happened a second time.”

  “But that didn’t prevent you from continuing,” Aunt Peg said drily.

  “No, I couldn’t stop. I had clients who depended on me. And besides, I needed the money. If I’d stopped I would have had to find another job. No way I was going back to the mall. That would have been awful.” Amanda had forgotten she was supposed to be feeling guilty about the part she’d played. She still seemed to think she could make us understand.

  “Clients who depended on you?” Aunt Peg’s voice rose. “People like me, you mean?”

  “Yes,” Amanda whispered.

  “I suppose I should count myself lucky that my things weren’t considered valuable enough to steal?”

  The girl said something under her breath.

  “What’s that?” Aunt Peg demanded.

  “Your house was on the list.”

  Aunt Peg scowled. That hadn’t improved her mood at all.

  “It’s a terrible thing not to feel safe in your own home,” she said. “Jasmine’s victims didn’t just lose their valuables, they also lost their peace of mind. I will never again make the mistake of thinking I don’t need an alarm system because I have a houseful of dogs.”

  “The alarms didn’t make any difference,” Amanda told us. “People who had them gave us the codes, so we could get in to take care of their pets. You’d think they would have reset the codes when they got home, but most of them never did. Every time I went back, it would be the same numbers. Now whose fault was that?”

  I seriously hoped Amanda didn’t expect me to answer that question. Because I was quite certain she wouldn’t enjoy hearing what I had to say.

  “So you and the other pet-sitters were assessing your clients’ homes,” I said. “Who committed the burglaries? Was that you too?”

  Amanda’s head came up. She appeared surprised by the question. “No, of course not. The only time I was in anyone’s house was when I was taking care of their pets. The rest of it was all Jasmine’s doing. I didn’t know anything about that end of things, and I didn’t want to know.”

  “Did it ever occur to you to go to the police?” I asked.

  “How could I do that? They would have thought I was just as guilty as Jasmine. Maybe more. It would have been my word against hers.”

  “And besides,” Aunt Peg said sharply, “you needed the money.” Her tone left no doubt what she thought of that excuse.

  “How did Rick become involved?” I asked.

  “That was my mistake,” Amanda admitted. “Back when I was starting to figure out what Jasmine was up to, I talked to him about it. I thought maybe he could help me make sense of things. I thought I could trust him.”

  “I thought I could trust you,” Aunt Peg informed her. “Apparently it’s easier to get that wrong than you might think.”

  I sent Aunt Peg a quelling look and drew Amanda’s attention back to me. “Go on.”

  “Rick doesn’t like to work hard. He’s always looking for jobs that don’t take up much of his free time. What he calls easy money.”

  He and Jasmine sounded like a great pair, I thought.

  “He sounds like a real loser,” Aunt Peg snorted.

  “I know that now,” Amanda said defensively. “But back then, I had no idea. I barely talked to him about Jasmine at all, but somehow Rick must have figured out what she was doing even before I did. He went to Jasmine and told her he wanted a piece of the business.”

  “How did Jasmine respond to that?” Aunt Peg asked.

  I already knew the answer. I wasn’t surprised when Amanda said, “She told him to get lost. They had a big fight about it. Maybe more than one. Rick thought Jasmine had a sweet deal. He was determined to get in on it.”

  “Melanie heard that Rick and Jasmine were in business together,” Aunt Peg said. “Does that mean that Jasmine eventually gave in?”

  Amanda shook her head. “No, she didn’t. Not until Rick changed tactics.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Rick realized he didn’t need to be Jasmine’s partner. He could still get money from her anyway. Rick threatened to expose what Jasmine was doing. He told her he knew enough about her business to go to the police. And then he started blackmailing her.”

  Chapter 23

  Blackmail? I gulped. That put a new spin on things. No wonder Rick had been so touchy about his business dealings with Jasmine Crane.

  “Are you sure?” I said to Amanda.

  “Of course I’m sure. Rick even bragged about it. He was proud of how he’d worked things out.”

  “Jasmine must have been livid,” Aunt Peg said.

  I was thinking the same thing. Under the circumstances, it was surprising that Rick was still alive and Jasmine was the one who was dead.

  “She actually agreed to pay him money to keep quiet?” I asked.

  Amanda was annoyed at my repeated query. “It’s not as if she had a choice. She not only agreed, she did pay him. It had been going on for several months.”

  “And then Jasmine was killed, and you disappeared. Why?”

  She stared at me. “What would you have done if the woman you worked for was suddenly dead and you were afraid your boyfriend had something to do with it?”

  “I’d have confronted him,” Aunt Peg said immediately.

  At the same time, I answered, “I’d have taken some time to think about what my next move should be.”

  Amanda nodded in my direction. “And there you have it. I chose option B.” Her voice lowered as if she was confiding a secret. “Rick has a temper. And when he gets mad, everybody better watch out.”

  I reached up and touched the side of my nose. You think?

  “Jasmine had a temper too,” Aunt Peg pointed out. “It’s not hard to see how that arrangement could have blown up in both their faces.”

  “And ended in violence,” I said.

  We all pondered that for a minute.

  “Have you been in touch with Rick since you left?” Aunt Peg asked Amanda.

  “No, of course not. Th
at was the whole point. I didn’t want him to know where I was. Or what I was doing.” She tossed her hair. “In fact, I didn’t want Rick to think about me at all.”

  I wondered if she’d be comforted to know that he hadn’t been doing so. For some reason, I suspected not.

  “But I’m no fool,” Amanda added with satisfaction. “Even though I wasn’t around, I was still keeping tabs.”

  “Keeping tabs?” said Aunt Peg. “What does that mean?”

  “I was keeping an eye on things. On Rick. Who—by the way—has been in my apartment since I left.” She was clearly angered by the thought. “That’s what I get for trusting him enough to give him a key.”

  Aunt Peg looked just as startled by that admission as I was.

  “How do you know what Rick’s been up to?” I asked.

  “There’s this woman who’s been by the house a few times. Sadie. She was Jasmine’s friend. She tells me stuff.”

  Sadie? I was so focused on Rick Fanelli that it took me a moment to even place the name. Then I thought, Oh God, Sadie. The executor of Jasmine’s estate. I was going to have to tell her about the paintings that Alan Crandall had incinerated. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to that.

  “She ran into Rick a couple of times. He was in and out of my apartment like he thought he owned the place. Going behind my back, pawing through my stuff. Bastard was probably looking for something he could steal.” Amanda frowned crossly. “I’m done with him now. That’s the last straw.”

  I glanced over at Aunt Peg. I knew we were both thinking the same thing. There was a good chance that Amanda’s boyfriend was guilty of murder, but going through her things was the last straw?

  “A few minutes ago I asked you why you left,” I said to Amanda. “You stayed away for two weeks. Why did you come back?”

  “It was just time. You know? That futon was frickin’ uncomfortable. New York was okay, but it wasn’t home. And I finally realized that what I really needed to do was look Rick Fanelli in the eye and tell him to take a hike. Peg and I talked about it. She was very convincing when we talked about what I ought to do next.”

  “She was?”

  That came as a surprise. Not the convincing part. Aunt Peg was a master of persuasion. She could wheedle a squirrel out of his supply of winter nuts. But I’d thought Aunt Peg had brought Amanda home by promising to protect her from Rick—and not by proposing to act as the girl’s second when she took him on.

  Aunt Peg looked pleased. “I merely offered Amanda some advice, based on the wisdom one accrues with age.”

  Amanda grinned. “She also offered to hold Rick for me if I wanted to punch him in the gut.”

  I absolutely hoped that came to pass. And that I was watching when it did.

  “You have to talk to the police,” I said to Amanda. “I’ll go with you to see Detective Young. You need to tell him everything you’ve told us.”

  “I know.” Amanda’s shoulders lifted and fell as she sighed.

  I couldn’t blame her for not looking forward to the task. But nevertheless it had to be done.

  “I will do that,” she said. “But my first priority is dealing with Rick. I have to get that settled. I want my key back and I want that guy out of my life for good.”

  “We’ll attend to it first thing tomorrow,” Aunt Peg told her.

  Amanda nodded in agreement. “I’ll call him and tell him to meet me at my apartment.”

  “Not tomorrow morning,” I said. “That won’t work. I have school.”

  Aunt Peg tipped her head in my direction. “Are you coming?”

  “Of course, I’m coming. I can’t believe you even have to ask. This is like all those horror movies where the stupid blond girl goes into the dark cellar by herself—and you just know the ax murderer is down there waiting for her. I’m not letting you do that by yourselves.”

  “It’s not the same thing at all.” Aunt Peg frowned. “Amanda isn’t even blond.”

  “And I’m not stupid,” she said, sounding affronted. They didn’t get it.

  “Amanda is going to break up with her boyfriend,” I said. “But the two of you will also be confronting a man who we know is capable of violence, and who could be a murderer. There’s safety in numbers. We’ll all go together.”

  Plus, I thought, I had a few choice things to say to Rick Fanelli myself.

  * * *

  When I was a student, school days often seemed to drag. Now that I’m the one who sets the schedule and decides on the lesson plan, I usually enjoy every minute of my time at Howard Academy. Tuesday morning, however, I watched the clock like a sixth-grader. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

  Faith and I drove straight home at one o’clock. I barely had time to leave the Standard Poodle in the house with Sam and Kevin before Aunt Peg’s minivan was pulling in the driveway. Amanda was sitting in the passenger seat. I slid open the door and hopped in back. We were on our way.

  “You spoke with Rick?” I asked Amanda as I fastened my seat belt. Aunt Peg drove like a fiend. When she was behind the wheel, body armor wasn’t a bad idea either.

  “Yes. He likes to sleep late, so I waited until midmorning to call. Rick was delighted to hear from me.” Amanda turned in her seat to look at me. The skepticism was clear on her face. “He told me how much he missed me.”

  “Did he ask where you’d been?”

  “No. He didn’t ask any questions at all. Rick’s the kind of guy who thinks he already has all the answers.”

  He was about to learn differently, I thought.

  A battered looking panel van was sitting in the driveway next to Amanda’s car when we arrived at Jasmine’s house.

  “That’s Rick’s van,” Amanda told us. She hopped out of Aunt Peg’s minivan, peeked inside the other vehicle’s window, then turned back to us with a frown. “He must have gone inside my apartment to wait. Typical.”

  Before Aunt Peg and I had even disembarked, Amanda was already racing up the steps on the side of the garage. A curtain flicked in the window above. Rick must have watched us pull in.

  I wondered if he imagined that love—or perhaps lust—was compelling Amanda to run up those stairs toward him.

  Then, as Aunt Peg and I started toward the stairway ourselves, I suddenly wondered if maybe we were the ones who were wrong about where Amanda’s sympathies lay. She’d already admitted to helping Jasmine check out her victims’ homes, so she was hardly blameless. Maybe the girl wasn’t angry at Rick. Maybe the two of them had been partners all along.

  In that case, Aunt Peg and I could be walking into a trap.

  “Are you sure we’re doing the right thing?” I asked her.

  “No.” She gripped the rail and began climbing.

  That was hardly reassuring.

  “What if Amanda was lying to us?” I asked.

  “This is a fine time to worry about that. Thank goodness I had the sense to consider it earlier and come prepared.” Aunt Peg paused on an upper step, opened up her purse, and held it out toward me.

  I couldn’t imagine what she had in there to show me. I knew Aunt Peg didn’t own a gun. At least I hoped she didn’t. Then I saw a glint of steel.

  “That’s a Swiss Army knife,” I said. “If we need a corkscrew or a toothpick, we’ll be all set.”

  Aunt Peg snapped her bag shut and continued climbing. In her haste, Amanda had left the door to the apartment open behind her. What we saw when we reached the landing at the top of the steps wasn’t reassuring.

  Rick and Amanda were standing in the middle of the small living room. Their arms were wrapped around each other. His face was buried in her hair. Their bodies were pressed together from shoulder to thigh. From our vantage point, Amanda certainly appeared to be a willing participant in the embrace.

  Then, as I glanced back down the steep stairway and contemplated the wisdom of a hasty retreat, Amanda stepped away from Rick, looked up at him with a sneer on her face and said, “You can consider that my good-bye.”

 
“What?” He looked dumbfounded. “Wait? What?”

  “You’re a jerk and an ass and I never want to see you again,” Amanda said. Silently I cheered her on. “I only came here to tell you that face to face. And to reclaim my apartment.” She held out her hand. “I want my key back. Right now.”

  “Wait,” Rick said again. It was a pleasure to see him so flustered. “You don’t know what you’re saying. Let’s sit down and talk about this. Whatever’s wrong, we can fix it.”

  Aunt Peg moved forward into the room. For the first time, Rick appeared to notice that he and Amanda weren’t alone. His face screwed up into a scowl. He turned my way angrily.

  “This is your fault. What have you been telling her?”

  “I didn’t have to tell Amanda anything,” I replied. “She already knew the truth about you.”

  “What truth?” Rick demanded.

  “That you’re a jerk and an ass,” Aunt Peg said. “To quote someone who knows you better than I do. And maybe a murderer as well.”

  “Lady, I don’t even know who you are, but you must be crazy.” Rick shook his head vehemently. He spun back to Amanda. “That’s not true. You know it isn’t. I have no idea what they’re talking about.”

  “Jasmine,” she said softly.

  Rick began to back away. His hands flew upward. He held them out, palms facing us, in a protest of innocence. “I had nothing to do with that. Nothing, do you hear me? You can’t pin that on me.”

  “You were blackmailing Jasmine,” I said.

  Rick didn’t even try to deny it. “Yeah. So?”

  “Maybe she decided to stop paying you,” Aunt Peg declared. “We know you have a temper.”

  “No.” He shook his head again. “That’s not what happened.”

  “What did happen?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Just like I said a minute ago.” His gaze found Amanda’s and held it. He looked at her beseechingly. “You have to believe me, ’Manda.”

  I hoped she wouldn’t melt. Thankfully, Amanda was made of sterner stuff than that. She looked mad enough to spit. “Why should I believe anything you say?”

  Rick’s voice softened into a caress. “Because you love me. You do, don’t you, babe? I know you do.”