Till Death Do Us Bark (31 page)

Aware an incoming call meant she’d have to wait, Ellie took a seat on a metal bench along the wall and let her thoughts roam. The next time she saw Jim Bond, she needed to ask him about Michael Forrest. How involved did the DEA think he was in Dr. Kent’s illegal business? Was he under surveillance, too? And what about the women out here who bought the drugs? Were any of them working as a plant for the DEA?

From what she understood, refilling prescriptions too soon, or selling the drugs without a prescription, was against the law. Doctors and nurse practitioners had a national provider identification number, registered with the DEA. The number was used to track sales so overuse of certain drugs didn’t occur.

That last idea made plenty of sense to her. Ms. D&G had all the symptoms of a user—at least, all the symptoms Ellie had heard about. How hard would it be to insert someone who said they were a summer guest and needed relief from any one of a dozen ailments? If they didn’t have a prescription, Uncle Mickey might sell them the drugs straight out.

Maybe somehow, he and Martin Kent had figured a way to sell the drugs privately. But something went wrong and they had an argument or . . .

It boggled her mind. She’d learned more about the drug scene than she’d ever thought possible this past week. Any accomplished liar could fake a reason to need more meds.

Drug mixing was another huge problem. Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Jackson, and dozens of other stars had taken that route and ended up dead. If it continued unchecked, could it happen to Arlene or Adrianne?

“Ms. Engleman?”

Ellie jumped when she heard her name. Looking to her right, she saw Uncle Mickey’s head peering around the counter window.

“Sorry it took some time, but your medication is ready.”

She stood and dug through her bag. After finding her wallet, she passed him her credit card.

A minute later, package of drugs in hand, she was sitting in the contrary BMW, shifting and jerking her way back to Arlene’s manor.

“Why the rush?”
asked Rudy as Ellie dashed around the bedroom collecting clothes.

“We’re late for dinner, and there’s a lot to discuss with the McCreadys. I have to find out how Arlene and Viv did with the memorial invitations, see if Detective Wheeling or Jim Bond came nosing around, make sure Rosa and her family are—”

“You listened in? Since when did that become your job?” Ellie found the sweater she’d been looking for, navy blue with tiny white dots. She planned to wear it over a red T with her white cigarette pants. Dressing as she walked, she finished in the bathroom. “What am I saying? Never mind how you found out, just tell me what you learned.”

Rudy parked himself on the plush turquoise rug in front of the shower stall.
“Everybody said yes. People even called here, sayin’ they heard about the memorial and wanted to come. In fact, the word spread so fast that Arlene and Rosa decided to call a caterer to be sure they’d have enough food.”

“Good grief, really?”

“Yep. Vivie thinks they’re all nosy Nellies. Just want to see if they could pick up more dirt on the doc.”
He scratched his side with a rear paw, then sighed.
“Ahh, that’s better.”

“Leave it to Viv to figure out the real reason people would care about Dr. Sleazeball.” Ellie checked her face in the mirror. The bump on her temple was down, the gash was healing, and the bruise had faded. The edges now inched from yellow to green to blue, but the bump itself was still a deep purple. “I look like I’m ready for Halloween,” she muttered, wondering if there was anything she could slap on her skin to make the mask disappear.

“You’ll do what?” She sat on the commode lid. “The man was big and burly, like a pro football player. He’d chew you up and spit you out in one bite.”

Ellie quirked her lips. How dumb could she be? Rudy was correct, as usual. She hadn’t once added the size of the burglar to the equation. Whoever flattened her was strong, just like whoever had pushed Dr. Kent backward hard enough to make him fall. She’d been stupid, worrying about Arlene’s and Adrianne’s drug use, when she simply should have focused on the clues she’d collected.

Who called Dr. Kent Marty?

Who was in the drug business?

Whose voice did Myron imitate in the threats?

Who was big and powerful enough to mow her down?

Uncle Mickey, she concluded. The answer to all the clues pointed to him like a GPS with extra radar.

Ellie bent and rubbed Rudy’s ears. “Because it always pays to listen to you.”

“I been tellin’ you that since you found me in the big house,”
he said, flopping to his back.

She gave him one of her best belly rubs, hitting all the good spots as he wriggled and groaned. “Okay, enough until later. We have a dinner to go to, and later tonight I have to talk things over with Viv.”

Rudy stood and gave a full body shake.
“Lead the way, Triple E. I’ll add color commentary if anyone forgets what the day was like.”

She slipped a pen and her notebook in one pocket, then set her phone on vibrate and tucked it in her other pocket in case Sam called. She and Rudy took the rear stairs down as they talked. “Was T around? Did he pay attention to things?”

“Did Vanessa and Evan show up?”

“Did you see Adrianne?”

They arrived in the kitchen and Ellie inhaled a wonderful aroma. After quickly mixing Rudy’s dinner, she set it on the floor, then scanned the kitchen and spotted several pots bubbling on the stove. Smiling, she walked to the terrace door. Rosa had something special cooking for tonight, and if she was right, it was going to be delicious.

She checked the outdoor seating arrangements before she made her entrance. Vanessa and Evan sat on one side of the table, Viv on the other with Arlene at the far end, while Rosa served some kind of salad. Everyone seemed calm and in a good mood.

Best of all, no Adrianne.

Rudy, a power eater, nudged her calf and they went onto the deck together. When she took her seat, Viv said, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could eat three or four all by myself.” She scooped up a forkful of salad, then looked at Ellie. “Lucky you got here before Rosa served the main course, or you might have left hungry.”

“Main course?” said Ellie, playing stupid.

“Lobster.” Viv raised her wineglass. “In preparation for tomorrow’s unveiling. Rosa found a sale at a local seafood shop. She’s celebrating the capture of the real killer, so Tomas will be exonerated.”

Ellie stifled a groan. What if she was wrong? What if Uncle Mickey wasn’t the killer? What if she let her friend, and Vivian’s family, down?

“Um, maybe we’re jumping the gun.”
Oops. That was a stupid comment.
“I mean, I’m not sure the setup will work here, like it always does for Hercule Poirot. Just remember, he’s a model of the perfect detective living in someone’s imagination.”
To be blunt, the creation of some boring mystery writer looking to be a true-to-life detective.
“Let’s not get our hopes up, okay?”

Rosa and the rest of the clan paid the African gray no mind. Standing next to Arlene, she said, “Ah, but we believe in you, Miss Ellie. You have done this for other friends, and we know you won’t let us down.”

Vanessa gave the bird a look, while Arlene smiled. “Myron’s just expressing himself. He has no other way to communicate.”

“I hope you don’t plan on having him in the middle of the memorial service. Can you imagine the ruckus if he starts to sing?” said Vanessa.

Arlene blew the parrot a kiss. “Mommy loves her boy.” She stood and dug in her pocket. “Just let me give him an M&M.” She kept digging while Myron squawked; then she frowned. “Sorry, baby. Mommy must have left them in the kitchen drawer.”

“Awwwk! Good dog. Good boy,”
Myron continued. Then he began to bark and the three Boston Terriers joined in.

“That’s it,” Evan said, rising to his feet and tossing his napkin on the table. He stomped to the perch, took it in hand, and disappeared through the door.

“Myron is all I have to remember the last good man in my life by,” Arlene said, her voice trembling. “I can’t imagine why all those people want to pay their respects to Martin. He was a drug dealer and practically a pedophile. I decided I’m going to hold the main service on the beach and let the tide take him away.” Tears filled Arlene’s eyes. “I still can’t believe I almost married the man.” She sobbed. “Worse, that he slept with my sister.”

Evan returned while she was talking and took his seat. “Don’t worry, honey. We’re straightening it all out. For now, I have a little speech to make. Hear, hear!” he began, tapping his wineglass with his fork. “I know it’s a bit premature, but I believe we should toast Ellie for the work she’s done for us.”

Everyone did as he asked and Ellie inhaled a breath. With Arlene so maudlin, this was not the time to add to her tears. All she could do was mutter a grateful “Thank you.”

The family finished their salads while she continued to think of tomorrow and the idea of so many strangers flooding the estate. Somehow, she had to get the extended family into the house alone so she could untangle the strings to get Uncle Mickey arrested.

Viv stood and cleared the plates. “I’m going to help Rosa,” she said, heading for the door. “Be back in a second.”

Vanessa reached across the table and touched Ellie’s hand. “Viv told me you were on a clue hunt today. Did you find anything you can share with us?”

“I can share, but you both have to promise to keep your lips zipped. If I’m correct, revealing the culprit too early could ruin everything.”

“Then don’t tell us,” said Evan. “Vanessa has a hard time keeping a secret and—”

“I do not,” Vanessa bit out. “But I can wait. It’s almost like watching a movie unfold and waiting until the big moment when the hero unveils the killer.”

“Do you really know who killed Martin?” asked Arlene, her voice still quivering.

“I think so, though it wouldn’t be smart to alert the murderer ahead of time,” she said, hoping she sounded as if she knew what she was doing. “I believe surprise is everything in this type of situation.”

“Okay, fine. I can buy that,” said Evan. “Besides, if I know ahead of time, I might just whack the guy over the head when he walks through the door.” He sipped his wine. “In case you haven’t noticed, I tend to get hot under the collar when things get tough.”

“I noticed,” said Ellie, “and I’m happy you agree to keep the killer under wraps. If I’m wrong, the night could be an utter failure.” She glanced around the table. “I noticed that Adrianne is missing. Any news about her?”

Arlene shook her head. “Mom and Dad have her under house arrest.”

“She’s been ordered to her room,” said Vanessa. “Where she will stay until she agrees to apologize to Arlene for her totally inexcusable behavior. She owes an apology to you and Vivian, as well.” She crossed her arms on the table. “We’re giving her time to think about the damage she’s done to this family.”

“We’re treating her the way we should have when she was a child,” added Evan. “Letting her get away with things wasn’t just Vanessa’s fault. I did it, too.”

“I imagine she’s not happy about that,” said Ellie. Adrianne was in her midthirties and still living off Mom and Pop. If that had turned out to be her, Ellie would have done anything to set herself free.

“Well, I don’t care,” Vanessa answered after taking a swallow of wine. “Of course, she’s not speaking to us. She’s been hiding in her room, playing loud music and stomping around. There’s food in the kitchen, so she fixes her own meals, and she has a laptop and her painting supplies, so I believe she’s all set.”

“Has she said anything to you about why she wanted to hurt Arlene?”

“Not a word,” said Evan. “And that troubles me. It’s almost as if she’s planning some type of revenge.”

The remark added to Ellie’s worries. “Revenge?”