Till Death Do Us Bark

by Judi McCoy

  “Of course. And if she doesn’t I’ll make Mom confess to what’s going on with her. They were all willing to be questioned this morning, so what’s changed since then?”

  “She’s your sister,” said Ellie. This vacation had opened her eyes to Viv’s smart-ass comments about her family. While Vivie was agreeable, witty, and real, the rest of her family was dour and sarcastic in the way they treated others. “Though it’s hard to believe you were swimming in the same gene pool.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Viv. She stood and stretched, then slipped her cover-up over her bikiniclad body. “How about we make a quick stop before we go to the house?”

  Ellie gathered her towel, shook out the sand, and stuffed it into her bag. Then she commandeered Viv’s tote bag while Viv took charge of the umbrella. “I can only hope you want to go where I want to go.”

  Viv plodded through the sand in the direction of the guesthouse with Ellie beside her. “Am I getting warm?”

  “You’re on fire. I’ve wanted to see the inside of his office all day, and not to belittle your father, but I’d like to see for myself if Adrianne is there.”

  They reached the rear of the cottage, and propped the umbrella at the back door. “Your mother said the cops have given permission to leave the place unlocked, correct?”

  “Yep, and guess what.”

  Ellie opened the entrance door. “What?”

  Viv reached into her bag, and pulled out a key.

  “That will get us into Dr. Kent’s office?” Ellie asked.

  “I’ve been carrying it around, hoping you’d want to stop in, but I figured that would be useless now that the cops and Mr. Bond have tramped around inside.” She stepped to the door that led to the second-floor apartment. “And just to show how much I love you, I’m willing to check the guest quarters while you inspect the doc’s office. What do you think of that?”

  “You’re a pal,” said Ellie.

  She held out her hand and Viv dropped the key in her palm. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes to join you.”

  She unlocked the office door, then peered into Dr. Kent’s waiting room. The decor, a mixture of beach casual and antique oak, was comfortable yet had an air of money about it. Glass-topped tables held groupings of magazines and clusters of seashells, while wicker baskets and framed seascapes blended perfectly with the cream-colored walls and ocean blue drapes.

  She started in the kitchen, happy to see that the usual grit left behind when a crime scene was dusted for fingerprints was gone. No wonder Maria and Terry had been missing for the entire afternoon yesterday. It must have taken hours just to clean the place after the cops had made a thorough search.

  She first opened the cupboards and moved glassware and dishes, then checked the fridge, which was empty, and peeked inside an equally empty dishwasher. She gave a final inspection of the pantry and headed for the bathroom, where she found things to be in order, as well.

  Back in the living room, she looked under the sofa, took stock of a bookcase, and shoved a few chairs around. Then she sighed. She was terrible at running a search. All she knew was what she’d seen on cop shows, and she hardly ever watched those. Why in the heck did she think she’d find anything after professionals had done their job?

  Opening another door, she found herself in an examining room, complete with a raised table topped with a roll of white paper and a pillow. Looking into an empty glass-fronted cabinet, she guessed it had contained the drugs that the police confiscated; then she checked the drawers and a smaller cupboard, but all she saw were cotton swabs, tongue depressors, and other bits she expected belonged in a doctor’s office.

  Growing frustrated, she opened the next door, pleased to find Dr. Kent’s actual private space. A massive mahogany desk sat against one wall, complete with a beautiful leather chair. Hanging on the wall behind the desk were the usual diplomas giving his credentials: Princeton University, a medical degree from Johns Hopkins, and an internship at Beth Israel, plus a few more framed documents from a variety of hospitals around the country.

  A credenza sat below the wall of diplomas, and she opened it. One side had the innards for hanging file folders, but there were none. The other side was a shelved cabinet, which was also empty, and she decided it was probably another storage area for his giveaway drugs.

  Steps on the stairs told her Viv was on her way down, so she continued her perusal. Rounding the desk, she scanned the room, but stopped short when she saw what was on the wall opposite the desk.

  From where Dr. Kent sat during his working hours, he would see this picture every time he raised his eyes.

  “Find anything?” asked Viv, entering the office.

  Ellie swallowed. “How about you tell me?” She jutted her chin toward the wall holding a painting of a woman in profile.

  Viv glanced in the direction of Ellie’s gaze and gasped. “Holy hell. How did that get there?”

  “Looks like the painting was hung with a particular purpose,” said Ellie.

  “Ya think?” Viv’s tone dripped sarcasm.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Ellie continued, still in shock.

  “See that tattoo, the butterfly on her lower back?”

  “It’s pretty hard to miss, and it appears to be more on her upper right buttocks, if you ask me.”

  “Whatever. All I know is she got that the summer she left for college. Dad never saw it, but Mom had a fit. There’s no doubt in my mind. That’s Adrianne.”

  Chapter 10

  “She’s completely naked,” said Ellie, still surprised by the painting.

  “No kidding.”

  “Why do you think it’s here?”

  Viv tsked. “Check out the view in this room.”

  Ellie turned and again zeroed in on Dr. Kent’s desk. “Maybe she did it for practice? Like she was supposed to submit a self-portrait to a contest and she had to do a mock-up, and she wanted the doctor to be the judge.”

  Viv looked at her as if she had three heads. “You’re joking, right?”

  “Well, what other reason would she have for putting a naked self-portrait on her future brother-in-law’s wall?” The question made perfect sense to Ellie.

  Viv put her hands on her hips. “I never thought I’d say this, but I think Sam is right. You truly are a Little Mary Sunshine.” She looked around the room and focused on the barge-sized leather sofa. “Want to hear my theory?”

  “Ah . . . sure.” Ellie continued to stare at the painting. Adrianne’s long dark hair swung down her back, her profile perfect, her figure lithe. She was beautiful in a look-at-me sort of way, though Ellie felt it was all superficial. To her, the truly attractive women were the ones who had no idea of their striking appearance or, if they did, wouldn’t let it get in the way of their being a nice person. It was one of the reasons she liked Vivie so much.

  “I think she did it to get back at Arlene,” Viv pronounced.

  “To get back at Arlene? What did her older sister ever do to her?”

  Viv turned, grabbed one of the chairs in front of the doctor’s desk, jerked it around to face the painting, and plopped herself down. “Jealousy, for one thing.”

  Ellie pulled the other chair in place and copied her friend’s actions. “She’s jealous of Arlene? But why?”

  Shaking her head, Viv rolled her eyes. “Because Arlene has money and Adrianne doesn’t. Plus, she’s had a husband and was on her way to number two.”

  “Adrianne’s never been married?”

  “Nope, and I doubt it will ever happen. And before you ask why I think that—” Viv crossed her arms. “It’s because she’s a bitch, plain and simple.”

  “That’s not a very nice thing to say about your sister, Vivian.”

  “That kind of truth rarely is. Adrianne’s always been jealous of Arlene, and me, if you want to know.”

  “Do you really think so?”

  “Don’t make a decision until you hear my reasoning. Before each of my divorces, I call
ed Mother to let her know what was happening in my life. I’d hear from Adrianne a week later, and she’d ask me how things were going. I’d fill her in and she’d sound so sympathetic I’d break down. Once I even cried. I found out later from Mom that Adrianne knew all about the divorces before she phoned me.” Viv blew out a breath. “She called me because she wanted to bask in my misery and feed off my lousy luck. It made her happier with herself.”

  Ellie couldn’t understand why any sister would be glad to hear that another sister’s marriage had failed. She’d been through each of her mother’s divorces and knew it was a terrible time for a woman. And even when she’d known that divorcing her dickhead ex had to be done to save her mental well-being, it had been a trying and miserable experience. “Have you discussed it with Arlene?”

  “I told her, and she started out talking just like you, but when it happened after my second divorce, and I clued her in, she had to agree.”

  “I still don’t get the reason for this portrait.”

  “Think, Ellie. It’ll hit you in a minute.”

  It only took her about thirty more seconds to see the light. “Oh.”

  The corners of Viv’s mouth turned up, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Oh is right. How else could you hurt a sister you’re jealous of without doing her physical harm? Even if Arlene never came to the doc’s office, and it’s obvious she hasn’t, Adrianne would know that she’d had an affair with her sister’s husband, and he would be reminded of her every day. The ultimate slap in the face, if you ask me.”

  “So you think they slept together?”

  “Oh, Lord, of course they did. Probably right there on that huge couch. I’d expect nothing less from a man who tried to screw a sixteen-year-old child.”

  Ellie stared at the picture while Viv’s words sank in. The likeness, painted from Adrianne’s butt to the top of her head, had her body turned just enough to showcase one curvy breast with a fully erect, pink-tipped nipple. Now that she understood what Viv meant, she realized the provocative expression on Adrianne’s face was more of a see-what-I-can-do challenge to her older sister than a teasing expression for Dr. Kent.

  “How long do you think the affair went on?”

  “Best guess, almost from the day she arrived to paint the artwork in Arlene’s house.”

  “Three weeks, and Arlene never caught on?”

  “Guess not. She was probably so hopped up on drugs and wedding plans she had no idea. And the sleazy doctor, well, he might have figured it was one last fling before he tied the knot . . . or until the next opportunity presented itself.”

  Ellie rolled her neck to work out a kink. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m relieved the man is no longer with us.”

  “I imagine a lot of those women looking for happy pills said yes to his advances just so they could get their drugs.”

  “That’s no excuse for a woman having sex with a married man,” Ellie said. “Believe me, I went through it, and I don’t think I can ever forgive Cherry for sleeping with my ex.”

  “It takes two to tango, kiddo.”

  “I’m well aware of that, but I can’t imagine any woman sleeping with Larry Lipschitz, CPA extraordinaire, because they needed to have their taxes done or their checkbook balanced. At least he and Cherry got married.”

  “Lucky her. Now she’s the one who has to work her ass off with a personal trainer and keep her hair highlighted and her makeup perfect twenty-four/seven.”

  “And live without a dog.”

  “Cherry Abrams wanted a dog?”

  “I don’t know,” said Ellie, shrugging. “But I think about it sometimes, and figure it’s exactly what she deserves for doing what she did.”

  “Wow. I’m impressed. I think that’s the first totally mean thing I’ve ever heard you say about anyone.”

  “And I already feel guilty for it. I can’t imagine anyone who loves dogs having to live without one.” Ellie sniffed back a tear. “I’d have no life if I didn’t have Rudy.”

  “You’d have Sam.”

  “I doubt it. I only met Sam because I was walking dogs, and I never would have done that if I didn’t have my boy.”

  “Hmm. Maybe you owe Cherry a huge thank-you. If she hadn’t slept with the D, you wouldn’t have found them in bed together, and you might still be dogless and married to a dickhead.”

  Ellie grinned, though she knew she shouldn’t. “When you put it that way . . .” She turned her head and again faced Adrianne’s backside. “What are we supposed to do about this?”

  “Do?”

  Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Yes, do. Should we call Adrianne on it or tell Arlene? I can’t believe she’s never been in here to see it.”

  “Like I said, Adrianne probably only did it over the last three weeks, and big sis was too busy planning the wedding to pay attention.” Viv stood and put the chair back where she found it. “Guess we should go to the house and get ready for dinner. I don’t want anyone to come here looking for us until we decide how to handle this.”

  Ellie righted her chair and followed Viv to the foyer. Once there, she locked the office door. They walked to the exit, picked up their tote bags and the umbrella, and headed back to the house.

  She had a lot to think about. Worse, knowing what she did, she had to quiz Adrianne about the night of Dr. Kent’s murder.

  Vanessa, Evan, Vivian, and Arlene drove into Bridgehampton after dinner looking for a shop that sold ice cream. Adrianne cried off, saying she had a headache, and Ellie saw her chance for some time alone with the middle McCready sister.

  “Adrianne, can you give me a couple of minutes before you go to the cottage?”

  Stopping in her march to the stairs, Adrianne tugged on her formfitting, off-the-shoulder top. The night was cool, Rosa and her daughters had cleared the terrace table, and there was no one else around. “I guess.” She planted her shapely butt, clad in tight black capris, in a chair. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Ellie tried for a smile. “The night of Dr. Kent’s murder.”

  “I figured you’d get around to me eventually, but I really have nothing to say.”

  “You were upstairs in the cottage when he was killed, correct?”

  “Yes, but I’d been asleep. The party gave me a headache, and I took a muscle relaxant to get rid of the tension. Detective Wheeling knows all this, by the way, and he’s satisfied that I can’t be of any help in the case.”

  This headache thing was getting old. Ellie couldn’t believe a woman like Adrianne wouldn’t be more creative when she lied. “Dr. K gave you the drug?”

  Adrianne smiled, but it was forced. “Of course.”

  “Do you think you were the last person to see him alive?”

  “I doubt it. There were a couple of patients in the waiting room when I left to go upstairs.”

  “And you never heard an argument?” Ellie asked, thinking of what James Bond had told her.

  “The music coming down from the house sort of muffled things and the pill knocked me out. Sorry, but that’s about all I can say.” She stood and walked to the stairs. “I think we’re done here.”

  “Viv and I were in Dr. Kent’s office today,” Ellie said, hoping to see some reaction from the woman.

  Adrianne slowly turned around. “Really? Did you find anything interesting?”

  “I had hoped to find a clue to his killer. Instead we saw some very engrossing artwork.”

  “I imagine you did.” Her smile reminded Ellie of a snake. “Marty loved that self-portrait. He said he’d never take it down. He told me it held the secret to his success. Marty—”

  “Awwwk! Marty! Awwwk! Do it again, baby. Yes, just like that! Awwwk! Just like that!”

  Myron’s chatter echoed that of a woman in the throes of passion, and now that Ellie had been around her for a while, the voice reminded her of Adrianne’s.

  Nostrils flaring, Adrianne shot the African gray a dirty look and huffed out a breath.

  “So you and
Dr. Kent had sex in his office.” Ellie made the question a statement of fact. “When Myron was in the room.”

  “The little pecker watched everything. According to Marty, he was very entertaining. Some of his patients liked to try to make him talk, especially when the stupid bird would repeat things in their exact voice.”

  “But you didn’t enjoy it?”

  “It wasn’t on my how-to-get-a-laugh list, but who cares? That bit of passion could be any woman’s voice.” She turned back to the stairs. “And if Arlene figures it out, what can she say?” Stomping down the steps, Adrianne disappeared.

  “What a piece of work.” Rudy crawled out from beneath the table, where he’d been sitting at Ellie’s feet.

  “I know. Poor Arlene, trusting her sister without knowing she’d been sleeping with her fiancé.”

  “Makes Vivie look like a champ, doesn’t it?” Rudy spouted with a yip.

  “Makes my girl rise ten levels above the rest of her dip-wad family,” T said with a growl. “Vivie is tops in my book.”

  “You know I agree with you. I just wish there was some way to make sense of this mess.” She dug a pen and her spiral pad out from her bag. She’d never asked Sam exactly what it was he wrote in his many tablets, but now she wished she had.

  “Guess I have to look at my notes and see if anything else makes sense.”

  She’d written the name of every person who’d been at the party, starting with the immediate family, then given each of them a page for notes. The four R guests had been Viv’s job, as well as an aunt and uncle, their children, and Elsie and Connie. She’d received Viv’s report on each of them and scribbled a “no comment” on every page.

  Flipping to her suspects, she checked all she’d written after her talk with family members Arlene, Vanessa, Evan, and now Adrianne. She copied what she remembered of Adrianne’s explanation of the painting, ending with “Marty said it was the secret to his success.” Odd that he said the painting was the key and not Adrianne herself, but did it really make a difference?

  She still had to corner Julio, Tomas, Maria, Teresa, and, just to be thorough, Uncle Mickey and Dr. B. Tomas was already in jail and his knife was found at the scene. It was easy to imagine the hot-tempered young man having an argument with Dr. Kent over his younger sister and threatening him with a knife.