Fashion Faux Paw (33 page)

Sam faced her and moved his hands to her breasts. “And I’ve missed you. Sorry I didn’t call, but I’ve been on watch duty and couldn’t phone. Let’s catch up on the good stuff, then maybe we can go out to dinner. I have the rest of the night off and tomorrow, too.”

Ellie gave a mental groan. Didn’t it just figure that he’d have free time and she wouldn’t? But instead of giving him the bad news, she let the feel of his protective body draw her in, and lost herself in his seductive kiss. She’d tell him about Marcus later.

Hands fisted, Sam stood at the microwave and stared at the two diet meals spinning around in the machine. If he’d known he’d be eating alone, he would have called for takeout. And forget about going someplace fancy for dinner with his best girl. He was on his own, now that she told him she had plans.

Plans with another man.

He’d take part of the blame. He hadn’t been around most of the week, and he hadn’t called her. Unfortunately, stakeout duty made it tough to use the phone. He’d also had a court appearance and a mound of paperwork. Every time he’d been home to shower and change, Ellie had been gone.

He glanced down and locked gazes with her dog. Damned if the little stinker wasn’t looking at him with a shit-eating grin. If he didn’t know better, he’d guess the mutt was happy to be going somewhere with Ellie, and without him.

The microwave dinged and he opened the door. He’d checked the freezer and the only thing inside, besides her caramel ice cream, were those miniature “cuisine” meals that were so small they wouldn’t fill a mouse. He’d need two just to take the edge off his hunger. He still couldn’t believe he’d be home alone for the night, while Ellie had a date with a guy she’d met just this week.

He dumped both meals on the plate he’d taken down from the cupboard, pulled out a fork, and carried his dinner to the table. Digging in, he tried to figure a way to go to this party in some kind of official capacity. Maybe he’d call Vaughn and see if the detective planned on attending the celebration. If so, he could offer to be backup or a second hand.

But it was a dumb idea, so he set it aside.

He heard footsteps and raised his gaze to the kitchen door. Ellie walked in and he swallowed. Holy crap! She’d outdone herself. Her russet curls shined in the light from the overhead fixture. The one-piece suit she wore hugged her figure like a second skin accentuating her full bust, curvy butt, and long muscular legs. Hell, even her new shoes were sexy.

“Are you sure you’re happy eating my Lean Cuisines?” she asked. She grabbed Rudy’s dinner bowl from the dish drainer and walked to the pantry. “You could have called for takeout, or there’s fresh turkey and Swiss cheese in the meat drawer, rolls, too. If you want, I’ll make you a sandwich, dress it up with lettuce and tomato, mayo, the works.”

“This is fine,” he said, trying to keep his pissy attitude out of the conversation. “How late do you think you’ll be?”

When she turned and smiled, he blinked. Damn, but she looked good. Her turquoise eyes and long lashes were outlined in something dark and mysterious, and her mouth wore a color that matched the shoes and made her lips full and lush.

“I have no idea, but I’m sure Marcus will bring me home when I ask.” She began the prep work for making her dog’s dinner. “I’ve never been to one of these high fashion celebrations before. I’ve been told there’ll be great food, live music, and lots of champagne.”

“Where are you going again?”

She pulled a container of chopped green beans and carrots from the fridge. “A penthouse over on Central Park West, somewhere near Mother’s place. My date has the exact address.”

“Your date?” He blew out a breath. “I thought you said this was a business arrangement.”

She spun around on her shoes. “Oh, you know what I mean. Marcus is my escort for the evening.” Her eyes sparkled when she talked. “Since I didn’t know if you’d be available, he offered to pick me up, and I said yes.”

“Sounds nice.” He clamped his jaw shut. No need to crank out a lousy comment. “He’s a lucky guy, having you as his date.”

Ellie mixed her boy’s food and set the bowl on the mat. “Here you go, big man.” Then she sat across from Sam and smiled. “You’re okay with this, right?”

Hell, no.
“Hey, business is business.” He downed a forkful of chicken in some kind of plastic-tasting sauce. “Have you seen Detective Vaughn lately?”

“Yesterday. He’s still nosing around, even though Jeffery’s out on bail.” She began pleating a paper napkin she’d taken from the holder. “I think he’s having second thoughts about Jeffery King being the killer.”

“Oh, and what makes you say that?”

“Just . . . things he mentioned.”

“What sort of things?”

Her cheeks flushed with color, a sure sign she was keeping something from him. “It’s not important. Stuff I already knew.”

“And how exactly did you come to know this—stuff?”

She leaned into the table. “I did a little research, is all, and found out a couple of things I thought he should hear. We sort of compared notes at yesterday’s party.”

Sam stood and carried his plate to the sink, then turned and rested his backside against the bank of cabinets. “Are you telling me you’ve been running an investigation for this King guy?” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “And Vaughn knows about it?”

She stood and tried to reach for Rudy’s bowl, but he snatched it up and set it in the sink. “Hold on. Let’s talk for a minute.”

She glanced at her watch, something pricey with a foreign-sounding name that her mother had given her when she graduated college. “I don’t have time. Marcus will be here any minute and I have to—to—freshen my lipstick.”

He stepped in front of her and held her hands. “Your lips are more than fine.” Trying for pleasant, he made a point of checking her out from head to toe and back again. “All of you is fine. Now how about answering my question?”

“I—we—I’ve done a bit of sleuthing, but it was harmless. And only a few people knew about it.”

Sam took a step closer. “Sorry, but that doesn’t make much sense. Now what have you been up to?”

“Nothing illegal, if that’s what you’re asking.” She heaved a breath. “At least I don’t think it was. Let’s talk about it tomorrow, on the way to Mother’s brunch.”

“Aw, hell, I forgot about that.”

She smiled. “I figured you would, but you’ve already said you have the day off, so there’s no way to get out of going.”

“And if I don’t complain, you’ll answer my questions tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.” The downstairs buzzer rang and Rudy raced to the door. She dodged around him and pressed the entry buzzer. “That’s Marcus. Be good and I’ll let you meet him.”

I’ll meet him, all right, Sam thought as he followed her into the hall. He planned to put the screws to the guy and let him know Ellie was his.

She opened the door and stepped back. “Marcus, hi. You’re right on time.”

He and the nondate appraised each other like sumo wrestlers. They were the same height, with an almost identical build and haircut. Only Marcus David was dark, where Sam was fair, with blue eyes instead of brown. And didn’t it figure the jerk was wearing a tux, probably from some name designer, because the fit was perfect.

Ellie introduced them and he did his best not to break the guy’s knuckles when they shook hands.

“Just give me a minute to hook up Rudy, and we can go,” she told the guy.

She retrieved the leash from the closet, and Sam took it from her, snapping it onto Rudy’s collar as if it was his idea. When she passed Marcus the lead, the guy grinned, taking her in from head to toe.

Sam followed the man’s eyes and knew immediately what he was thinking. “Easy there, sport,” he blurted. Too bad he wasn’t wearing his gun. “Just remember, Ms. Engleman is spoken for.”

“Sam!”

“It’s okay, Ellie. I know what he’s saying.” Marcus took her elbow and began leading her out the door. “I’ll have her back by midnight, Pop. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Sam grasped her other elbow and pulled Ellie near. “Watch yourself.” Bending forward, he wrapped his free arm around her back and kissed her. “And be good.”

Her lashes fluttered and she swayed, then she smiled and caressed his cheek. “I’ll try. And I’ll miss you.”

Inside, he grew a foot. It was just the reaction he was hoping for. The door slammed in his face and Sam heaved another breath. Then he went to the kitchen and grabbed his cell phone. It was time to call Vaughn and get the skinny on what Ellie had gotten herself into.

He had a gut feeling tonight was going to be important, in more ways than one.

Chapter 18

Ellie stood in the humongous foyer of Nola and Morgan’s penthouse apartment, admiring all she saw. Besides the fact that everything in the entryway—floor, walls, artwork—was either black or white and polished to perfection, a three-piece combo played sultry jazz in one corner while a professional bar stood in another.

Marcus had brought her and Rudy here by cab, and he’d been polite and amusing on the ride over, but he hadn’t said word one about meeting Sam. Was he going to pretend she wasn’t involved so he could continue to plead his case?

Now that they were at the party, she planned to soak up all the high-end air she could breathe, while at the same time working to find clues that would help prove Jeffery King innocent. With her date at the bar ordering drinks, she got the chance to check out the guests, but recognized only a handful. Most of the men wore tuxedos, while the women dressed in full-length gowns or, like she did, wore a cutting-edge design.

Stefano Tonchi, the head man from
W
, stood near the bar chatting with Morgan Prince and two tall and beautiful women she assumed were models. Along with photographers, designers, and fashion editors, many of the people who had paraded through the backstage area during the contest walked by, some smiling at her and a couple bending to pet Rudy.

Curious about her boy’s take on things, she squatted and pretended to fix his collar. “What do you think? Has anything come through to you? Does anybody give off a vibe?”

“Who’s had time to channel vibes? Will you look at the size of this place? I thought Lulu’s house was big, and Georgette’s too, but this joint is like a museum.”

She glanced ahead into the living area and spotted about a hundred guests clustered in groups, waiters passing trays of appetizers, and small table and chair setups scattered around the twenty-by-forty-foot space, a space that was decorated like a Fine Living dream home.

When she locked gazes with Nola McKay, the design maven said something to Kitty, who was standing next to her and, their smiles broad, both women waved. Taking a second go around the room, she saw Patti Fallgrave seated at a table with Jeffery, and figured she would connect with them later. She even spotted Clark Fettel schmoozing with Grace Coddington and Michael Kors, and imagined he was in hog heaven rubbing noses with people who ruled the fashion industry.

“It is bigger than what I expected,” she told her boy. “I just thought you might have caught a clue from someone walking past.”

“I think we’d have better luck if we split up. I can spy on the humans, but the other dogs are my real connection. They’re the ones I wanna scope out.”

She heaved a sigh. Rudy was correct, as usual. She knew from personal experience that dogs were aware of a whole lot more than folks gave them credit for, mostly because they saw things from a completely different angle. And canines could be the world’s best snoops. No one held their tongue when a dog was near. People had no idea that, beyond the usual sit, stay, and down commands, their pets understood what they were saying.

“Okay, here goes.” She unsnapped his leash and tucked it in her bag. “Just don’t get underfoot. And come find me as soon as you learn anything useful.”

Standing, she watched him trot off in full yorkiepoo mode, cute and cuddly and heading straight for Nola and Kitty. Well aware that he was adorable, her boy knew how to work a crowd. If he wanted to get on a human’s good side, he could manipulate like the best puppeteer.

A glass of champagne came into view and she turned to find Marcus grinning as he held up her drink, and next to him was someone she’d kept an eye on all week.

“Uh, hi,” said Ellie to Karen Hood.

The woman, dressed in an elegant red gown dotted with sparkling crystals, grinned. “I hear you’ve been asking about my work, so I thought it was time we met.”

“I’ve been admiring your creations. Some of them were so wonderful they actually made me want to look at the model’s hair instead of her dress.”

“Wow, that’s some compliment,” she said, and took a sip of champagne. “Marcus told me about your hair and he’s right, it’s quite lovely. Do you mind . . .” She raised a hand and fingered Ellie’s. “Good texture. Is the color yours?”

“With a bit of help to cover the gray,” Ellie said, frowning. “Sometimes the curl is more than I can handle.”

“Tell you what, since you’re such a fan, how about you phone my appointment desk and ask for a spot. Tell them I told you to call.”

Ellie blinked. “Oh, no, I could never—”