Till Death Do Us Bark (26 page)

And it was important she look her best tonight, because she was preparing to referee a knock-down, drag-out fight during what would be a very important evening in the McCready family’s life.

“Stop fussin’,”
said Rudy, who was perched on the foot of their bed.
“You look fine to me.”

“Thanks, big guy, but this bruise is a bummer. I can wear sunglasses when I’m out in public, but it’s a different story when I’m on a shaded deck with friends.”

She checked her cell phone, saw that there were three messages from Sam, and set the phone on vibrate. Then she dropped it in her pocket. “I have to make a point of calling Sam before bed tonight.”

“Sam is not ‘checking up on me.’ We haven’t talked in a couple of days. I miss him, and I’m sure he misses me.” She gave him the evil eye. “And stop calling him a doofus.”

“Okay, okay. No doofus, but I’m still gonna use demento. That’s one of my favorites,”
he told her, adding a sneeze to finish the pronouncement.

Ellie sat next to him and gave his ears a rub. “We’ll see. Now tell me about your afternoon. Did you learn anything that might help with the case?”

He lay down and put his head on her thigh.
“A couple of things went on. First, there was still a lot of traffic parading in and out of the dead doc’s parking lot. Most folks read the notice and drove away, but a few walked up here and bothered Rosa.”
He snorted.
“She was cool with it. Told ’em
el doctor
had died and she had no idea who they should see for their problems.”

“Smart woman, and nice to hear that she kept them from bothering her boss. Arlene’s going to have enough on her plate when she confronts Adrianne tonight.” She ran her hands down his back and he rolled over for a belly rub. “Anything else?”

Rudy wriggled under her scratching fingers.
“Oh, ooh, yeah, right there—riiiight there.”
He stretched out his back legs and she ran her hand up and down his tummy, hitting all the good spots. When she finished, he stood and gave another sneeze.
“I’ll take a second round of that before bed, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Now, what else did you learn?”

After giving a full body shake, he plopped his bottom on the mattress.
“Julio and Rosa talked. I found out what that
manda
thing really is.”
He raised his muzzle.
“And it’s darned special, if you ask me.”

“Since when did you learn to speak Spanish?”

Ellie smothered a smile. “I think you mean bilingual.”

“Really? And did it happen the way we thought? He threatened the doc with the knife, they argued and he dropped it, and then he ran and the doc followed him out? But he escaped, leaving Kent to contend with the real killer?”

“And the
manda
explanation? Did it make any sense to you?”

He gave a doggie shrug.
“I have a handle on it, but it’s hard to explain. It’s got something to do with that
juramento
thing. It’s a special promise of some kind made to the Virgin Mother. Ask Rosa. She knows.”

“I can only hope she does. Maybe I should ask Julio? Or Tomas?”

“He’ll have to do what!” asked Ellie, standing.

“Never mind. Rosa will tell you.”
He jumped off the bed.
“Let’s get movin’. I’m starved and I can’t wait for the show to begin.”

Ellie bit her lower lip. Tomas had to crawl to some place in Mexico City? She needed Rosa to explain that one to her, but it would have to wait until later. All she could focus on now were the McCready sisters.

She and Rudy left the bedroom and took the back stairs down to the laundry room. “I just hope Viv has the good sense not to provoke anyone, or we’ll have World War Three on our hands.”

“Some witness you are, when nobody but me can hear you.” They landed at the bottom of the stairs. “That’s no help for my case at all.”

“I don’t want to talk about those drugs. All they are is trouble—trouble I don’t need. And what about the ‘stuff’ I said?”

Rudy gazed up at her, a smile creasing his doggie lips.
“You told Viv you talked to us canines.”

Ellie’s mouth dropped open. “I did what?”

“Are you sure?”

“Duh, yeah. She blamed your crazy talk on the drugs and laughed it off.”
He gave another head-to-tail shake.
“What human in their right mind would believe such a lame story?”

“Okay, great. If she says anything, I can act like I don’t remember, which I don’t, and play dumb.”

“You’re pretty good at that, too,”
he answered with a yip.
“Now hurry up with my dinner.”

Ellie rushed through the mechanics of preparing his food. There wasn’t a soul in the kitchen, which meant everyone was on the terrace, and that was strange, because from what she could overhear, there was very little conversation taking place outside.

After setting Rudy’s dinner on a place mat, she tiptoed to the back door and peeked out the window.

Viv and Arlene sat on the far side of the table with an empty chair between them that Ellie assumed was for her.

Vanessa’s and Adrianne’s backs were to the door, so it was difficult to gauge their thoughts.

Evan McCready, at the head of the table, seemed to be the only person enjoying his meal, a shrimp, avocado, spring greens, and vegetable salad.

And Rosa circled the group with a basket of rolls, going from person to person with her offering.

“What’s goin’ on out there?”
whispered Rudy.

She jumped at the sound of his voice and put a finger to her lips. “
Shh.
Are you finished already?”

“That isn’t funny.” She ignored her phone, which had started vibrating in her pocket. This was not a good time to talk with Sam. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed open the door and walked around the table.

Vanessa’s eyes grew wide when Ellie took the seat between Viv and Arlene. “Oh, you poor thing! The bruise has gotten darker. How are you feeling?”

“About as good as I can for looking so battered. My face doesn’t hurt, but my temple does, especially if I touch it.”
Or sneeze or move my head.
When she smiled a hello to Adrianne, the woman ignored her. Too bad someone hadn’t given the middle sister what she needed while growing up—a smack upside her head. “Did Viv tell you what we did today?”

“She’s been talking about it,” said Vanessa.

“I’ve only met Sabrina Bordowski a few times,” Arlene began. “Now that I think back on it, she and Martin did seem a bit . . . close. I will admit, I often wondered if they were . . .” Letting the statement hang, she gazed at Adrianne and stiffened. Then she put a hand on Ellie’s thigh, as if preparing her for the next sentence. “Maybe you know who else Martin was sleeping with, sister dear, seeing as you were number one on his list.”

Vanessa inhaled a gasp. “Arlene! What are you saying?”

Ignoring Myron’s inane squawking, Viv leaned back in her chair. “Come on, Mom, get real. Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

Adrianne sneered, her expression turning downright ugly. “Don’t ‘sister dear’ me, Arlene. You were the one he planned to marry.”

“One of you had better tell me what you’re talking about, or I’ll—I’ll—”

“You’ll do what? Send us to our room? Take away our allowance? Really, Mother, get a life,” said Adrianne.

“Maybe I should say the same to you,” snapped Arlene. “But get one of your own, instead of stealing mine.”

Vanessa pushed away from the table, stood, and placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Evan, what are they talking about?”

“Will someone please shut that bird up!” cried Vanessa.

Rosa rushed to the parrot and carried him inside.

The senior McCready glared at his daughters. “I have an idea, and it infuriates me.” He focused on Adrianne. “I believe you owe your older sister an apology.”

Adrianne crossed her arms over her bright yellow tank top. “I don’t owe her anything. She has everything she wants already. I wasn’t the only woman Marty slept with, but I was the best. He told me my portrait held the secret to his success, and she should know it.”

Vanessa dropped into her chair. “Portrait? What portrait?”

Rosa returned to the terrace and set a plate of the shrimp and avocado salad in front of Ellie.

Viv sat up straight, as if preparing to march into battle. “We saw the painting, Adrianne. It was a cruel and tacky thing to do. So low-class.”

“What is this painting you’re talking about?” asked Vanessa.

Arlene seemed to deflate like a balloon with a slow leak. “Adrianne painted a nude self-portrait and hung it on the wall in Martin’s office—and it’s a direct slap in my face.”

“It’s always about you, isn’t it?” Adrianne thumped the table with a fist. “You’re nothing but a self-righteous prig.”

“Hey, stop right there,” said Viv.

Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but Arlene shook her head. “I can handle it.” She stared at her sister with her green eyes blazing. “I want you out of the guesthouse tonight. You are no longer welcome in my home or my life.”

“Do somethin’, Triple E. Adrianne can’t leave until after the memorial,”
Rudy reminded her from under the table.

Her boy was correct. Adrianne was still on her suspect list. Though it was difficult imagining her as the killer, she was tall with ripped arms and a toned figure. With the right amount of anger and leverage, she could have pushed the doctor hard enough to make him fall.

“Arlene, just a minute,” Ellie began. Then she realized she couldn’t say what she wanted.

“Yes, think a minute, Arlene. We drove your sister, so she has no way home. I want the two of you to talk this through here and now,” ordered Vanessa.

Viv hissed out a sigh. “This is between Adrianne and Arlene, Mother. You need to stay out of it.”

“What I need is for my girls to get along like sisters should,” Vanessa said. A tear slid down her cheek and she dabbed it with her napkin. “After Evan, you three are all I have in the world. I want you to be happy and—”

“Sorry, Mom, but that’s only going to happen when you start treating Adrianne like a grown woman and accept what she’s become,” Vivian interrupted.

“What I’ve become?” Adrianne stood. “You should talk, little sister-with-the-big-job-and-salary. Too bad you can’t hold on to a man, either.”

“Hey, wait one second—” Ellie said, protesting for Viv.

Adrianne focused on Ellie as if she were fresh prey. “You have nothing to say in this, Ms. Big Ass. Who do you think you are, barging into our family business, then bragging about how you could find Marty’s killer? You’re nothing but a dog walker masquerading as something special.”

“Did she just call you Ms. Big Ass?”
Rudy yipped, snaking between her feet to stand clear of the chair.

Unable to speak, Ellie blinked her shock.

Evan McCready grabbed his daughter’s forearm. “That’s enough, Adrianne. It’s cruel and it isn’t true. Now you have three people to whom you owe an apology.”

Ignoring her father, Adrianne scanned the table. “I’m not leaving until after the memorial. I hear our intrusive guest is planning to pull a rabbit out of her butt and reveal Marty’s murderer. I wouldn’t want to miss that show for all the money in the world.” Rounding her father, she stumbled into Rudy, who was blocking her way, and shoved him aside with a jab from her foot. Then she marched down the stairs with her Louboutins thundering.

Panting, Rudy jumped into Ellie’s lap.
“Did you see? Did you see! She kicked me. Me! An innocent pooch. The nerve!”

Ellie hugged her boy close, then pushed her dinner plate to the middle of the table. This battle was pretty much what she had expected, but when her dog was threatened, well, that was it.

Raising her gaze, she found that all eyes were on her.

“Oh, Ellie, I’m so sorry you had to hear that,” said Vanessa.

“I apologize for my rude and crude sister, too. You were here in support of me. There was no need for her to verbally abuse you the way she did,” said Arlene.

Viv smiled and threw an arm around her shoulder. “The girl is tough. She can take it.”

“Still,” muttered Evan. He fisted his hands. “I’m going to the guesthouse to speak to my spoiled brat of a daughter. Vanessa? Are you coming?”

After the McCready parents left the table, Viv blew out a breath. “If you ask me, once she did that to Rudy, she was toast. You should have used those lessons in self-defense to flatten Adrianne and show her who’s boss.”