Barking with the Stars

by Sparkle Abbey

  “But—”

  He pointed again.

  Concerned, but wanting to let everyone do what they needed to do, I headed back toward the elevators and pushed the down button. When the door slid open and Homicide Detective Judd Malone stepped off, I felt my stomach lurch like a big dog on a short leash.

  It was clear whatever the situation was, it definitely was not an accident. You might call the medics to an accident. You might even call the police. But you did not call a homicide detective.

  Malone looked up, spotted me, and shook his head in disbelief.

  “Caro.” He nodded. And, yeah, that I’m on a first-name basis with the homicide detective probably doesn’t say much for me either. Or at least that’s what my mama would say.

  “Detective.” I nodded back.

  “Come with me.” He took my arm and steered me back down the hallway toward Purple’s hotel room.

  Detective Judd Malone had escorted me away from crime scenes before, but this was the first time the man had ever escorted me to one. Tall, dark, and killer handsome (no pun intended), the detective wore his usual dark jeans, dark t-shirt. Today the usual black, bad-boy leather jacket was missing. Perhaps in deference to the early morning or the heat we’d been experiencing. The muscles in his forearm tensed as he stopped me just outside the door.

  “Can you please do something about that dog?” He pointed inside at Lavender. Mandy held the dog, but Lavender kept pushing against Mandy and barking incessantly. “I couldn’t even hear my officer on the phone with all the barking.”

  Officer Hostas moved aside to let us enter and Mandy immediately handed Lavender to me.

  I glanced around. The room looked much as it had two days ago when Betty and I had been there. Except for the body on the floor. Several people knelt near the body. It was clear from the clothing and the pure-white hair, it was Purple.

  Malone carefully stepped around the medic team.

  “Is it okay if I take her outside?” The pup had let me take her without resistance, but was shaking.

  “I need the dog close by. It’ll have to be processed when the crime scene folks get here,” he answered over his shoulder as he moved across the room to speak to Officer Hostas.

  I guessed that was a no.

  Malone returned to where Mandy and I stood.

  Lavender continued to bark but not quite so frantically. Her barking had been the reason Purple had initially contacted me. They’d been on the road and in hotels non-stop, and Lavender’s barking issue had become a problem.

  “Are you the one that found the body?” Detective Malone addressed Mandy.

  She nodded. Her eyes were bloodshot, undoubtedly from crying, and her crisp efficient Gal Friday persona was nowhere to be found. This was a Mandy I’d never seen.

  “Yes, I came to go over her morning appointments with her and found her on the floor. When I looked closer it was clear she was, she was . . .” She dropped her face in her hands.

  “Any idea who might have done this?” Malone was all business.

  “Well, when I got here that other pet therapist was leaving.” Mandy lifted her face and looked at Malone.

  “Another pet shrink?” Malone turned to look at me. His expression said he couldn’t believe there were people other than me in the pet therapy line of work. Since the first time we met, I’d had a bit of a problem with the detective taking my profession seriously.

  I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and suddenly I knew why that dark SUV that nearly collided with the parking valet had looked familiar.

  “You know him.” Mandy pointed at me, her finger shaking. “He took over when she fired you.”

  “G-Geoffrey?” I stuttered.

  “Yes, that’s the one. I saw him coming down the hall from this way when I got off the elevator with Purple’s pomegranate juice.”

  “Your ex-husband, Geoffrey?” Malone asked.

  I nodded.

  He turned to one of the uniformed officers. “Go pick up Geoffrey . . . uhm—”

  “Carlisle,” I supplied.

  “Do you know his address?” Malone waited.

  “Sorry. I don’t.” I’d made it a point to not know where Geoffrey was living. In fact, I continued to hope that he would decide Laguna Beach was not for him and move back to Texas.

  Lavender continued to shake and whimper. I turned my back to the group and took a few steps away, shielding the shivering pup from some of the commotion. I took a deep breath and tried to slow my breathing. The dog would tune in to my emotional state and that wouldn’t help her.

  The truth was I felt a little shaky myself. Just a couple of days ago I’d been in this room, and now Purple was dead and Geoffrey was somehow involved.

  “Okay, find Geoffrey Carlisle and take him to the station. We need to question him.” I could still hear Malone from where I stood.

  “The CSIs should be here shortly.” Malone came up behind me. “At least it’s not barking.”

  “She,” I corrected. “She’s not barking now, but she’s still traumatized by the smells and the sounds. It would help if I could take her out of this room.”

  “Okay, the hallway, but just outside. Stay close.” He walked me to the door. Officer Hostas gave me the eye as he stepped aside.

  “When we get a couple of more people here, they’ll need to go door to door and find out if anyone saw anything,” Malone addressed Officer Hostas, and then glanced down the corridor where doors stood open and people poked their heads out.

  Tania and a man I assumed to be one of the hotel managers were coming our way. Tall and thin, the man was attired in the hotel’s “uniform” of turquoise shirt and tan pants.

  “What’s going on?” asked the man whose name badge said “Sherman.” He didn’t have to ask who was in charge. Even without the uniform it was clear that Malone was. Sherman moved as if to enter the room.

  “We’re sorting that out.” Malone blocked their path to Purple’s room. “We will need these people”—he indicated the row of rooms—“to stay here for the time being so we can question them.”

  “Oh, no.” Sherman shook his head so hard his gold wire-rimmed glasses nearly flew off. “We can’t have that. This is a very exclusive floor, and our guests expect to be treated with luxury and superior service while they’re here. We can’t have them inconvenienced like this.”

  Malone slowly turned toward Mr. Hotel. I’d seen that look before. I took Lavender and stepped away a little farther down the hallway. Tania and I made eye contact.

  “Perhaps we could offer them a free breakfast from room service for their inconvenience,” Tania suggested. “Send up some coffee and muffins?”

  Mr. Hotel stared at Tania as if she’d suggested caviar and Dom Perignon, but I could see when he realized it was a really great idea. In fact, such a great idea he could probably take credit for it.

  “Yes, why don’t you get on that.” He waved a hand at Tania. “Notify the kitchen. I’ll help sort things out here.”

  Malone took him aside, I assumed to explain the graveness of the situation. I paced with Lavender, holding the pooch against my chest. She’d stopped shaking and eventually I could feel her relax against me.

  The rooms were grouped with clusters of two or three together with open areas in between, so I could see the Pacific on one side and the courtyard on the other as I came to the open spaces. I stopped for a moment by one of the openings and looked down at the patio. Down there everything was normal. People in beach attire were making their way outside; others were sitting at scattered tables with coffee or their morning caffeine of choice. All were simply going about their day. Seeing the people made me that much more aware that Purple would never “go about her day” again.

  Back on our floor, Malone had finished filling in Mr. Hotel,
who walked back toward the elevator, his face white. Two officers were just getting off the elevator and Malone motioned for them to come forward and follow him, I assumed to begin the questioning of the other guests on the floor. I hoped Tania had ordered plenty of coffee and muffins.

  A crime scene tech motioned to me from the doorway of Purple’s suite. They must have arrived when I’d been walking the hall.

  Mandy was still parked in the chair where Malone had asked her to sit. Though a little more composed than she’d been, the assistant seemed at once bedraggled and tense. I imagined they would need to process her as well. Her dress had spots of blood on it and her hands hung limp.

  “Are you okay?” I stopped and leaned down to her. “Is there anything I can get you?”

  She raised wide eyes pooled with tears. “I wasn’t here. Maybe I could have . . .”

  I waited for her to go on. Survivor’s guilt can be powerful.

  “I’m sure there was nothing you could have done. In fact, you might have also been hurt or killed. Why would Geoffrey have been here so early?” I asked. I’d been mulling that while I was out in the hallway.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “She seemed really taken with him.”

  “We’re ready for you, miss.” The taller of the crime scene techs motioned to Mandy. “We’ll be ready for the dog after that.”

  When they were ready for Lavender, the tech asked if I would mind holding the dog while they processed her. I calmed her while they took samples of her fur and brushed the pads of her feet lightly.

  “Do you know, was the dog in the room?” I hoped not, but feared she had been.

  “According to the assistant, the pooch was in her own room.” The tech answered with a wry half smile. “A whole other level of society that has a separate room for the dog.” He shook his head.

  “Though maybe in this case, that was a good thing,” I noted.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right about that.” He patted her head.

  When they were done with Lavender and me, I took her to her room. Replete with a small canopy bed and baskets of toys, I could see the young man’s point. I tried to set her down, but she clung to me so I sat with her for a while.

  Once Lavender was asleep, and the puppy snores were steady and deep, I carefully put her in her bed and went back out into the main room of the suite. There were still people everywhere.

  I was pretty sure I was free to go, but I needed to find out who was going to take over with Lavender. I wasn’t sure Mandy was up to it though she seemed to be much more like herself than she had been earlier. They’d removed Purple’s body and I was sure that helped, but the shaky grieving assistant of the morning had definitely vanished and she was back to being the Mandy I knew. She was talking with one of the officers, and I waited for a break in their conversation.

  Malone entered the room with Officer Hostas. “We’re going to have to get Paul to talk with the media or the hotel is going to have a riot on their hands. Can you check on his ETA?”

  “I think we’re done here.” The CSI I’d been talking with addressed Malone. “From what we’ve been told, the door was open when she arrived.” He nodded toward Mandy. “Apparently was supposed to meet the victim at nine o’clock to go over her schedule for the day. So you’ll see her fingerprints on the door and undoubtedly elsewhere. We’ll look for others.”

  I wondered if this was a good time to mention they’d probably also find mine. And Betty’s.

  “Do we have any idea the last time the victim was seen alive?”

  “We saw her about ten o’clock last night,” I spoke up.

  “Here?” Malone turned to me.

  “No, in the lobby,” I responded. “She was with a group of fans, and Diana and I were in the restaurant for a meeting with some of the other members of the event committee.”

  “Event?”

  “That’s why there are all the Purple fans here. There’s a Barking with the Stars fundraiser for Warriors for the Paws. They help train dogs as companions to soldiers with PTSD.”

  Malone just looked at me for a while. “Sounds like a good cause. I’ll need those names.”

  “Sure.” I stepped aside to give the committee members’ names to one of the detectives.

  I looked around for Mandy and spotted her with the other tech who seemed to be listing the items on the table. I imagined they were trying to figure out if anything was missing. With a celeb like Purple, robbery was a possibility. In fact, it seemed more plausible than Geoffrey as a killer. At least to me.

  I crossed to where they stood. “I’m sorry to interrupt. Lavender is asleep in the other room.” The room was emptying as the officers and CSIs left. “I wanted you to know before I left.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “You’ll let me know if you need anything, right?” I touched her arm and felt her stiffen.

  Mandy had to be feeling raw. Not only the loss of Purple, but also having to keep it together and deal with all the details. I couldn’t put her to bed like I had with the dog, but I hoped she had someone to call who would provide some comfort. Someone to be with her.

  “Anything at all, hon.” I started to touch her again but then pulled back. “You have my number.”

  “Yes, I do. Thank you.” She turned back to the tech.

  Dismissed, I had no further reason to be there. I stepped out of the suite and walked down the hall toward the elevator.

  “Caro?” It was Malone.

  “Yes?” I had just pushed the button.

  “I just wanted to let you know that we’ve picked up Mr. Carlisle.”

  “Thanks,” I hesitated, “for letting me know.”

  “We may need you for a formal statement later.” His bright-blue eyes pinned me. “We’ll be in touch.”

  “Got it.” I sighed.

  I got on the elevator and pushed the button for the main floor.

  DOWNSTAIRS, FANS and the press had begun to congregate in the lobby. It was clear the news had somehow leaked, and several of the fans were quietly crying; others seemed stunned. A television crew had just pulled up out front and I saw Callum MacAvoy plowing through the crowd.

  I made a quick detour and slipped out a side entrance to make a call to Diana.

  She picked up right away. “Caro?” My number must have shown up on her cell phone.

  “Yes.” I swallowed and took a deep breath. “I’m at the hotel and—”

  “So, it’s true?” I wasn’t sure how she knew but somehow Diana always was in the know when something happened in the community.

  “I’m afraid so. I arrived shortly after the police. I’d wanted to check in on her dog. You know, with Geoff working with them I wasn’t sure things would go well. And then there was that mess with Betty.”

  “Is your detective on site?” Diana asked.

  “Not my detective, but yes, Detective Malone was one of the first arrivals.”

  “So they must think it wasn’t accidental. Do they have any idea what happened? Probably not at this point, right?” I could picture her in her sunny kitchen making coffee and feeding pets.

  “No, I think they’re at a loss. They’ve shut down the section of the hotel where she was staying. But, Diana, here’s the crazy part. Her assistant, Mandy, identified Geoff as leaving just before she found Purple.”

  “What?”

  “I know. And here’s the other thing, as I pulled in to the hotel and gave my car to the valet, I’m pretty sure I saw Geoff’s SUV leaving.”

  “You don’t think . . .”

  “No, to tell you the truth, I don’t. Geoff is a pompous jerk but a killer? No, I really don’t think so.”

  “Be careful, sweetie.”

  “I will. I’m going to stick around here fo
r the press conference to see what the official statement is.”

  “I’ll call Sunny, McMoney, and Mahalovich just in case they get calls from the press.”

  Good thinking on Diana’s part. I hadn’t considered the impact on the event or that committee members might get questions. I promised to call her later.

  I grabbed a hazelnut latte from the hotel coffee shop and situated myself so I could hear what Paul, the Laguna Beach PD spokesperson, had to say. I could see MacAvoy across the way talking with fans, and hoped he didn’t spot me. I leaned back against the wall. The large potted palm provided some cover. His camera crew was there in full force. No doubt this was big news.

  The place was full of tears and chatter as the various groups waited for the spokesperson to arrive. I caught snippets of so many conversations.

  What will we do without her?

  Poor Drake. The love of his life gone.

  I heard the police took pictures of her without the wig. I’ll bet those get leaked.

  I can’t believe we saw her last show. We saw history.

  I didn’t know who Drake was, but I felt sorry for him because, undoubtedly, he was being inundated with fans and the media as he was hearing about the death of someone he cared about.

  The comments about the wig were interesting to me. Although I’d never seen Purple’s full face, surely someone had. Definitely Mandy and this Drake at least. And I had to believe her fans had sought out her real identify and found pictures of her before her fame. I mean it was just too easy on the Internet to dig into someone’s personal life. Now whether any of it was true or not was another story. Just like all the bad reviews about PAWS that I’d found on Yip. All it took was one bad person on a mission to destroy your business and it became a full-time job quashing rumors.

  The two women from last night’s dinner excused themselves as they eased past me and situated themselves near the front of the crowd. I stood at an angle to the crowd, so I had a good view of the mob and the press set up. Tania and one of the hotel workers wrestled a podium into place.

  Neither of the dinner women were talking, and their body language said they weren’t a part of the riff-raff wiping tears and reminiscing about the Purple concert last weekend in San Diego.