The Girl With the Dachshund Tattoo (22 page)

“Why would you do something so stupid?” I didn’t have to see him to know his stock-and-trade unreadable expression had been replaced with a set jaw and furious eyes.

“How were we supposed to know she was retrieving a weapon?” I asked in a harsh whisper. Following Gia seemed like a good idea at the time. I peeked around the corner to make sure she was still there.

“You don’t. You’re not the police,” he barked into my ear. “Where are you?”

I rattled off the address and storage unit number. “You’ll need a code to get past the security gate.”

“What is it?”

I closed my eyes knowing my answer would probably push him over the edge. “I have no idea. We parked Darby’s car and followed someone else inside. I don’t know how much longer she’ll be here. I’m not even sure if the gun is loaded. What do you want us to do?”

“Get back to Darby’s car and get somewhere safe.” His curt tone cut off any argument he thought I might give.

Joke was on him. For once, I wasn’t about to quibble over being ordered around.

I turned to Darby who no longer looked terrified. In fact her light blue eyes snapped with worry. Luckily for us, I had good news.

I gave her the cell phone back. “Calvary is on the way. Let’s get out of here.”

“We should have followed Betty. At least we already know where her gun is.” Darby’s dry tone shook a laugh out of me.

Point taken.

DARBY AND I SAT in her small Fiesta with the back windows halfway down for what seemed like an eternity. It was probably more like ten minutes. Two Laguna Hills police cars and Malone’s silver Camaro barreled down the street. No sirens. They whipped into the driveway, stopping at the security gate only long enough to punch a code into the keypad. The gate opened, slick as a whistle. They rolled through like they belonged. Unlike us.

“How did he know the number?” Darby asked, impressed.

“He’s Judd Malone. He probably called the company and demanded the code.”

Five minutes dragged along. I shifted in my seat. “Turn the key so I can roll my window down.”

She rolled her eyes. I wasn’t fooling her. She was well aware I wanted to hear what was happening. Being the amazing best friend that she was, she honored my request.

We continued to wait. Darby softly hummed the Jeopardy theme.

I looked at her amused. “What is ‘bored out of my mind,’ Alex?”

“I’d never make it as an undercover cop,” she said.

After another five minutes went by without the sounds of guns firing, I opened the door.

“Mel, Malone said to stay here.”

I didn’t need Darby’s reminder. “I won’t get too close.” I slid out and quietly closed the door. I moved to the front of the car, listening for an indication of what was happening on the other side of the gate.

Darby joined me. She nervously scanned the street. “This is a bad idea.”

“Probably. But it won’t be the last bad idea I act on.”

“Aren’t you supposed to have dinner with Grey tonight?”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. I hadn’t forgotten about our dinner, but it hadn’t been top of mind either. “Yes. What does that have to do with this?”

Her eyes widened. “You won’t make it if Malone throws you in jail.”

I laughed. “Okay. Okay. You win.”

We leaned against the hood of the car. “What’s wrong with the Jeep?” she asked.

I sighed. “I don’t know. It worked fine this morning. Maybe I left the lights on and drained the battery. Hopefully, I just need a jump start.” Sort of like my relationship with Grey.

One of the Laguna Hills police cars appeared at the exit, saving me from morose thoughts.

“Here they come.” Darby announced.

We slid off the hood and watched. The gate opened; a police car rolled through the exit. Gia sat in the back seat. As they drove past, she noticed us and shot a death glare in our direction. She wasn’t happy to see us. It didn’t take a genius to guess we were the ones who called the cops.

“He arrested Gia,” Darby exclaimed. “Where’s Zippy? Do you think he’s with her?”

I cringed as I imagined what Malone had to endure if he’d tried to take Zippy. “I can’t imagine Gia going anywhere without her dog.”

The second police car pulled around the corner with Malone’s Camaro right behind. The police car headed out of town, Malone pulled up next to us and parked.

“Aren’t you glad we stayed put?” Darby said.

Not really. I didn’t like to be left out of the party. I wasn’t exactly a wallflower type.

Malone unfolded from his car and made his way toward us. I liked to describe his walk as legal danger.

“Did you arrest her?” I asked as soon as he was close enough to hear me. I thought it was better to take control before the lecture started.

He stopped in front of us. His wide-legged stance kept us from escaping before he was finished with us. We were about to be royally scolded. “She’s being taken in for questioning.”

“What the heck was all that stuff?” Darby asked.

Malone shook his head. With his expertise at the neutral expression, I was hard pressed to guess if he was confused or appalled by Gia’s hidden treasures. “Those are the items that won’t fit in her house. She also rents two more units here.”

“She’s a shopaholic. That would explain the Eriksens’ financial issues. You should have seen her at the boutique. She acted like a junkie getting her fix by binge-shopping.”

He gave me a pointed look.

Yeah, yeah. I was theorizing. “What about the gun? Is it Richard’s?”

He didn’t answer right away. “She says it’s not, but we’ll run the serial number for verification.”

“Of course she’s lying,” I said. Malone didn’t respond. Not a blink of an eye, muscle twitch, or clenched jaw. A silent Malone meant a ticked-off detective.

“Is it the murder weapon?” Darby asked.

“We won’t know that for a couple of days,” he explained.

The midday sun peeked out from behind a gray cloud. Darby shielded her eyes from the sudden burst of bright light. “Can you at least tell if it’s been fired?”

I shook my head. “You can’t tell if a gun has been fired recently by looking at it,” I explained.

Malone raised an eyebrow. “Care to enlighten me on how you know that?”

I shrugged. “I grew up in Texas. My daddy taught me how to shoot and care for my gun. I know you can tell if a gun is dirty, but you can’t tell if it’s been shot recently.”

He studied me closely. I made myself hold steady under his scrutiny. Maybe he’d take me a little more seriously with his newfound knowledge.

I smoothed my hair back from my face. “Did she tell you what she was going to do with it? Was she going after Hagan?”

He shook his head. “She said she planned to sell it.”

It was possible she was telling the truth. Depending on the type of gun, she could get a large chunk of money quickly. It was also possible she intended to shoot Hagan first. A girl has to have priorities.

Malone shifted his weight. “Since you’re here, does that mean you didn’t find Betty?”

Darby and I exchanged a look. Man, I hated that I felt like I was tattling on my grandmother. “She drove off the same time as Gia. We had to make a choice.” I shrugged. “Is Zippy okay?” I inserted, to stave off the reprimand I felt coming, and to make sure an innocent dog hadn’t been forgotten.

“He’s fine. Don’t do this again,” Malone ordered.

I bit the inside of my check to keep from smiling. I wasn’t sure which “this” he was talking about. There were a few choices. Although, I didn’t think Malone was asking me a multiple choice question. “Do what?”

“Follow a murder suspect. You’re not the police. You could have been hurt. Or could have gotten someone else hurt.”

Darby nodded solemnly. Her blond hair caught the sunlight, casting a glow around her head. “We know. We’re very sorry. I also have more photos from today’s event if you’d like them.”

I kept my trap shut and let Darby handle the apology. Her Midwestern sincerity was hard to resist. Plus, she had potential evidence. Evidence was a surefire way to get on Malone’s good side.

He walked to Darby’s side of the car and opened the door. “Get out of here and go home. Get me those photos first thing tomorrow.”

Darby scrambled inside. Malone didn’t bother opening my door. Instead he glowered at me, silently communicating to keep my nose clean, then strode back to his shiny Camaro.

Chapter Twenty-Six

IT DIDN’T TAKE long for Darby and me to return to Laguna Beach. Funny story, Detective Malone followed us the majority of the way, much to Darby’s chagrin. I was proud of her. Other than repeatedly checking her rearview mirror, and sitting perfectly erect in her seat, she didn’t let the fact the Malone was tailing us freak her out. I had to wonder if that was his way of ensuring we followed orders.

While Darby concentrated on not committing a traffic violation, I worked at piecing together the day’s events. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but I felt like we were missing something.

“Mel, I need to stop by the studio really quick. I’ll only be a couple of minutes. I want to download my photos for today. Once I do that, I can drop off the memory card to Detective Malone. Now that there are two murders, I’m sure he’d like them as soon as possible.”

I smiled at her. “No problem.”

Darby’s photography studio was conveniently located right next door to Bow Wow Boutique. We pulled up to the shop, and, lo and behold, there was Betty’s Mini Cooper—parked haphazardly in front of the boutique.

“I can’t believe it.” I yanked my bag from the backseat. Betty had some explaining to do.

“Be gentle with her.” Softhearted Darby grabbed her messenger bag and got out of the car.

She walked to her studio. I, on the other hand, headed for the boutique with brisk steps. I opened the door and entered. Betty was preoccupied, digging through a stack of chew toys.

I carefully set my bag on the floor. “Hello.”

Startled, Betty jumped a mile high, dropping a handful of toys. “Don’t sneak up on an old woman like that. You want to give me a heart attack?”

I waved away her dramatics. “If anyone around here has a heart attack, it’ll be me. What are you up to?”

She jutted out her chin. “I had an errand to run.” She sounded like a petulant child.

“I noticed that when you hot-rodded away from the dog park. Had you stuck around, you would have learned Malone found your gun.”

A triumphant smile danced along her mouth. “I told you that filmmaker had it. I guess that wraps up that.” She resumed her search, dumping the toys onto the floor.

“Not by a long shot. Malone wants to talk to you. You left without a word to anyone. Don’t you realize that makes you look guilty?”

Betty scooped up the toys and dropped them back into the bin. Apparently, she hadn’t found what she was looking for.

“Look, Cookie. No offense, but I got stuff to do. You head back to the park without me. I’ll meet you there.”

I sighed. “Not happening. There’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight. Besides, my Jeep won’t start. You’ll have to take me back.

“Then how’d you get here?” Skepticism dripped from her question.

“I hitched a ride. Why won’t you tell me what you’re up to?”

Betty remained stubbornly silent.

I tugged my hair frustrated. “Of all people, you should know that I won’t judge you. Trust me enough to tell me what’s going on. Where have you been running off to? Are you in some type of trouble?”

She brushed past me, heading for the counter. “It’s not what you think.”

I grabbed my backpack and followed her. “That’s the point. I don’t know what to think. Is it money problems? Do you need some cash? Besides the wad of dollar bills you have stashed inside your purse? You should put your money in the safe until you can make a bank deposit on Monday.”

“You keep your money, Cookie. Stop worrying about my cash and start worrying about yourself.” She pulled her purse off the shelf from under the counter.

I sighed. The time had come to fill Betty in on my financial stability. I leaned against the counter blocking her only escape route. “I need to make a confession.”

“What are you gonna tell me? That you’re hiding a kid?” She cackled at her lame joke.

I grabbed her delicate hands and held them firmly in mine. “Look, there’s no need for you to worry about money. I have enough for both of us. If you’re in some type of dire financial situation, I’d be happy to help. Consider it a loan if it makes you feel better.”

“I don’t know what you’re babbling about, but I have plenty of money.”

“So do I,” I reassured her.

“Sure thing, Cookie. Whatever you say.”

She tried to pull her hands away, but I held tightly, careful not to apply pressure to her bruise. “I’m part of the Texas Montgomerys.”

She narrowed her eyes and thought about what I was saying. “You mean oil?”

I shrugged, unwilling to go into details. “Among other things.”

She whistled. “You’re loaded.”

I released her hands and straightened. “My family is wealthy. I’m blessed to be a Montgomery. The point is, I care a lot about you. If you need anything, please know you can count on me to help you out.”

“Really? Anything?” She peered into my face.

“Absolutely.” I nodded.

“Okay. Come to my place.” She whizzed past me.

I blinked. “Right now?” I should be happy she was taking me up on my offer. I hadn’t expected her to bite so quickly. I thought I would have had to work a little harder to convince her.

“You got something better to do?”

“I still need to pick up the Jeep. We left all the merchandise at the park. Malone wants to talk to you, and Grey and I have a date tonight.”

“Then we better get crackin’.”

I texted Darby informing her she was free of me. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and followed Betty to the door wondering where we were going and if we were about to do something illegal. We locked up the shop and headed toward her car.

“What were you rummaging around for in there?” I motioned to the boutique.

“You’ll find out,” she assured me. I wasn’t reassured by the secretive look she wore.