2 Lady Luck Runs Out (15 page)

Our food came. We ate, they talked some more and laughed. I was sipping my wine, and rethinking the whole idea of hiding who I was from Will, when Sammy's phone buzzed on the table.

He glanced at it. I could see the struggle on his face and finally he sighed. "I'm sorry, Mallory, I have to get this." He picked up the phone. "Yeah."

Mallory had her chin resting on her fist as she grinned at me. I smiled back. It was nice to see her practically glowing.

"What?" It was more like a gasp than a word. We both looked at Sammy. His normally tanned face had paled. He rose slowly from the table and stumbled to the back of the restaurant.

Mallory and I shared a concerned look.

"I wonder what that was all about?" she whispered.

I bit my lip. "The restrooms are back there. I'll be right back."

"No—"

I slid out of the chair and made my way to the back before she could protest. For all she knew I really did have to use the ladies' room, I reasoned. As I came around the corner I saw Sammy slam the men's room door open with a loud expletive. I slipped into the door marked "women" and pressed my ear to the wall between the two restrooms hoping I could hear something. An elderly woman entered and gave me a strange look before disappearing into a stall. I sighed, defeated. I couldn't hear a thing.

After waiting the proper amount of time, I returned to the table and found Mallory there alone, her face all scrunched up in worry.

"Where's Sammy?"

"He had to go. There was an emergency, apparently. He looked really upset. Said he would call me when he could."

"He didn't tell you what happened?"

"No."

"Oh, well then." I rummaged through my straw bag. "I'll just take care of the bill and we can get out of here."

"He already paid it," Mallory said, still looking dejected.

I put a hand over hers. "I'm sure everything will be fine. I'm sure he'll call you when he can. He does seem like a nice guy, Mal."

She rewarded my concession with a smile and squeeze of my hand. "He does, doesn't he? All right. Let's get out of here."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Saturday evening, I called Frankie to come pick me up to do a little sleuthing. Her toy-like red sports car purred out front within a half hour. I knew she couldn't resist an adventure.

"Not sure we're going to be very inconspicuous in this moving firecracker," I teased her as I slid into the soft leather seat.

She chuckled. "I could have brought the limo."

"Guess we'll have to take our chances." I shook my head as Frankie maneuvered the little convertible out into the heavy Beach Drive traffic.

"Speakin' of firecrackers, what's that little sister of yours up to tonight?"

"I left her minding the oven and playing fetch with Lucky on the sofa."

"Lucky the cat? She plays fetch?"

"Yeah. With Mallory's hair ties. She is a funny little creature. Lots of personality. Really traumatized by this whole mess, though."

"Animals understand more than we give 'em credit for, that's for sure," Frankie said. "Mallory okay with you leaving her out of tonight's fun?"

  "Yeah, she didn't mind.  She's exhausted and we've got a whole lot of treats to bake this weekend. The boutique has been a mad house." Plus, she was still pouting about Sammy not calling her, but I didn't mention that.

"Glad to hear it." Frankie punched the horn as a large silver car drifted into her lane. They waved. Guess they hadn't seen her. Maybe we could be inconspicuous after all. "I mean, glad to hear business is good. Wouldn't want you gals going anywhere. Oh, speaking of... where exactly are we going and what are we doing?"

"Oh, yeah. Do you know where the Beachgate condos are?"

"Sure."

"Okay, we're going there to see if we can find out where Nova Diaz lives and spy on her."

Frankie was silent for a moment. "Nova Diaz? Bernard's girlfriend? Whatever for?"

I watched the moonlight drift on the bay waters. "Do you know her?"

"Well, I've met her a few times at Bernard's house. She's always been polite. Bernard is definitely head over heels for her. Jack says he's never seen the guy so happy before. What's up?"

How much could I tell her?
It was getting exhausting hiding things from my friends. "Well, the reason I was at Bernard's Masquerade Ball with Zach Faraday was because Zach believes his mother was murdered. That someone let that rattlesnake into her condo on purpose."

"What?" She turned to me, her eyes wide. "Seriously? Why would he think that?"

"Well, you know he is psychic." I knew she believed that. I let it speak for itself.

"True." She took in a deep breath. "So, what does that have to do with Nova?"

"We found out that Rose Faraday had been hired to be the entertainment at Bernard's house the weekend before her death. Seems like a big coincidence that she was killed by a snake the weekend after being at the home of a man who owns so many snakes, and has a bunch of friends with snakes, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does seem like an odd coincidence."

"So, Bernard's housekeeper told me the night Rose was the entertainment at Bernard's house, Nova snuck into the snake house. Apparently she and Bernard got in a big fight because he doesn't allow anyone in the snake house."

"So, you're thinking she snuck the rattler from there?"

"That's what I need to find out."

"But why would she do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe Rose saw something that night she wasn't supposed to. Or maybe she made Nova mad? Hard to figure out what goes on in the mind of a killer. Besides, Nova really seems like she's hiding something. Oh, and Nova did make a comment at the Ball that Rose was dead on with her reading. She didn't sound very happy about it either. Like maybe Rose knew what she was hiding. And," I turned in the compact seat to face Frankie, "I ran into her at Lucky's vet's office and she threatened me and Zach to leave things alone."

Frankie's makeup creased around her eyes as she frowned and turned into the entrance to Beachgate condos. "She always seemed so nice. That doesn't sound like her. Why would she say that?" Frankie made a left into the wide, flat parking area. "Do we know which condo is hers?"

"No." I sighed. "I was hoping we could stake out the parking lot and catch her coming home."

Frankie held up a freckled hand, a large gold and diamond bracelet sliding down her arm. "Just so happens I can help with that. I've seen her drive a white BMW, so we know what kind of car to watch for."

I grinned. "I knew there was a reason I called you."

Frankie backed into a space where we had a good view of the palm tree lined entrance. "Also," she turned off the engine and pulled an insulated beach tote from behind my seat, "I brought snacks."

I laughed. "Of course you did." I was surprised she didn't have Itty and Bitty back there as well.

We sat there under the stars, enjoying the night air, catching up on each other's lives and munching on brie, grapes and sesame crackers.

"So you really like Jack?" I asked.

"Sure. He's fun to hang out with. He's not looking for a relationship, though. He's a bit of a player which is fine by me. I'm enjoying just worrying about me and my girls. No crazy man drama to deal with."

I couldn't blame her after the way her last relationship turned out. We perked up as car lights turned in. Nope. Not the white BMW.

I took a sip from a mini-water bottle. "Has Jack ever mentioned to you how much he disliked Rose Faraday?"

She turned to me, swallowing and shaking her head. "No. Not until his conversation with you at Landon's Halloween party. Something about her making dog owner's lives miserable at their condos?" 

"Yeah. Apparently Rose was president of the HOA there. She implemented this program where all the dogs had to have their DNA on file and if any doggie mess was found, it would be tested and the culprit would be fined $1,000. If they didn't pay, their dog could be confiscated."

"Oh, that's what he was talking about?" Frankie looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or be angry. "That's ridiculous."

"That's not the worst part. Apparently, Rose threatened to poison Jack's dog, Monkey."

Frankie's face turned red. Now she was angry. "Well, if she went around threatening to poison people's pets, it wouldn't surprise me if someone offed her." She bit into a cracker violently. Tiny bits of it sprayed the dashboard. "I just don't understand some people."

"Me either, Frankie." I sighed and repositioned my legs. My hip had gone to sleep and was tingling.
Where in heavens was Nova tonight? What if she was spending the night at Bernard's place?

Frankie squinted as another car entered the lot and parked. White but not a BMW. "Well, Jack's the president now so the residents don't have to worry about her threatening their pets anymore."

Yeah. That's what worried me. That was a pretty solid motive for murder in my book.
*     *     *

Around midnight we were tired of sitting, and getting ready to throw in the towel, when the white BMW pulled into the parking lot.

"Get down!" Frankie clutched my arm and we ducked as the car lights swooped over us.  The car slid into a space two spots down from us. We listened for the door to shut and then raised our heads up.

"It's her," I whispered. "Let's go."

We jumped out and ducked behind her car. Frankie peered over the hood. "Okay, she's at the walkway. Come on."

We made a wide arch through the parking lot so we could get a better view of which condo she entered. She paused at a door, keys in her hand.

"I think this is it," I whispered. Nova turned suddenly and looked our way. Frankie pulled me down behind a truck. We were breathing heavy and I felt ridiculous. If someone saw us, they would probably call the police. "Do you think she spotted us?"

"Don't know." Frankie got down on her hands and knees and crawled out from behind the tire.  I bit my lip and tried not to giggle at the sight of her leopard print derriere sticking up in the air.  "She's going in."

We rushed forward just as the door to condo number fourteen was closing. I held up my hand for a high five.

Frankie smacked it with a huge grin. "Bingo!" Then we both stared at the door, our hands on our hips, our breathing shallow. "Now what?"

Time to spy.
"Let's go around back, see if there's a window to peek in."

As we silently made our way around the back of the building, trying to stay hidden and counting the condos to find number fourteen, Frankie nudged me. "I hope you have Will's number on speed dial if we get caught."

"Not sure he'd pick up the phone," I mumbled, stepping over a prickly pear cactus. "We kind of had a fight about Zach."

"He's not jealous of Zach, is he?"

I shrugged and swatted at a mosquito buzzing around my face. "I don't know. I think it's more like he doesn't like me keeping things from him. I should have told him sooner that we believed Rose had been murdered."

"Well, he does seem like the kind of guy that appreciates full disclosure. That's an easy thing to fix, though. Just tell him everything. I'm sure you two will be back canoodling in no time."

Yeah, easy for someone without crazy secrets to say.
I glanced at Frankie as we arrived at the back of the condo. "Canoodling?"

She grinned and pointed at the sliding glass door then gave me a thumbs up. The blinds were slanted open enough that shards of yellow light spilled out onto the patio. We snuck up to the patio and plastered ourselves against the peach stucco wall on either side of the sliding doors. I nodded and we both peeked in.

Through the slats in the blinds, I spotted Nova sitting on the sofa in a flowery yellow dress. She was busy with something on the coffee table in front of her, but I couldn't see past the edge of an overstuffed chair to see what it was. I scanned the room behind her. Two large aquariums sat against the wall, lights hung over them. Must be her snakes. I mentally kicked myself for not bringing binoculars. I would have loved to see what kind of snakes were actually in there. I glanced over at Frankie. She was motioning furiously at me.

"What?" I mouthed. I decided she probably had a better view so I scurried around the patio furniture and glued myself to the wall next to her. "What is it?"

Frankie pulled me in front of her. I peered through the blinds at the new angle and my heart leapfrogged into my throat. Now I could see what she was doing. She was expertly cleaning a gun.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 Yawning, I ran a feather duster over the pet boutique countertops, computer monitor and counter items: jars of impulse treats, a basket of hand-crafted Halloween-shaped cat toys, bumper stickers for pet lovers and a myriad of other things for sale. I wasn't sure how long I had been dusting, lost in thought, until a knock on the door startled me. A quick glance at the time told me we still had twenty minutes before opening. I mumbled to myself as I walked around to see who was there.

Zach threw up a quick wave.
Heavens, what was he doing here?
I motioned for him to give me a second and went to retrieve the keys.

 "You're out and about early." I frowned as I let him in. "Everything all right? Want some tea?" I helped myself to a cup, motioning for him to have a seat in a chair in front of the window.

 He settled into the chair. "No tea, thank you." He wore a fitted gray t-shirt, black jeans and cowboy boots. It suited him.

 "So, what's up?"

One brow raised as his eyes raked over my body. "Your shirt is on inside out."

I glanced down and felt my face heat up. Yep, there were the seams and backsides of three buttons. I blinked and forced a laugh. "Guess I shouldn't get dressed in the dark."

His head tilted and a genuine look of concern narrowed his eyes. "Having trouble sleeping?"

"No, no." I waved off his concern, though I knew the shadows under my eyes betrayed me. The curse of pale skin. "I'm fine. So, what brings you here?"