Drool Baby (A Dog Park Mystery) (Lia Anderson Dog Park Mysteries) (17 page)

"Good stuff," Peter said, "but nothing points to anyone in particular."

"What's next?" Jim asked.

"We keep our eyes open and see if Trees turns up anything interesting."

"Good," Lia said. "I've got work to do on the solar marker. Jim, I'd like to come over to your house in a few days to look through Anna's credit and debit
card records." She turned to Peter. "When I find all those receipts, can we take Anna off the list?"

He kissed her. "Find the receipts. Then we'll talk."

I tsked as I made my way up the walk to Roger's small house this evening. The paint on the clapboard ranch was peeling and the porch listed. I carried a
tote bag and a covered Chinet plate of my special goodies.

Roger opened the screen door before I reached the steps. "C'mon in," he said. "Maddie, Lacey, you behave. I was really surprised when you called and said
you'd look after the dogs. I was ready to take them to a kennel. They'll like being home better."

The dogs sniffed at the Chinet plate and barked. "Not for you girls," he said to the dogs. He turned to me. "Whatcha got there?"

"I brought a treat for you and Gina. Mini-Cheesecakes. Is she here yet?"

"She'll be here in a bit. You know women," he laughed. "She takes a while to get ready."

"While we're waiting, you can show me where the kibble is and we'll have some cheescake." I set the plate on the counter and peeled back the foil.

"Those look real good. You didn't have to go to all that trouble."

"No trouble at all. It's just a store-bought mix, no baking. Here." I pulled out one of the cupcake sized treats and handed it to him. "Try this."

"You have one, too."

"Of course." I smiled as he took the first bite.

"This is real good. I might not save any for Gina."

"Oh, but you must."

"Well, I gotta have one more, anyway."

He showed me the dogs' food and explained their routine. As he went on, his voice started to slur. I knew it was time.

"Roger, I'd like to see the basement."

"Huh? Yeah, sure. This way."

He clung to the hand rail on the way down. "Feeling woozy. Don't know what's wrong with me. Mus' be tired. Guess Gina'll have to drive. Anyway, here's the
basemen'. Why'd you want to see this, anyway?"

"You look pale, Roger." I pulled up a chair. "You sit down. I'm going to get you a glass of water."

"'Kay," he mumbled.

I didn't get him a glass of water. Instead, I went back to my car and pulled out a pair of rolled-up cot mattresses. I carried these to the basement. I
unrolled one on each side of the main room. By this time, Roger's head was drooping.

"Roger, Roger, wake up."

"Huh?"

"You need to lay down." He obeyed like a little lamb. He didn't question the presence of the mattress. "Now you need to take off your clothes."

"You wan' my clothes? Gina ain' gonna like that."

"Here, I'll help."

"Better 'n' better. But I'm awful . . . tired." He let me remove his shirt and pants.

"Gina . . . not . . . gonna . . . like . . . it," he half yawned, half sing-songed.

I pulled a hospital gown out of my tote bag and dressed him in it. By this time he was turning into dead weight. Once the gown was on, I pulled out
handcuffs, a ten foot tie out cable for a dog, and a lock. I handcuffed Roger, ran the cable through the cuffs and around a pipe in the wall, then locked
it to itself. Satisfied, I gave the dogs cheesecakes and put them in the bedroom. I waited for Gina.

Gina was put out that Roger had decided to take the dogs for a walk. But she took the cheesecake.

Lia and Renee sat on the patio with a pair of lattes, watching the eastern sky as the gray gave way to blue. Dakini lay on the flagstones at Renee's feet.

"It must be amazing, having this overlook to yourself every morning. What a great way to start the day," Lia said.

"I'm blessed, and I know it. Harry and I were a couple of broke scholarship kids when we started out. Neither of us ever imagined we'd wind up here. I feel
an obligation to enjoy every minute of it." She eyed the tent stakes and string lying on the table. "I thought you'd need more equipment than this. Last
time you brought Jose and all his stuff."

"Today is easy. Look, here it comes."

The sun lifted over the rim of hills on the eastern horizon, spilling light and casting long shadows across the landscape. The shadow of the post
stretched ten yards across the ground. Lea jumped up and quickly planted the spike at the apex.

"What do you think, Renee? Imagine a circle, this far from the post, all the way around. Is this too big?"

"It's bigger than I imagined. The shadow certainly stretches out, doesn't it?"

"Doesn't it, though? We can make this shorter, if you like."

"Not on your life! This is going to be wonderful. What do we do now?"

"I'm going to mark the other side." Lia tied one end of the string around the central pole, then walked it out to the tent stake, pulled it straight. She
took a Sharpie from her pocket and and marked the distance on the string. "You stand right here, with your foot on top the tent stake."

She walked around to the opposite side, then pulled the string tight. She visually lined up Renee's foot with the center pole, then using the string to
mark the distance, planted the other stake.

"Okay, you can move now."

She rolled up the string and untied it from the post.

"Why did you have me stand here?"

"I couldn't see the tent peg in the grass, but I could see you. When the post blocked your foot, I was in the opposite spot."

"Oh, I see. Do you suppose they did it like this ten thousand years ago?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"So, are you ready for some breakfast?" Renee pulled out her cell and called Esmerelda in the kitchen. Esmerelda came out with two glasses of mixed orange
and grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed.

Lia took a sip. "Renee, will you adopt me?"

"Oh," Renee laughed, "absolutely! I plan on it. So, how are your ideas coming for the final piece?"

"I have something to show you." Lia reached into her tote bag for a drawing pad, then flipped through the pages. She laid the open pad on the table in
front of Renee. There was a three dimensional rendering of a pair of standing wedge shapes, as if someone took a slice of watermelon, cut it in half, then
upended the pieces so the curved ends formed an arch that had a slit in the middle.

"This is very different from the other ideas we talked about," Renee said cautiously. "Tell me about it."

Lia mentally took a deep breath. "I kept thinking about the monolith and I wasn't happy with the things we'd talked about so far. Then it occurred to me
that I wanted to mark the seasons with light, not shadow. So I created an arch with a slit in it."

"Interesting. Why is it made of wedge shapes?"

"With a slit in a square slab, you could line it up for the equinoxes, but the slit would be blocked on the solstices. So I cut away on both sides so that
when the sun hits it at an angle, you'll still see the slit of light in the middle of the shadow."

"Fascinating."

"Now," Lia paused to take a sip of juice, warming to her subject. "Since the shadow elongates so much in the morning and evening, we can go for a stumpy
shape in the sculpture, which prevents the sculpture itself from looking phallic. It's the shadow which will embody the . . . uh . . . male energy. So you
can invite every art snob in the world to see it and none of them will make sexual references."

"Aren't you clever!"

"Better yet, if you like, we can make a removable frame to fit in the slit, set with cut crystals to represent life force."

"Or little sperm?" Renee's eyes twinkled.

"And when the sun hits it, you'll have rainbows all through the shadow. This is for special occasions. The rest of the time it can be displayed on its own
stand in your house."

"Be still my heart. I knew you were a genius when I met you at Catherine's, but I never expected this. This is fantastic."

Lia flipped through the other drawings, showing Renee the sunburst design for the standing sculpture, and the leaf designs for the ground markers. They
continued talking about options for the mosaic designs while Esmerelda served her famous eggs Benedict. Renee was right, Lia thought. The smoked salmon was
fabulous.

Lia was still giddy with excitement when she arrived at the park that morning. Anna and Jim were still there. Anna was still working the crossword. The
rest of the Saturday crowd was gone.

"Look, Jim, our girl is late, and she's smiling. Do we blame Peter for this?"

Lia laughed. "You can put your filthy minds back in the gutter. I was working this morning. It's the equinox."

"Work," Anna commented dryly, "has never made me giggle. Has it ever made you giggle, Jim?"

"Not like that."

Lia rolled her eyes and heaved a good natured sigh. "Okay, I'm excited," she bubbled. "This project is going to be huge. Renee has the imagination to
understand what I'm trying to do and the money to make it happen. And she's a delightful woman. She had her cook make us eggs Benedict, fresh squeezed
juice and lattes."

Anna's smile froze, just for a moment. "How wonderful for you dear."

Roger woke with his head pounding. He was cold and his entire body was sore. He was laying on his side. In bed? Something was hissing. Were there snakes?
As he clawed through the fog in his brain, he became aware that the hissing was not a snake. It was a voice. Maybe a really smart talking snake, then.

"Roger, you idiot! Wake up!" The snake hissed.

He tried to bring his left hand up to rub his eyes, but something bit into his wrist and held it back. He opened his eyes to see Gina glaring at him. Gina
with her fried blonde hair in Medusa tangles. Mascara smeared under her eyes like an NFL lineman. The mascara smears matched the roots of her hair. She
wore a pale blue hospital gown and sat on a mattress in an unladylike sprawl, creating an intriguing crevice under the hem. She was handcuffed, with a
cable looped around the cuffs and behind a vertical iron pipe. He realized he was in the same state.

"I'm awake. Don't yell at me."

"I'll do more than yell at you, you stupid ape. Stop staring at my crotch and get us out of here."

Roger was slow to gather his wits. "What are we doing here?"

"What do you think we're doing here? Handcuffs? Basement? We're prisoners, you jackass. What's with Broomhilda and her magic cupcakes? Did you put her up
to this? Is this your idea of some kinky sex trip? Disney World, my ass. I never should've listened to you."

"Gina, I don't understand any of this."

"Understand this, Bozo. You get me out of this right now."

"Such virulent invective. Where does all that anger come from?" The calm tone commanded attention.

Roger looked up to see her at the foot of the stairs, carrying two open cans of Ensure with straws in them. Gina's screaming had covered up the sound of
her approach.

"What is this?" Roger asked.

She ignored him and looked at the fuming Gina. "Dear girl, I could hear you call me 'Broomhilda' all the way upstairs. That really wasn't nice."

"I'll call you worse than that, you bitch. Let me out of here!"

"Manners, manners," she chided.

Roger repeated himself. "What is this?"

She turned to Roger now. "Think of this as therapy. Couple's therapy. In your case," she looked at Gina, "a bit of shock therapy, I think."

"I'll shock you, you dried up old hag!"

"And here I came to offer you breakfast."

"That? Breakfast? You gotta be kidding me."

She sighed. "Okay. Therapy before breakfast. She set the cans down on Roger's workbench, then picked up a thirty inch rod with two short prongs on the end.
"You will apologize for your behavior."

"Says you and whose army?"

Anna extended the rod, pushing the tip against Gina's exposed thigh. Gina shrieked.

"Don't hurt her," Roger yelled.

"I don't need an army, dear," she said mildly. Gina whimpered.

She turned to Roger, shaking her head. "This is who you've been pining over? Really, Roger? Very sad."

"Who are you talking about, Bitch," Gina sneered.

She continued to shake her head as she turned back to Gina and raised the cattle prod.

"Don't hurt her!" Roger yelled again.

"All right, Roger. I'm reasonable. I won't hurt her if you agree to take her punishment."

"Just don't hurt her," Roger repeated.

She pressed the cattle prod into his leg. Roger yelled.

"See how he loves you?" she said to Gina.

"Miserable jackass deserves it for getting me into this."

"Well, Roger," Anna asked, "you? Or her?"

Roger couldn't bring himself to ask for more pain He just repeated, "Don't hurt her."

"So, so sad. She really isn't worth it, Roger." And she shocked him again.

Roger passed out. When he woke up, she was looking down at him with a concerned look on her face. "This will never do. Gina would just let me shock you to
death."

"I'm not the one trying to kill him, you old bat."

"See, all the pain I've caused you, and still she has no manners. She doesn't care what her behavior will cost you. It's pointless to punish you for
anything she does. She'll never learn that way. It's okay, Roger. You just lay there and rest, and think about how pointless it is to give her anything
because she just takes and takes and the only thing she ever gives back is abuse."

Roger lay on his side, curled into a fetal position. "Don't hurt her," he groaned.

"Yes, Roger, I'm going to hurt her. But that's how people learn."

"I don't believe it!"