Double Dog Dare

by E J Cochrane

  “It went well.” She deftly avoided offering the embarrassing (and somewhat damning) details of her encounter with Murphy. “I just left. I’m heading home to feed the boys.” She regretted she couldn’t give her boys some much needed spoiling before turning right back around to meet Dottie. She would have to make her frequent absences and sub-par parenting up to them soon.

  “It sounds like you’ve had a good night. Maybe we could make it even better. If you’re free, that is.”

  “Well, I’m heading back out in about twenty minutes, so—”

  “For business?” Nadia sounded adorably insecure, an effect Maddie never thought she would ever have on any woman.

  “For drinks with Dottie, actually.” She probably could have offered a more detailed account of her itinerary for the remainder of the evening, but remembering Nadia’s bristly reaction the last time she had engaged in a bit of amateur detective work, she thought better of it. She justified her lie of omission by briefly considering the alternative—the possibility of an argument with Nadia less than a day into their renewed relationship seemed about as appealing as an acid enema.

  “Oh.” Nadia perked up. “I like Dottie,” she said.

  She assumed that proclamation came with an implied request for an invitation, which she ignored. As much as she wanted to see Nadia, she didn’t want to dance around the potential minefield of her investigation butting heads with her love life.

  “She’ll be ecstatic to find that out. She loves adoration.”

  “I could tell her in person. Unless you don’t want to see me.”

  “Of course I want to see you.” She gave the only response possible and ground her teeth, hating that she couldn’t just look forward to spending complication-free time with Nadia.

  But how could she possibly say no? To refuse Nadia’s self-invitation would mean lying (which she wasn’t good at) and probably hurting her feelings (which she didn’t want to do). The best she could hope for was that Nadia would show up after she wrapped up the business that brought her to Pi two nights in a row and that Nadia wouldn’t ruin her investigation any more than her investigation would ruin her shot with Nadia. For all she knew the rest of the night would be a bust, so seeing her would guarantee at least one positive outcome from the whole ordeal.

  “Great.” Nadia sounded relieved, another shock to Maddie. “I’ve got a couple more appointments, but I can be there by eight.”

  “Perfect,” Maddie said, and she meant it. Assuming Dottie didn’t show up later than usual, that just might give Maddie enough time to talk to Kat unsupervised before enjoying an obligation-free night out. Depending on what she learned, she might end up being a bit distracted around Nadia, but she was starting to think this might actually work out for her; however, she drew the line at feeling optimistic about her chances.

  Now that she had a reason to attempt to look good (other than staving off criticism from Dottie), Maddie risked upsetting her pups further by devoting some of her brief time at home to primping. She apologized profusely as she fussed with her hair rather than walking them, and she continued her supplication as she repeatedly changed her clothes. Obviously unsatisfied with his truncated time in the yard, Bart pouted in the corner (peppering her contrition with occasional noisy sighs) while she plundered the depths of her closet for something mildly appealing to wear—a challenge for a woman whose wardrobe largely consisted of comfortable, functional clothing.

  More forgiving, Goliath curled up on his bed and watched her curiously as she darted back and forth. He barked once after she slipped into a clean pair of jeans and a dark green turtleneck that fit her more snugly than her usual T-shirts and hoodies. Interpreting his vocalization as approval, she thanked him and his still pouting brother with stuffed Kongs and headed out the door with just enough time to walk to Pi before her rendezvous with Dottie, allowing her ample opportunity to talk to Kittens and scope out the scene before Dottie finally made her fashionably late appearance.

  Entering the bar, she felt more confident than her hastily concocted plan should have allowed her to be. Remembering Kat’s disdain of her and having heard precious little about her from Leigh, she really had no reason to believe Kat would be at the bar two nights in a row or that she could orchestrate a conversation, even with Dottie’s aid. Even if she did show up, Maddie couldn’t be sure that Leigh wouldn’t also be there to ensure failure. So much of this night was unlikely to pan out that Maddie probably should scrap her idea and go back to calling every person Terry had ever met. Her odds of success seemed greater with that approach.

  Nevertheless, she charged ahead, overcome with the urge to get this started and learn if she had a chance of finding anything out on her ill-conceived quest for information on Terry’s death and Leigh’s alibi.

  Scanning the premises as she made her way to the bar where Kittens stood impassively surveying the crowd, she rejoiced in her first triumph of the evening. At the other end of the bar, Kat tossed her blond hair about (in what Maddie assumed was a come-hither manner) while chatting with an adorably nerdy young woman in a bow tie and thick black-rimmed glasses. The remainder of the patrons scattered throughout the establishment paid the usual amount of attention to Maddie (which was none) but cast occasional glances at Kat. With Leigh nowhere in sight (and hopefully not because she was tucked away in the bathroom) and the population of the bar looking like it would fall into her trap (once she arrived), she smiled and took a seat at the far corner of the bar.

  Now all she needed was for Leigh to stay away from the bar completely, for Dottie to appear before Nadia showed up and for Nadia to arrive after she managed to get some information from Kat. Assuming she hadn’t exhausted her lifetime allotment of miracles when she found a flattering outfit and wrestled her hair into something close to submission, she just might leave the bar equipped to clear Leigh of murder. She didn’t want to consider what would happen if this didn’t pan out. She was pinning all her hopes on Kat Russell and whatever information she could share about Terry and (if she got luckier than she’d ever been) Leigh’s whereabouts on the day Terry died.

  “Two nights in a row. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Kittens asked when he placed a drink in front of her.

  “I’m looking for my friend Leigh.” In a roundabout way, it was the truth, except for leaving off the part about hoping not to find Leigh in the vicinity of the bar. “Is she here?”

  “Not tonight, love. Must be a holiday.”

  Her heart sank for Leigh at the same time as she celebrated her good fortune. “She’s here that often?”

  He scrunched his face in thought and gazed at the ceiling. “Four, maybe five nights a week.”

  She was about to distract him from his work with further questions about Leigh and her whereabouts on the day Terry died when a thirsty patron called him to the other end of the bar. She supposed she’d get to talk to him eventually, though it might be intermittently.

  Not three minutes later, Harriet walked in the door and charged up to a stunned Maddie.

  “Harriet?” She almost choked on her bourbon. “What are you doing here?”

  “I need to talk to you,” she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “But why are you here?” The last thing she needed was to blow her chance to talk to Kat because she was distracted by her sister.

  “Dottie said she was meeting you here tonight, and you didn’t answer your phone earlier, so I thought I’d pop in.” She scanned the dimly lit room and fluttered her fingers in a charming semi-wave at Kittens. “Why are you here? Tell me you haven’t resorted to trolling bars to find a girlfriend.”

  “I’m working on something for a friend.”

  “Seems dubious.” Harriet continued looking around the bar. “Will your friend object to you buying your sister a drink to celebrate?”

  “We’re celebrating?” Confused didn’t even begin to cover what she felt in that moment.

  “Why else would I hunt you down at a bar?”


  “Because I’m the living example of Murphy’s Law.” Flustered at that unintentional reminder of her newest client, she felt her face flush. Harriet, who hadn’t stopped scanning the bar since their initial contact, finally turned her attention back to Maddie and favored her with a perplexed look. She dismissed it and asked again about her sister’s intrusion on her night. “We’re celebrating something?”

  “Yes.” Harriet’s eyes widened, and she clapped her hands together, somehow conjuring Kittens. “My sister is buying me the dirtiest martini you can make.”

  “I’ve got a knack for making things dirty, love.” He winked and set about making Harriet’s drink with more panache than if he were in some kind of bartending circus. Maddie dropped her head in resigned disbelief that even cool, detached Kittens had succumbed to the Harriet Effect. Lord help him when Dottie descended.

  “You were failing to say about the celebration?” she prodded once Kittens placed Harriet’s drink in front of her with a flourish and a smile to which Maddie responded with a strenuous eye roll.

  “Dad gave the okay.” Harriet beamed and held her glass up expectantly.

  “The okay for?”

  “The firehouse,” she groaned in exasperation. “He said you could talk specifics later, but it looked like a sound investment.”

  Simultaneously terrified and elated, Maddie jumped off her barstool and hugged her sister. “I can’t believe I don’t have to look at any more empty buildings.”

  “You’re welcome,” Harriet said and immediately scanned the room again.

  “Is there something in particular you’re looking for?” she asked.

  “Is Patrick part of this secret mission for your friend?”

  “Subtle, Harriet.” No wonder her good news couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

  “You have to give him my phone number.”

  “What makes you think he’s even interested?” Harriet hit her with an incredulous look over the rim of her glass. “Fine. He’s interested. But shouldn’t he ask for your number?”

  “He’s probably just concerned about things with you being awkward.”

  “A concern you obviously don’t share.”

  “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re both adults. If things don’t work out, we can be mature. What could be the harm?”

  Only the destruction of a great guy’s self-esteem when Harriet changed her mind. But she kept that thought to herself. She knew Harriet didn’t set out to hurt people. She just had no idea how it felt to be the dumpee rather than the perpetual dumper. And it was really none of Maddie’s business who Patrick dated. Plus, the attraction was obviously mutual. Who was she to stand in the way?

  “Here’s his number.” She entered Patrick’s contact information into her sister’s phone. “If you want it, go for it, tiger.”

  “Really? You don’t mind?”

  “You’re both adults, right? If my sister wants to go out with my kind, thoughtful, sensitive, incredibly big-hearted, favorite employee without whom I’d never survive, who am I to object?”

  “You are the best little sister ever.”

  She accepted the somewhat empty compliment with a wry, “Thanks.”

  “I’ll let you get back to your mysterious project.” Harriet grabbed her cocktail and headed off in the direction of the pool tables where a crowd of women was, at minimum, about to be hustled into supplying Harriet with drinks. “And Maddie? Message received.”

  Maddie contemplated warning Patrick but thought better of it. The less involved she got now, the less she would be dragged into the middle of the morass of Harriet and Patrick’s love life. One potential disaster averted (and another one generated), she turned her attention back to the two activities that occupied most of her time—worrying and waiting for Dottie.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Without so much as a glance toward the door, Maddie knew the exact moment when Dottie entered the bar. If the not-so-subtle swivel of a score of lesbian heads in her direction hadn’t given it away, her friend’s propensity for grand entrances surely would have done the trick. In this case, Dottie swept majestically across the scarred and worn floor between the door and the bar. As if she’d orchestrated her entrée (a possibility Maddie wouldn’t put past her friend) “Simply Irresistible” started playing on the jukebox the second she stepped through the door, like her personal theme song. Working the room, she peeled off her expensive coat to expose the plunging neckline and elevated hemline of a designer dress, the cost of which surely would have covered Maddie’s mortgage for the next three months. Eyes popped around the room, and Maddie smothered a smile at the sheer perfection of the moment. Dottie couldn’t have played her part better if Maddie had told her what to do.

  Fully aware of her effect on her now rapt audience, Dottie feigned nonchalance as she sashayed to the bar and, after wiping the stool with a handkerchief she extracted from her Chanel bag, perched on the seat next to Maddie.

  “Carlisle is parking the car. She’ll be in shortly.”

  “You drove? You live five blocks away.”

  Dottie glowered at her. “One does not hoof it five blocks in Jimmy Choos.” She gestured to her elegant but painful-looking footwear.

  “And you brought Carlisle?” Considering the sideways direction the guest list had already taken, Maddie wouldn’t be all that surprised to see her grandmother stride up to the bar. (Though it would almost be worth the implosion of her investigation to witness Granny’s interactions with Kittens.)

  “I couldn’t very well leave her at home with her cats, could I?”

  “I don’t see why not. The woman hates me. Why does she get to horn in on my night?”

  “She doesn’t hate you, pet. She just hasn’t had time to properly appreciate your adorable idiosyncrasies. I’m sure this little outing will do wonders for your standing with Carlisle.”

  She had little confidence that using Dottie as a lesbian decoy would endear her to Carlisle. “I have my doubts about that.” She hadn’t yet decided the best way to tell Dottie her role that evening would be as eye candy. Now she wondered if she should even bother.

  “True, you aren’t traditionally charming, but with a little effort you can win her over. Carlisle is surprisingly open-minded. Except, of course, where her wardrobe is concerned. Not even my considerable fashion campaign has disabused her of her love of sweater sets.”

  “But it’s brave of you to try.” She squeezed her shoulder in mock sympathy, though she felt sorrier for poor Carlisle. While she’d borne the brunt of Dottie’s disparaging comments for years, she could at least vent her exasperation (with a pointed glare if nothing else). She couldn’t imagine silently enduring Dottie’s “fashion campaign” as part of her job. Perhaps Maddie and Carlisle had some common ground after all.

  Just then, she spotted a priggish, pursed-lipped Carlisle standing just inside the entryway and peering curiously around the bar. Her incongruous presence seemed to make her apprehensive, but once she located Dottie, an air of determination settled on her. At that moment, Maddie noticed a pack of bold and eager women heading Dottie’s way (and even though Dottie’s flair for grabbing the spotlight was the crux of Maddie’s plan, she still bemoaned her own inconspicuousness). As the onslaught of Dottie’s devotees approached from two sides, Maddie rose to clear a path, but Dottie halted her departure with a finely manicured hand on her arm.

  “Where do you think you’re going? I was promised drinks, which you have made no effort to procure.”

  “I’m going to the now empty side of the bar to talk to someone.” Kat, the only person unhappy about Dottie’s emergence on the scene, stood alone. She eyed her empty glass and seemed at a loss for what she should do to refill it.

  “Not only are you ignoring my thirst, but now you’re accusing me of being an inadequate companion?”

  “Remember the whole reason we’re here?”

  “You mean other than tasty adult beverages?” She made no attempt to hide her impatience. �
�I dimly recall talk of ferreting out the truth from some mystery woman who isn’t your stunning girl toy.”

  “She’s standing over there.” She suppressed a glower and inclined her head in Kat’s direction. “And I need to act now.”

  “I can’t believe you brought me to this hovel to abandon me,” Dottie huffed. “And for a trashy bottle blonde who needs to lay off the bronzer. Have you no regard for our epic friendship?”

  “I won’t be gone long, and you’ll have plenty of company, I promise.”

  “What about Carlisle?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe ask one of your new friends to buy her a drink.”

  Dottie’s eyes widened at the possibilities. “We’ll get a couple of cocktails in her, and she’ll loosen up in no time.”

  Certain that Dottie was more or less in her element, Maddie made her way to the sparsely populated end of the bar to join a dejected Kat whose still-empty glass gave Maddie the perfect conversational inroad.

  “I couldn’t help but notice you’re alone.”

  “I am now.” Kat turned to face her lone admirer. After looking Maddie up and down, she shrugged as if to say she’d take what she could get. Her sorrowful gaze shifted to Dottie holding court with her former throng, and her eyes narrowed, in anger or hatred Maddie wasn’t sure.

  “I know how it feels.”

  “Really?” Skepticism dripped from her comment.

  “Believe it or not, that’s my best friend.” Kat did a double take, obviously not believing it. “I’ve lived in her shadow for years, and it’s hard always being runner up—not that you would have much experience being passed over for someone else.”

  Kat flinched, but Maddie maintained her innocuous, concerned expression. Kat had no reason to think Maddie knew anything about her past, a point Maddie hoped to use to her advantage.

  “What do you want?”

  “Just to buy you a drink.” She signaled to Kittens and slid a twenty his way.

  “Thanks.” Kat eyed her with suspicion as she accepted the beer Kittens placed in front of her. Based on the change she got back, Kat was no connoisseur of fine beers, but at least she would be a cheap source of information.