Now he didn't speak for a minute, and when I turned and looked back, he'd stopped a ways behind me.
"I've thought about it a lot, Lizzie, and I really wish I'd said yes. I didn't—"
I interrupted him. "Let's just forget it. Okay?"
I switched on the floodlights, and we stepped out onto the bricked patio area.
The rear grounds stretched out before us. The dogs were still howling to beat the band. A breeze tugged at the hem of my short robe, and I wrapped my arms around me, suddenly chilled.
Tino looked at me. I shrugged. He shrugged. Together we maneuvered the brick pathway leading past the lawn and skirting the tennis court. Vader, trotting along behind us, kept growling low and harrumphing, clearly under the impression he was in charge of this investigation. We stopped near the building that housed Brodie's gym where the boxers paced in front of the door.
"Shh. Come on, guys. Seriously? Give me a break here." I tried pleading first, then engaged my leader-of-the-pack voice. "Fabio. Gil. Quiet."
Black-and-white Fabio, the bigger boxer with the kind eyes, bounded over and circled us a few times before making a beeline back to where Gil, his smaller solid brown counterpart, stood on his hind legs, scratching the heck out of the door.
"What's wrong, amigos?" Tino moved in for a closer look.
Now the howling finally stopped, and they both scratched at the door. Vader waddled closer to supervise, yipping instructions here and there.
"What's in here?" Tino asked.
"It's Brodie McDougal's gym. He's a professional bodybuilder. Mr. Jupiter."
Tino nodded. Of course he'd know who lived here.
But maybe he didn't know… "He's out of the country, and there shouldn't be anything going on in there."
"Maybe we should check inside," Tino said.
The dogs seemed to understand and began to prance.
"Yes," I agreed. "Let's. Ever since I arrived, every time I've let them out of the house, they run out here howling up a storm. Maybe there's a cat trapped inside or something."
He pulled a Taser from its holster.
I stared. "Why would you need that?"
"It's procedure," he said simply. "We don't know who or what might be in there. Could be an intruder."
An intruder? I held my breath as he turned the knob and opened the door. Fluorescent lights came on automatically.
Fabio and Gil ran straight in, while Tino, Vader, and I hung back.
There didn't seem to be anyone inside, not at first glance anyway. A powerful odor came at us—hard to pinpoint, but it smelled like chlorine and dinner at the same time, with an undertone of something heavy and unpleasant.
Mostly I was awed by the elaborate interior. I hadn't been inside Brodie's man cave before and had to say I'd never seen such a place. The floor was terrazzo polished to a high gleam. It looked clean enough that you could safely sit on it wearing white pants. The walls were covered with various framed poses of Brodie in full competition pump—muscles bulging and glistening, reddish Thor-like hair flowing back off his face in waves, wearing only a skimpy little silver Mylar posing brief that revealed far more than I ever wanted to know about my best friend's husband. An inviting seating area was at the far end of the big open space—a plush U-shaped sectional, snacks and wet bar, big flat-screen TV. Between the door and the seating area was every kind of bodybuilding machine and workout gear imaginable—from free weights and medicine balls to Nautilus machines and cardio equipment.
"Too cool," Tino whispered, looking at all the machines. He looked down. "What's that?"
A piece of high-end luggage sat by the door. "I don't know," I said.
Tino bent and looked at the tag. "B. McDougal, Mr. Jupiter."
"But Brodie's out of town…"
It was cold in there. I shivered and remembered why we'd opened the door in the first place. "Fabio? Gil? Where are you?"
From somewhere inside they set to howling again, louder than ever.
"Over there." Tino lifted his chin toward the far corner of the big building where it looked as though a wall separated the main area from a smaller one.
The howling came from there.
As we drew closer, we could hear a motor pumping and a low roaring sound. The odd smell grew stronger, more complex and disturbing.
We stepped through the doorless entry where a big redwood hot tub bubbled and churned. The dogs sat beside it, their upturned muzzles sucking in the heavy scent, their mournful lament now understandable.
"Holy crap," I whispered.
"Dios," Tino breathed. "What you said."
I barely heard him over Fabio and Gil's heartrending howls. Vader began whining and stood on his hind legs, his front paws at my knee. I leaned down and picked him up. He was shaking. So was I.
Brodie McDougal floated facedown in the tub—I knew it was him from the long ginger curls he always seemed to be so proud of. One wrist was propped on the edge of the tub, and that arm was above the churning water up to the elbow, but the other arm, his shoulders, neck, and head were in the water. He was dead, and from the bloated look of his body, it appeared he'd been dead a few days. The steam rising from the hot tub carried the heavy odors that had assaulted us when we first came in, only stronger now since we were so close to the stewing corpse. I gagged, covering my nose and mouth.
This was a tragedy.
Poor Brodie.
Poor Caroline.
My eyes began to sting from salty tears, but I couldn't stop staring.
PASSION, POISON & PUPPY DOGS
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Invitation to Murder Page 23