The Portrait of Doreene Gray (38 page)
“With lots of photos,” Suki added.
“Of course,” Angus said. “Michael, you'll write it as a
Tripping
employee, but I'm sure we can come to some agreement on remuneration.” He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled. “I think that's fair. After all, you wouldn't have been here to see it all happen if it weren't for
Tripping.
”
“Unbelievable.” Michael shook his head and stared out the window. “Hey, Suki, this isn't the way out of town.”
Suki turned the wheel and drove up a hill, toward the bluff above the shore. “I just need to make one quick stop.”
Angus looked at his watch. “There really isn't time if we're going to make that plane. Can't you use the bathroom at the airport?”
“I don't have to pee. I'm going to get Gigi.”
Angus stared at her. “You can't mean to take that dog with us.”
Suki kept her gaze on the road. “There's no one to take care of her. The whole family is in jail.”
“I'm sure Lupita will make sure she's okay,” Michael said.
Suki shook her head irritably. “Lupita doesn't know the first thing about dogs, let alone Chihuahuas. Chis have a soft spot on their heads, are prone to luxating patellas, and walking them with a regular collar and leash can damage their tracheas. You're supposed to use a harness.”
Angus raised his brows. “Been doing a little Internet research, have we?”
“No,” Suki said. “My mom⦔
“What?” Michael asked, when she didn't continue.
“My mom breeds long-haired Chis, okay?” Suki blurted. “I grew up with Mr. Toughie, Sugar Mole, and Sissy May TwinkletoesâTwito for short. They were all champions.”
Michael burst into disbelieving laughter.
“Shut up! They made more money than you do.” Suki stopped in front of Doreene's house and shoved open her car door. “I'll be back.” She lifted a hand to show she had the car keys, then slammed her door shut and stomped down the walk, the buckles on her black boots jingling.
Angus caught Michael's eye in the mirror. “Do you suppose Mr. Toughie influenced her taste in clothes?”
They broke into renewed laughter.
Michael finally stopped laughing enough to speak. “We're never going to make that flight now. Do you suppose Detective Kroger is grateful enough to put us up for the night?”
“There's a good chance.” Angus looked out the window. “I heard him say he thinks of me as an uncle.”
“Really?” Michael wiped his eyes and chuckled one last time. “That's nice.”
Â
Portrait of Doreene GrayâMysterious Painting Baffles Police!
If you could walk through the mist-wreathed streets of Port Townsend, Washington, enter the police station, and pass through the locked door of the evidence room, you would see two portraits hanging side by side. One depicts a laughing girl, the other an age-raddled hag, yet these pictures are of the same woman: a jet-setting socialite who left her husband for dead, blackmailed her twin sister, and abandoned her daughter at a Swiss orphanageâDoreene Gray.
When Ms. Gray cajoled the staff of
Tripping
magazine into staying at her home, we had no idea of the frightening events that would test our nerve: diabolical messages that appeared in our soup as we ate it, a maid terrorized by skeletal lights in the woods, and a still-unexplained plague of slugs. Despite all this, we persisted in our search for the truth.
What we found was stranger than anyone had imagined.
(continued on page 4)
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Also by Esri Allbritten
Chihuahua of the Baskervilles
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About the author
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ESRI ALBRITTEN lives in Boulder, Colorado. She is the author of
Chihuahua of the Baskervilles,
which was also published by Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books. In addition to writing, she enjoys sushi, bowling, and madrigals. You can visit her Web site at
EsriAllbritten.com
.
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
A THOMAS DUNNE BOOK FOR MINOTAUR BOOKS.
An imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group.
THE PORTRAIT OF DOREENE GRAY.
Copyright © 2012 by Esri Allbritten. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Allbritten, Esri.
The portrait of Doreene Gray : a chihuahua mystery / Esri Allbritten. â 1st ed.
       p. cm.
“A Thomas Dunne book.”
ISBN 978-0-312-56916-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-01151-0 (e-book)
1.  Chihuahua (Dog breed)âFiction.  2.  Parapsychologyâ InvestigationâFiction.  3.  TwinsâFiction.  I.  Title.
PS3601.L415P67 2012
813'.6âdc23
2012005478
First Edition: July 2012