“A new job? No way.” He shook his head. “This gig pays great. Besides that will take too long. I’m on a tight deadline.”
She smirked. “Loan shark got a hit out on you?”
He gave her a withering look. “Ha-ha. Very funny.”
“So then what are you going to do?”
He sat up straight and seemed to consider the question for a moment. “I’m going to clear my name. Prove that I had nothing to do with the stolen dogs.”
“What?” She laughed, for what seemed like the first time in days. “Sure. Now you’re interested in helping me find the real dog snatcher?”
“I didn’t say anything about helping you.” He flashed a wolfish smile. “I just have to prove it wasn’t me.”
She groaned. So much for the truce. “You’re a real prince, you know that? Ever hear of a damsel in distress?”
“It’s the twenty-first century, sweetheart. Damsels help themselves now. Gender equality and all that.”
Addison stood up. “Well good luck then. Things don’t look good for you either, you know. After today, the evidence is stacked against you.” She grabbed Princess’s leash, marching out of the hidden alcove.
“Okay, okay.” Felix tugged on Addison’s arm and pulled her back inside. “You’re right. Things don’t look good for me. But how are we going to fix this?”
She snorted. “So now you want my help? Why should I help you? You weren’t exactly leaping to my rescue.” She remembered his own ultimatum. Shoving her fists on her hips, she stared him down. “What’s in it for me?”
“One”—he held up a finger—“we’re their two lead suspects. Or at least as far as the public is concerned we are, and sometimes rumors are all that matters in the service industry. Even if they can’t send us to jail, we’ll both be searching the help wanted ads within a few weeks.”
He took a step closer to her until his cologne overpowered the smell of the foliage around them, but she stood her ground. He held up a second finger.
“Two, I’m far too pretty to go to jail. I’ll be someone’s bitch for sure. And three”—he closed the gap between them until she was staring straight at the lips she was sucking on just a few days before—“they’re saying we’re in cahoots, that we’ve somehow set this all up like we’re a pair of criminal canine masterminds.” Felix reached up and held her chin. “So like it or not, damsel, we’re in this together.”
She groaned, swatting his hand away. “Fine. I guess two heads are better than one, anyway.”
“Great.” He rubbed his hands together. “And I’ll do it for only ninety percent of Lilly’s reward money Alistair Yates offered on the news at the cocktail mixer.”
“What?” She balked. “How do you figure that?”
He crossed his arms with a giant grin on his face. “Well, it’s my expertise and knowledge that’s going to solve the case.”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “Fifty-fifty.”
“Sixty-forty and that’s my final offer.”
Addison gritted her teeth. “Fine. I was going to be nice and offer you a ride, but I’m sure with all your expertise and knowledge you can find your own way home.”
“What makes you think I’d need a ride in your girl-mobile?”
“Because your ride is being towed as we speak,” she informed him with a satisfied grin. “Probably for evidence.”
“What?” Felix’s snide grin faltered. He shoved past her, out of the alcove, and circled around to the private driveway.
Addison followed behind smugly. Even Princess seemed a little self-satisfied. When the empty driveway came into view, Felix slowed his steps. He ran a hand through his thick waves, gripping them like he wanted to pull them right out.
He swore under his breath. “My car is in the shop. Joe was letting me use the company van for the week.”
“Then I guess you’ll need my girl-mobile to solve the crime.” Addison patted him on the back, giving him her sweetest smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you have forty percent.”
10
Bone of Contention
Addison hit the brakes as she and Felix approached Joe’s Dive, which was even divier in the light of day. She whipped into a free space along the street like they were shooting a scene from Tokyo Drift.
It took a moment for Felix to release his death grip on the seat. He gave her a look, but said nothing. It’s not like he had a choice in transportation. His company van was still being dusted for prints after it was towed at the fundraiser the day before.
Addison tipped her fedora up and studied the joint, watching her mirrors to make sure she hadn’t been followed. She felt like a regular gumshoe, ready to crack the canine case. She’d even worn quiet shoes—or gumshoes, if you will—in case she needed to do some sneaking around. The fedora was just a fun accessory, though she decided to skip the trench coat. She was wearing her sexy fifties-style dress, and it would have been a shame to cover it up.
Addison grabbed a notebook from her purse and ran down a list that already included Kitty Carlisle, Melody, Julia Edwards, and—at Felix’s insistence—Phillip Montgomery III.
At least it gave her a reason to see Phillip again, to remind him of what he’s missing out on, since she’d probably never hear from him again after what had happened at his fundraiser. Not with all of his guests still blaming her for the missing dogs.
But the first one on her list was Red Bra, which is why they’d come to the bar. She clicked her pen on, holding it at the ready. “So do you think we’ve missed anyone on our list?” she asked Felix.
“Oh probably about a hundred names.”
She glared at him. “I’m serious.”
“So am I. But we can only do so much. We’re assuming that the dogs were stolen for one of two reasons. Money or competition.”
“So who else can we list with competition as their motive?”
“Well, anyone who’s had their dog stolen is automatically off the list. They can’t exactly show a dog that’s supposed to be missing. No competition there.”
Addison tapped her pen on the steering wheel. “That still leaves a lot of dogs that have the potential for Best in Show, and the potential for thieving owners. The Western Dog Show is a big competition.”
“We have to start somewhere. That’s why we’ve got your customer Julia Edwards.”
Addison was reluctant to put Julia on the list, but she recalled how Ms. Edwards had baited Penny Peacock at Phillip’s party. There was more than a healthy dose of competition between them.
Felix pointed to the list. “Why Kitty Carlisle? She hasn’t competed in years. I thought her dog was too old.”
“Yeah, but she got major creep-factor points.”
“Creep factor?” He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “So we’re basing our investigation off of your heebeegeebees now?”
“No. If that was the case, you’d still be on there.” She smiled sweetly. “But Kitty was the only one hanging around the stage area when her dog was getting groomed. She could have been casing the joint.”
Addison ran through the list of names under the “financial gain” category. “The breeders and owners wouldn’t likely steal a dog to sell it for gain,” she said. “They compete because they love animals. They wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them. It would have to be someone outside of the competition. One of the staff at the parties.”
“Right. Or someone on the outside using them as an inside man. Someone who overlapped both the cocktail mixer and Phillip’s fundraiser. That leaves our list of staff to investigate pretty small since there weren’t many who worked both.”
“Except for you,” she said, with a suggestive tone to her voice.
“And you,” he shot back.
She stuck out her tongue at him. “Don’t forget Red Bra. She was at both events too.”
His forehead wrinkled. “Who’s Red Bra?”
“The server with the red bra. The one you were flirting with at the cocktail mixer and at Joe’s
Dive.”
“You mean Charlotte?” He laughed. “Jealous much?”
She felt her cheeks warm. “You wish.”
Gripping the wheel, she psyched herself up for her first interrogation. She could sense Felix eyeing her from the passenger seat.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
“Yeah. You know, just going over the plan in my head. So how are we going to do this? Are we going to drill her? Good cop, bad cop kind of thing?” She punched the palm of her hand in case it wasn’t clear who the bad cop was.
“No. We’re going to sit down with Charlotte and have a chat thing. Maybe a snack, if you’re good.”
“And if she doesn’t spill?” Addison punched her palm again.
“Stop with the gumshoe talk. And what’s with the fedora?” Plucking it off her head, he tossed it in the backseat of her convertible. “Charlotte is a friend.”
“But she was the one who drove the van away from Phillip’s house. And that’s the only way those dogs could have been taken off the property.”
“We don’t know that for sure yet. The police are still searching the van for clues. Besides, I know Charlotte wouldn’t do something like that.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I trust her,” he said, in an end-of-story kind of way.
But Addison wasn’t about to take his word for it. She’d be the judge of that.
“We’re just going to see if she knows anything,” Felix said. “Maybe she’s heard something from the other staff. She hangs out with some of them outside of work.”
“And you don’t?”
“No. I go home after work. I tend to keep my work life and personal life separate.” He reached for the door handle. “Come on. I’ve already texted her. She’s expecting us.”
Addison looked at him in surprise. She thought he’d be more the party type. But she kept this thought to herself as they got out of the car and headed across the street to Joe’s Dive.
The afternoon sun hit the dirt on the bar’s windows, making them look like they hadn’t been cleaned in years. Addison skirted around a suspicious stain on the sidewalk that she thought could use a good hosing off. Beneath the grime and the neglect, she imagined the bar could be a pretty cute place if Joe took a little pride in it.
Felix held the door open for her and they stepped into the dim interior. The dirt caking the windows didn’t allow much light to filter in, but she figured those already drinking at one in the afternoon probably wanted to hide in dark corners.
Addison scanned the room and spotted Red Bra, or Charlotte, right away. She was picking up an order of drinks at the bar.
Felix waved and she smiled back, nodding her head to the side of the room. Heading for the corner, Felix slid into a booth. Addison sat across from him. She watched as Charlotte finished serving a table their sandwiches and beer.
“So when are we going to go talk to your assistant?” Felix punched his own palm, making fun of her earlier good cop, bad cop routine.
“Not yet,” she said. “I can’t just roll up and ask her, ‘So, steal any dogs lately?’ We’ve got to be crafty about it. If she’s hiding something, then she’s hiding it well. Otherwise the police would have arrested her by now.”
Besides, Addison really liked Melody. She didn’t like even suspecting her, but facts were facts. However, if it turned out she really was innocent, she didn’t want to lose Melody as an assistant because she’d wrongly accused her.
Charlotte finished up with her table and went to talk to an older guy with a shaved head behind the bar. The guy nodded and held up a hand showing five fingers. Charlotte nodded and took off her apron, crossing over to join their booth.
“Hey Felix,” she said, with a smile Addison thought too cheerful and friendly to be real.
“Hey,” he said. “Thanks for talking to us.”
“No problem. Joe says I’ve only got five minutes. We’re working short staffed today. Jayden never showed up for his shift. Apparently he came down with food poisoning or something.” She dropped her voice. “Between you and me, I think he helped himself to some of that leftover quiche after it had been out in the sun too long.”
Addison took her pen and pad out of her purse and wrote down JAYDEN.
When she looked up, both Felix and Charlotte were staring at her.
“Don’t worry about her,” Felix told his friend. “How have you been?”
“Okay. It could have been worse. I didn’t get much backlash from the Montgomery event. I just got pulled from the high-profile events for the week. But what about you?” She laid her hand on Felix’s arm. “Joe said you’re done.”
Felix shrugged. “I’m only laid off for the time being. I’ll be fine. I have some savings set aside.”
“But what about your down payment?” Charlotte asked. “You won’t save up enough by the deadline.”
Addison frowned. Down payment? She resisted the urge to start jotting down questions she needed to ask Felix too.
“That’s exactly why we need your help, Charlotte.”
“Of course, anything for you.” She beamed at him. “What did you have in mind?”
It was like Addison wasn’t even in the room. Okay, well, she hadn’t really said anything, so that might be why. She pretended to jot a note down on the pad just to feel useful.
Felix lowered his voice, as though he might be overheard. “If we can figure out whodunit, then I can clear my name.”
“Our names,” Addison cut in.
“Our names,” Felix corrected. “And I can pick up extra gigs to make up for lost pay. I can still make the deadline.”
DEADLINE? Addison wrote down.
“Oh sure,” Charlotte said. “I’ll help if I can. What did you need to know?” She sat up straighter, finally pulling away from Felix. Not that Addison noticed or anything.
“When you were at the Montgomery event getting ready to head back to the bar, did you see anyone hanging around? One of the guests, maybe? Did anyone help you load up the empty kegs or crates?”
“Not that I can remember.” She glanced back at the bald man behind the bar, who Addison assumed was Joe.
Joe gave her a pointed look, tapping his watch.
“I can’t say for sure,” she added quickly. “It was a pretty busy event. I was in and out making kitchen runs around that time.”
“How about any of the other staff from either that event or the cocktail mixer? Have you heard any talk going around?”
“No. Nothing much just—”
“Charlotte!” Joe barked from behind the bar. “Orders are backing up. Break’s over.”
“Coming!” she called, slipping out of the stall.
Addison leaned forward, not ready to let her go. “‘Just’ what? What were you going to say?”
Charlotte raised a red bra–strapped shoulder. “Just the usual gossip, but nothing that would be of any help to you.”
Addison wanted to ask her more, but Joe dinged the bell sitting on the counter and threw her a sour look.
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
“Thanks for talking to us,” Felix said.
“Yeah, no problem. Sorry I can’t be of more help.” She gave him an apologetic wave over her shoulder as she ran back for her apron. “Good luck!”
The moment they were out of the bar, Addison returned to her bubbly self. “Okay, where to next?”
Felix gave her a weird look.
“What?” she asked.
“What was that?”
“What was what?” She unconsciously reached for her hair to check that every curl was perfectly in place.
“You could have been a little nicer.”
She began walking back to the car, not meeting his gaze. “There’s something off about her. I just don’t trust Red Bra.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand. “It’s not jealousy.”
“What’s the big deal about wearing a red bra, anyway? Is it a fashion faux pas?”
“Nothing’s wrong with it. I have plenty of colored bras. Red ones, pink ones, blue ones, animal print ones…” She tapered off as his eyes drifted down to her dress’s neckline, as though he was wondering what color she was wearing today. “But I don’t show everyone. That’s reserved for VIP eyes only.”
“Really? How does one get on this VIP list?” His lips curled into that hungry wolfish smile she recalled from the night at the bar.
As they passed a bespoke tailors shop, she glanced into the window. “Sorry,” she said. “It’s a black tie event.”
Addison paused to gaze at the storefront display. Three mannequins lined up in the window were dressed in quality suits, handmade from the finest fabrics.
“There’s just something about a man in a suit, you know?”
“Can’t say I do,” he said.
“A well-tailored suit is to a woman what lingerie is to a man.”
“I can assure you that’s not true,” he said, eyeing up her neckline again like he had Superman’s X-ray vision.
“Oh but it is,” she argued. “It’s romantic. It’s mysterious. It takes a man’s game to a whole new level. Heck, it might even clean you up a little.”
Addison eyed up the tux in the middle, practically drooling as she imagined Felix filling it out to perfection. “Men in Black wouldn’t be the same if Will Smith ran around in sweatpants. James Bond would otherwise be just a ruffian, but the suit transforms him into a gentleman. A tuxedo on Bruce Wayne is as powerful as the Batsuit on Batman.”
When she finally turned away from the window, Felix was staring at her. “What’s your obsession with movies, anyway?”
The abrupt question caught her off guard, and it took her a moment to recover. She blinked, wondering why he cared. “My parents ran a corner store that rented videos. I watched a lot of movies growing up.”
Addison headed back for the car, weaving in and out of people window-shopping, mostly so she wouldn’t have to talk about it anymore. She didn’t have the worst of childhoods, but there were aspects she didn’t exactly reflect fondly upon.
He trailed behind her, not dropping the subject. “I bet you had the perfect life growing up. Let me guess. Cheerleader? Homecoming queen?” he teased. “Life must have been so easy for you. Like one of your fairy tale movies.”
Beauty and the Wiener Page 12
