Best In Show (Mina's Adventures Book 6)

by Maria Grazia Swan

  “I think she’s annoyed that Eva is still there.”

  “There... where?”

  “At the house. Hermosa Beach. It’s an unfortunate situation, and I take full responsibility.” Kalinda said.

  “I don’t get it. I was told she was under house arrest or something like that. That was days ago.” Mina watched Kalinda nod yes. “So what’s going on? She stays there until she reaches retirement age?”

  De Fiore laughed out loud. “What did I tell you, Kalinda? This is the real Mina. She acts all proper and quiet when your buddy is around.”

  “Nah. Lover Boy likes her because she’s feisty and keeps him on his toes. He doesn’t say it, but I know him well. He likes her just as she is.” She turned to Mina and winked.

  She called him Lover Boy again…why?

  Soft scurrying of feet could be heard. Aria came down the stairs and went to rub against the detective's trousers.

  “Hi, little one, did we wake you?” Dan patted the cat’s head. “I have to get going. Mina, I’ll take the check and the sheet with the personal info. I’ll call you when I hear something, but you promise me, lay low, okay? Don’t go out there looking for trouble.”

  “I won’t. Tomorrow is Saturday, I have to be at the shelter most of the day. Hey, Kalinda, would you like to go with me? It could be fun.”

  De Fiore was fingering through the papers in the file, his face in the center of a circle of light coming from the side-table lamp. Mina noticed something red on his shirt collar. A lipstick smudge? She looked up and her eyes met Kalinda’s. The woman put her finger on her lips and mouthed shush.

  After Dan De Fiore left, the house was once again quiet. It felt odd knowing that Kalinda would be sleeping in her office.

  “Anything I can do for you before I go to sleep?” Mina asked.

  “No thanks. I feel lost without my computer.”

  “You’re welcome to use the one in the office. I doubt it’s as good as yours, but I hardly use it. I’m not good with computers. I feel…intimidated.”

  “I’m to stay away from computers.” Kalinda talked of computers with the same sense of affection Mina had for her cats. “It’s hard, but the last thing I want to do is cause trouble for Lover Boy.”

  “Kalinda. You make me crazy.” Mina's voice went decibel higher than it should have been.

  “I do? I apologize. What is it that I do or say that you find offensive?”

  “Oh, no, no. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that—you refer to Diego as Lover Boy, and just now you hinted at not using computers so as to not cause him trouble.” Mina stopped there, her frustration communicating everything that needed to be said.

  Kalinda rolled her wheelchair around so they were face to face. “Do you know where he is?” she asked.

  Mina shook her head no.

  “Men are such idiots.” Kalinda sighed. “They claim it’s for our own protection. Who the hell cares, when they are killing us slowly with stress due to the fact that we always play and replay the worst possible scenario in our minds?”

  “Exactly!” Mina felt like they really understood each other.

  “We call him Lover Boy because he’s always had women swoon over him, and we could never figure out if he had affairs or not. He’s very, very guarded when it comes to relationships. Both Gino and I go a long way back with Diego, we watch each other’s back. In other words, we’ve earned the right to poke fun at each other.”

  Kalinda took a breath and continued, “Eva is staying at the Hermosa Beach house because she’s feeding us info as needed. She isn’t computer savvy, so she may have knowledge stored in her brain she doesn’t know is vital. As soon as Lov... I mean Diego, has a good grasp of the damages, her punishment will be decided. She’s a foolish woman who fell for the wrong man. It happens to the best of us.”

  Another breath then she explained the last bit of her cryptic comments, “Anyway, Diego is working on the problem, and he has assumed my identity, that’s why I can’t touch the computer. I wouldn’t want to mess up his work, or worse yet, put him in harm’s way. This is about all I can tell you. It will all be over soon, and by the way, I’m so glad to be here. I had a very good time tonight.”

  “Is that why Diego isn’t calling me?”

  “It’s possible. I’m not sure if he’s still in Maui. But he’s using all my electronic devices as me, and it would probably be a dead giveaway if out of the blue Kalinda, The Matchmaker to The Stars, was calling Mina Calvi. He isn’t using any other phone. We aren’t taking any chances until we know who we’re up against.”

  “Huh. Won’t they recognize the voice?”

  Kalinda batted her lashes as if she didn’t understand what Mina was saying, then her face lit up. “Oh, I get it. No, no, we have ways. In two weeks he’ll be officially in charge. I still find myself laughing when I think of Lover Boy—sorry, Diego,—as my boss. Anyway, ask him to give you a tour of some of the facilities. It’s fun and sort of amazing, trust me.”

  “Kalinda, couldn’t you use my computer as me?”

  Silence. Did she offend her? Then Kalinda started to work her wheelchair in a sort of frantic way. She reached Mina who sat on the usual step. “Girl, I want to hug you. You’re a genius. A genius. You’re sure?”

  Mina nodded. It was hard for her to comprehend someone getting that emotional over a computer. Kalinda equals computer…Mina equals cats. Yes, life worked in strange ways.

  When Mina finally headed upstairs, Kalinda called after her from the office, “Hey Mina, what was the name of that jackass again? You know, Princess’ owner?”

  “Victor. Victor Van der Voss.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  From the minute she went downstairs the next morning, cats in tow, Mina knew that that Saturday morning would be different. On her way to the kitchen she noticed her office door open slightly and the light on. Outside, the sun was up and shining. What was going on?

  When she gently pushed the door wide open she caught sight of Kalinda slumped over the desk. Her head rested on the keyboard. Drool that must have slipped from her parted lips had dried on a side of her chin. Her arms rested on the desk in a sort of embrace of the computer’s monitor.

  Oh, yes, the computer. Kalinda’s true passion. For a brief moment Mina watched the sleeping woman breathe, then Mina touched her shoulder. The only response came from one of Kalinda’s hands, her fingers stretched out. Aria grew impatient, nibbling on Mina’s ankle, her way of letting Mina know she wanted breakfast.

  “Just a minute, Aria.”

  Mina's voice seemed to reach the woman’s deep sleep. Kalinda moved her head and licked her lips, like a cat grooming itself. “Oh,” she moaned, “what time is it? I took a pain killer—must have fallen asleep.” She tried to sit up, and moaned again.

  “Kalinda, let me help you to the bed, you need to stretch your body, get some real sleep.”

  “No, no. I want to go to the shelter, like you said.”

  “You will. I promise. I’ll come back and get you around noon. Here, let me help you.”

  Mina moved the wheelchair back and made sure Kalinda sat safely so she could wheel her to where the makeshift bed had been set up. She helped Kalinda slide over onto the bed, surprised by the lightness of the woman's body. Then Mina pulled the blankets up to cover her guest. Kalinda still had on the same clothes she’d worn on her evening out with De Fiore.

  When Mina went to turn off the desk light, all the monitor showed were a few icons she never used. Well, she wasn’t going to touch a thing. Kalinda could take care of that when she woke up. Mina closed the office door and headed for the kitchen.

  Margo was already there, stirring her coffee.

  “I’m going to let Kalinda sleep in. She must have been up most of the night on the computer.” Mina filled Aria’s dish. “Here you go, impatient little girl. Where’s your buddy?” She turned to Margo. “Did you open any doors?”

  Margo shook her head.

  “Hey, your hair looks go
od. What did you have done?”

  “Everything. I think I’m going to drive up to the house.”

  “You mean Hermosa Beach? Did you get into a fight with Gino?”

  Margo kept shaking her head, staring inside her coffee mug.

  “Why are you so gloomy?”

  Margo shrugged. “I was thinking about getting a job.”

  “You mean you want to move back here and work at the B&B?” Please say no, please…

  “No, too far from, well, you know from where. Last night I was really mean to my Gino. I need to go and apologize. Maybe if I had a job I wouldn’t be so bitchy all the time, expecting him to just cater to my needs, you know.”

  “Why don’t you get a job as the hostess at his new place. I mean, they’ll need some pleasant person to answer the phone—make reservations, you know. And in this case…keep an eye on shameless women throwing themselves at the new chef?” She winked at Margo.

  Her best friend’s face lit up. “That would be so cool. I could wear pretty dresses, and enjoy his wonderful food, and yeah, keep an eye out for nutty proposals? But how do I get hired? This is not really his restaurant, is it?”

  “Keep the faith my dear, keep the faith.” Mina didn’t know what else to say. She had no idea who really owned the place. “Hey, I’ve got to get going. I’ll be back to pick up Kalinda around noon. She wants to see the shelter.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll drive her there on my way out. Haven’t been around the place for so long,” she mused aloud. “Maybe Kalinda could put a good word regarding the hostess position. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a terrific idea. I’m going to get dressed and see if I can find Houdini.”

  The cat was sleeping in her closet, tucked between her shoes.

  Twenty minutes later Mina was ready to hit the road. “Margo, do me a favor, tell Millie not to let anyone in the cottage. Actually, tell her not to answer the phone, to pretend no one is home. I don’t trust that man at all. Okay, catch you later. No wait. If I need to reach Millie I’ll let the phone ring twice, hang up and then call back. Can you remember all that?”

  “Yes, go, go. I want to call Gino.” For a minute there, it felt like old times, the two of them in love with men who often felt so unattainable yet who were so irreplaceable. But it was too early in the day for their customary toast to bad men and good sex.

  While driving to the shelter, Mina couldn’t help but revisit the times she and Margo had spent giving each other pep talks on how to overcome the heartache caused by men. That they could end up dating two friends and colleagues seemed—well, it seemed too good to be true, or was it?

  A Girl Scout group was scheduled to visit the shelter that day. They were at the perfect age, still too young to be concerned with bills associated with pets, like for food, vets, accidents, etc., but old enough to want to take one home and to promise they would take care of it.

  When they got there, most of the young girls took turns walking the dogs outside in the separated pens. A smaller group spent time with the cats, brushing their coats, rolling colorful balls back and forth. Everyone was having a very good time.

  When it was time for them to leave, the Troop Leader decided to adopt one of the kittens, a ten-week-old reddish cat named Marmalade. The color of the coat reminded Mina of Princess, although her coat wasn’t red now, she wondered what it had looked like in her younger years. Getting old sucked, she concluded.

  A seasoned volunteer manned the front desk, and Mina instructed her to take messages in case someone called asking to speak to the person in charge—even if Van der Voss seemed to have disappeared into thin air and De Fiore hadn’t called with any news.

  By noon, all was quiet again. The Girls Scout had left, the volunteer shift was up, and Linda was to stop by to go over some ideas for new brochures to hand out to prospects. Even the dogs were quiet after all the excitement with the chattering Girl Scouts.

  Margo had called to announce that they were on their way, and Mina asked her to please pick up some of the usual chicken nuggets from the drive-through just up the street. When the Camaro parked by the front door, Mina rushed out to welcome Kalinda and to help Margo get the wheelchair set up. Then Margo announced she was running late, didn’t say to what, got back in the car, and left.

  The chicken nuggets would have to wait until after the tour since it was a perfect time to show Kalinda around. Most of the animals were unusually quiet, napping or just resting. All the excitement had worn them out. The next shift was a little late, so Mina took her time and walked around, pushing Kalinda’s chair and introducing her to the cats, who couldn’t be bothered, and to the dogs, who all wagged their tails as if she were visiting royalty.

  “Thanks for letting me sleep in,” Kalinda said. “I hope I’m not too much of an inconvenience. Did I tell you that Dan convinced me to order a customized car? I took a short spin in the one his sergeant owns. The same changes wouldn’t work for me, but we spoke to the company that does the customizing, and they assured me I could get one done exactly as I wanted in about twenty-five days. I already gave them a deposit.”

  “Wow, that’s terrific. And then what? You have it shipped to Maui?”

  Kalinda didn’t answer right away. They were in the room with the large dogs. They barked a lot less than the small breeds, perhaps because their size was enough to intimidate people, or to garner them attention. “I’m also considering a service dog.” Kalinda eyed a black and white Border Collie mix, a very sweet dog that was sort of new to the shelter and had very sad eyes.

  “You seem headed for independence. Don’t look at our dogs. As great as they are, service dogs are very special. I’m told you can get one already trained, or pick your future helper and then wait until she or he goes through all the training. It’s rather extensive and expensive. Do you have good insurance?” Mina asked.

  Kalinda broke out in one of her typical loud laughs. “Listen to you, sweetie. You’re so cute. Mina, I have money. Okay, my family has money, lots of it, and believe it or not, the Matchmaking business is booming. Especially now with computers becoming so popular, people spend more time searching for soul mates on computers than going out to meet them in real life. Oh, I meant to tell you. I finally remembered why the name of that weird client of yours sounded so familiar. Victor Van der Voss was the name of Eva’s maternal grandfather. I’m not a great believer in coincidences. Do you have a picture of the man?”

  “No, of course not. Are you saying you don’t think that’s his real name?”

  “I’m willing to bet on it. I was tempted to ask Eva if she has some relative who was named after her grandfather, but all things considered I think we should talk to Dan first and then compare notes.”

  “Good idea. I think I’m going to eat my chicken nuggets before Linda gets here. Linda’s a paid employee. She’s very good with people, so we put her in charge of adoptions, and we’re trying to come up with a better brochure to give to prospects.”

  “Do you make your own brochures?”

  Mina set the microwave on with the nuggets inside, and waited for the buzzer to go off. “Make our own brochures? Oh, no. First, none of us is very handy with computers and such, and then even if we were, our computer is rather old, or outdated if you want. Have you had lunch?”

  “Sure, sure, let me take a look at the computer if you don’t mind.”

  The bell above the front door chimed at the same time as the microwave buzzed.

  “Speak of the devil, here’s Linda. Hey, Linda, come meet Kalinda, the Matchmaker to The Stars.”

  Linda looked at the woman in the wheelchair, her long, shiny hair, her red lips, then stared at the hands with long, slim fingers and a rather high-end manicure. “Are you really her?”

  Kalinda nodded. They seemed to assess each other.

  Linda spoke first, “I’ll have you know I tried to sign up for your site about eight months ago, and I was turned down. Why?”

  “Probably for your own good.” K
alinda smiled. “If our ratio of women fitting your category is too high compared to the number of men, we put a temporary moratorium so we don’t waste your time, money, and we don’t disappoint you. But you’re welcome to reapply as soon as we go back on line. We’re closed for upgrading.”

  “Wow, that’s so professional. I’m impressed. And it actually was for the better. I’m now in a relationship.”

  “Linda is dating our wonderful veterinarian.” Mina forced herself to smile. “Anyway, ladies, you two can discuss whatever you want. I need to eat. Anyone for chicken nuggets?”

  They both declined, and Linda pulled out some examples of the brochure to show to her new friend, Kalinda.

  Mina went to get herself a bottle of water.

  Chapter Twenty

  On the way home, Kalinda had Mina stop by an open-house listing she’d discovered on the office computer. The home was less than a mile from Mina’s place. The one-story ranch house was in bad need of remodeling. Kalinda seemed to warm to the idea of owning a place in Orange County.

  On the rest of the drive home she talked about making the inside of the home functional for a wheelchair. No doubt the seed had been planted by some handsome homicide detective who happened to be single. That’s when said detective telephoned. Of course he didn’t know where the two of them were, and probably didn’t even know they were together.

  “Yes?” Mina answered with the hands-free set.

  “Yes? Kid, where are your manners? How about: Yes, Detective De Fiore, sir?”

  Mina winked at Kalinda. Then repeated the words, “Yes, Detective De Fiore, sir.”

  He chuckled. “You sound like a parrot.”

  “Did you call to insult me?”

  He still didn’t know Kalinda was listening in. “No, I’m calling to try to understand how come every man who crosses your path ends up in the hospital lately.” Long sigh.

  “Oh, my God, Diego’s in the hospital? Where?”