Fashion Faux Paw (5 page)

With that, he stalked off in the direction of the stage.

Ellie thought about his choice of words as she retrieved the toys and dog beds in the pen and moved them under the table. Since the tech crew had picked the table clean, and Charlene had taken care of everything underneath, she guessed it was okay to stuff the canine paraphernalia out of the way. She imagined the area would look good as new in the morning, refilled with fruit and veggies, identical energy bars, and drinks.

“That dippy dick didn’t mince words, did he?”
said Rudy as they left the building.

“Nope, and I plan to do exactly what he said. I’m not sticking my nose in this one.”

“Ooo-kay, if that’s the way you want it,”
he said, walking alongside her onto the street.
“Just remember that word.”

“Word? What word?”

“Karma.”

An hour later, Viv was sitting in Ellie’s kitchen, oohing and aahing over the booty in Ellie’s swag bag. She’d shown up unannounced shortly after they arrived home, and Ellie didn’t have the heart to turn her best friend away.

Fashion was Viv’s first love. It always amazed Ellie that she’d never pursued a modeling career, but as she grew to know Viv, she began to understand. Vivian saw everything in black and white, which was the way people in money dealt. You either made it or you didn’t—period. That’s why Viv did so well in her finance career.

She could never sit statue-still while someone fussed over her hair or makeup. Nor would she be patient with a designer who did all the picky business that went with creating a beautiful outfit.

After Viv made a thorough search of the swag basket, she said, “This is fantastic. I can’t believe you got all this stuff for free. Thanks so much for letting me grab the Bottega Veneta handbag and the D&G scarf.”

“No problem.” Ellie moved the basket to the counter. “You sure you don’t want to try my perfume strips? They seemed to be the rage with everyone.” She sniffed at her chest. “And Nola Morgan Design is right about the long-lasting effect. I can still smell the scent of spring rain from mine.”

“I smell it, too, and it suits you, but I like my perfume a little more earthy.” Viv went to the freezer, retrieved her half-eaten container of Caramel Cone ice cream, and dug in. “Maybe you and I can go to Bergdorf’s over the weekend and I’ll decide if there’s one that’s right for me.” She swallowed a spoonful of ice cream. “So what else happened?”

It was then Ellie explained the rest of her day, finishing with Lilah’s death. Viv, who was almost through with her frozen treat, stopped midscrape and opened and closed her mouth in silence. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you correctly. What happened at the end of the first showing?”

“Go on,”
Rudy encouraged from his mat.
“Tell her the story. I’m ready for what Vivie has to say.”

Ellie decided blunt was the best way to go. “One of the designers had an allergy attack and died. They think it might have been murder. They’re not sure.”

Viv plunked her spoon and empty container down. “You’re joking.”

Ellie placed an elbow on the table and cupped her chin. “I only wish.”

“Did you know the victim?”

“Not well. But it was clear she made enemies with her brash personality.”

Viv grinned. “Okay, Little Mary Sunshine. What did she do that was so bad someone would want to kill her?”

“Too many nasty comments to count, if you ask me.”

After giving her boy a glare, Ellie shrugged. “Nothing specific. But for instance, after we met, it didn’t take her more that five minutes to make a negative comment about my build.”

“Oh, Lord. What is wrong with those people?”

“Those people?”

“Fashionistas. They pay more attention to the shape of the models wearing the clothes than they do the designs.”

“That’s why this NMD contest drew so much attention. The designers have to dress two sizes of models, one with a figure like yours, and one with a figure like mine.”

“You mean built like you, or Crystal Renn or Kate Dillon,” said Vivian. “It’s about time.”

“They were there. If I remember, Crystal has a French bulldog. He’s a very cute little guy.”

“I love it when you categorize everyone by the kind of dog they own,” Viv said with a laugh. “So this Lilah person, she didn’t like working with normal-sized women.”

“It was only me she commented on, but she made it pretty clear how she felt about anyone who wore a double-digit dress size.”

“And her opinion was so obnoxious that someone would kill her for it?”

“I vote yes on that one.”

“Give me a second.” Ellie walked to the cupboard, pulled out two of her friend Sara Studebaker’s carrot-and-apple biscuits, and gave one to Rudy and one to Mr. T. “You boys need a bedtime snack; then we’ll go out for our last walk of the night.” She raised an eyebrow. “You got it?”

Mr. T and Rudy started chewing. It was the yorkiepoo’s way of saying yes without giving an answer, and she returned to the table. “I really don’t know too much more, but I’m sure I’ll hear the details tomorrow. We have to be up early, especially if I have to take your guy for his walk.”

“So don’t take him. I’ll handle it. That’ll give you an extra fifteen minutes.” Viv tossed the container in the trash and set the spoon in the sink. “I’ll take my swag to my apartment, and get my sweater. You bring the boys. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

She collected her gifts and left, while Ellie started down the hall with Rudy and Twink at her heels.
“Let’s get this show on the road,”
her boy goaded.
“We got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

“Excuse me?” She slipped a sweater over her head. “Why would we get involved?”

“Because we have to. It’s in our blood.”

She heaved a sigh. “Yours maybe, but not mine. I can only imagine what Sam is going to say when he hears, if he hasn’t already.”

“Detective Demento? How many times do I have to tell you, we don’t take orders from him.”

They returned to the hall and headed for the door. Once there, Ellie snapped leashes on both dogs and they walked down to the inside landing, where Viv was waiting. “Let’s make this quick,” she said, handing Mr. T off to his mistress. “I’m too tired to think straight.”

“I understand.” Viv led the way. “We’ll go to the corner and back; then we’re through.”

The cool night air gave Ellie renewed energy. “Besides those gorgeous baskets, I got another piece of good news,” she said while they watched Twink water a fire hydrant. “I managed to get you a ticket for the grand finale.”

Gasping, Viv spun around. “What? No! You didn’t!”

“I told you I would,” said Ellie, smiling. “I’d never let you down.”

“What day? What time? What should I wear?”

“It’s on Friday. The first catwalk run is scheduled for ten a.m., and you can stay all day, and wear whatever you want.”

Viv heaved a breath. “I forgot to ask. Who was in the crowd today? Did you get to meet anyone famous? Name names, please.”

“You’re asking me? A woman who doesn’t even read
Vogue
?”

“
Vogue
,
Harper’s
,
W
, they’re all the bible,” said Viv. They stopped at the corner, where the boys did their business; then Viv and Ellie scooped and deposited the bags in the trash can. “Did you meet Anna Wintour or Grace Coddington?”

“The names sound familiar. I did see Michael Kors and Christian Siriano on their way to somewhere.”

“Good God, but you’re difficult.” Viv huffed out a breath. “You met important people, big names in the fashion world, and all you decided to talk about was a ‘maybe’ murder.”

“Keep your voice down, please,” said Ellie, narrowing her eyes as they neared the porch. “I think I see . . .”

“Oh, brother.”

Sam sat on the cement balustrade of the apartment building, waiting for Ellie and Viv to return from their nightly dog outing. Word of the murder investigation at the fashion event Ellie was working had reached him around six, and he knew that, just like all the rest of the crimes she found herself in the middle of, she’d end up involved in this one, too.

She hadn’t pulled the trigger or thrown the dagger, of course, but she had put herself in a sticky situation. According to department gossip, she was the last ordinary citizen to have contact with the victim.

Now Vivian was laying into her so loudly it echoed up the street, berating her for caring more about the details of the crime than the big names at the event. He’d thought about giving Ellie his usual harangue on how she needed to answer Vaughn’s questions and stay out of the rest of it. After hearing Viv give her hell, well, maybe he just needed to slow things down for the night.

Reading the exhaustion in Ellie’s eyes, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek when the women arrived at the stairway. “Hi, babe.” He pulled her near. “Viv, how are you doing?”

“I’m great, now that I know I have a ticket for the final day of Fashion Week,” she said, grinning. “I’ll leave you two alone. I think you have a lot to talk about.” She headed up the steps with her Jack Russell in tow. “Ellie, see you in the morning.”

He waited until the door closed before saying, “I heard you had quite a day. Do you want to talk about it?”

She leaned into his chest. “Maybe for a minute; then I need sleep. Is that okay?”

He took her hand and led her into the building. They climbed the stairs to the third floor. “I’ll put on my listening hat, just for you.”

Ellie smiled and his heart jumped. In the almost six months they’d lived together he’d done his damnedest to make her happy, and that was a big improvement for him. According to his ex, he’d been a lousy listener, a fact for which Carolanne never forgave him. It was getting easier and easier to sit back and listen to Ellie, to understand where she was coming from, and to enjoy her positive, almost rosy, outlook on life.

It had taken five murders for him to realize his girl was right. She never looked for trouble—trouble just seemed to find her. And it was his job to keep her safe and happy while things took place around her, which included allowing her to help those she considered her friends.

They got to their apartment and he pulled out his key, but Ellie simply opened the door. “Sorry. I forgot to lock it, but Viv and I were only going to be out for a couple of minutes.”

He held back his usual “This is New York. Lock the
effing
door” comment. “And Rudy would protect you if a bad guy slipped inside?”

She knelt to undo Rudy’s leash. “I think he’s finally getting the message, little man. What do you think?”

Sam waited while she held a short conversation with her dog. When the mutt glanced up at him and cocked its head, he wanted to groan. No matter how many times he saw the hound, he still couldn’t get over the almost human expression on its face.

When they got to the bedroom he tugged off his clothes while Ellie brought Rudy and his pillow to the spare room and told him good night. By the time she finished whatever females did to get ready for bed, he was under the covers waiting for her.

She climbed in and he pulled her close, spooning himself against her back. “You don’t have to talk about it tonight. I’ll get up with you in the morning. You can give me the details over coffee.” He circled her waist with his arm. “Unless you need to get something off your chest now.”

She blew out a breath. “Just that I had nothing to do with it. Even trying to save Lilah’s life was an automatic reaction. I’ve been thinking: How could a woman who complained about her allergy as much as Lilah did carry an empty EpiPen?”

“I know Vaughn. I’m sure he’s already figured that out.”

“So how did she come in contact with peanuts?”

“My guess is Vaughn is asking himself that same question. And the ME will probably come up with the answer.”

She wriggled her bottom against his growing erection. “So I should keep my nose clean and let the cops do their job?”

“You should,” he agreed, nuzzling the back of her ear.

“Uh-oh. It feels like I’m going to owe you a special wake-up in the morning,” she said with a smile in her voice.

“That’ll be the perfect way to start my day.”

She snuggled closer and he felt her muscles relax and her tension ease. That’s when he decided there was no reason to begin his usual “no snooping—mind your own business” speech. Ellie was just too tired.

A minute later, just as he was dozing off, he heard her say, “Thanks, Sam, for not lecturing. I appreciate it.”

Chapter 3

First thing the next morning, after sharing breakfast and the exact details of Lilah Perry’s death with Sam, Ellie and Rudy hopped out of the cab when it stopped in front of the Fashion Center. The same security guard as yesterday waved them through, and she prepared for whatever might be the attitude of those inside.

She hoped the gofers, assistants, and staging folks would be more calm and respectful than the day before, when it had taken her only a few hours in their presence to realize that the people in this industry were manic. It stood to reason the craziness that accompanied said profession would be softened by the tragedy.