Till Death Do Us Bark

by Judi McCoy

She and Rudy left the bedroom and took the back stairs down to the laundry room. “I just hope Viv has the good sense not to provoke anyone, or we’ll have World War Three on our hands.”

  “You know Vivie. She does what she wants. But I heard you tell her to hang loose until we showed up.”

  “Some witness you are, when nobody but me can hear you.” They landed at the bottom of the stairs. “That’s no help for my case at all.”

  “Then I guess you don’t remember the stuff you said when you took those drugs after you were attacked.”

  “I don’t want to talk about those drugs. All they are is trouble—trouble I don’t need. And what about the ‘stuff’ I said?”

  Rudy gazed up at her, a smile creasing his doggie lips. “You told Viv you talked to us canines.”

  Ellie’s mouth dropped open. “I did what?”

  “Aw, it was nothin’. Vivie didn’t believe a word of it. She was so worried about your condition, all she did was make some dopey comment about sand fleas.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Duh, yeah. She blamed your crazy talk on the drugs and laughed it off.” He gave another head-to-tail shake. “What human in their right mind would believe such a lame story?”

  “Okay, great. If she says anything, I can act like I don’t remember, which I don’t, and play dumb.”

  “You’re pretty good at that, too,” he answered with a yip. “Now hurry up with my dinner.”

  Ellie rushed through the mechanics of preparing his food. There wasn’t a soul in the kitchen, which meant everyone was on the terrace, and that was strange, because from what she could overhear, there was very little conversation taking place outside.

  After setting Rudy’s dinner on a place mat, she tiptoed to the back door and peeked out the window.

  Viv and Arlene sat on the far side of the table with an empty chair between them that Ellie assumed was for her.

  Vanessa’s and Adrianne’s backs were to the door, so it was difficult to gauge their thoughts.

  Evan McCready, at the head of the table, seemed to be the only person enjoying his meal, a shrimp, avocado, spring greens, and vegetable salad.

  And Rosa circled the group with a basket of rolls, going from person to person with her offering.

  “What’s goin’ on out there?” whispered Rudy.

  She jumped at the sound of his voice and put a finger to her lips. “Shh. Are you finished already?”

  “Yep, and prepared for the opening act. You bringin’ the popcorn?”

  “That isn’t funny.” She ignored her phone, which had started vibrating in her pocket. This was not a good time to talk with Sam. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed open the door and walked around the table.

  Vanessa’s eyes grew wide when Ellie took the seat between Viv and Arlene. “Oh, you poor thing! The bruise has gotten darker. How are you feeling?”

  “About as good as I can for looking so battered. My face doesn’t hurt, but my temple does, especially if I touch it.” Or sneeze or move my head. When she smiled a hello to Adrianne, the woman ignored her. Too bad someone hadn’t given the middle sister what she needed while growing up—a smack upside her head. “Did Viv tell you what we did today?”

  “She’s been talking about it,” said Vanessa.

  “I’ve only met Sabrina Bordowski a few times,” Arlene began. “Now that I think back on it, she and Martin did seem a bit . . . close. I will admit, I often wondered if they were . . .” Letting the statement hang, she gazed at Adrianne and stiffened. Then she put a hand on Ellie’s thigh, as if preparing her for the next sentence. “Maybe you know who else Martin was sleeping with, sister dear, seeing as you were number one on his list.”

  Vanessa inhaled a gasp. “Arlene! What are you saying?”

  “Awwwk! Arlene! Do what I say! Awwwk!”

  Ignoring Myron’s inane squawking, Viv leaned back in her chair. “Come on, Mom, get real. Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

  Adrianne sneered, her expression turning downright ugly. “Don’t ‘sister dear’ me, Arlene. You were the one he planned to marry.”

  “Awwwk! Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get maa-a-ried! Awwwk! Goin’ to the chapel. Awwwk!”

  “One of you had better tell me what you’re talking about, or I’ll—I’ll—”

  “You’ll do what? Send us to our room? Take away our allowance? Really, Mother, get a life,” said Adrianne.

  “Maybe I should say the same to you,” snapped Arlene. “But get one of your own, instead of stealing mine.”

  Vanessa pushed away from the table, stood, and placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “Evan, what are they talking about?”

  “Awwwk! Everybody’s talking at me. I don’t hear a word they’re sayin’. Awwwk!”

  “Will someone please shut that bird up!” cried Vanessa.

  Rosa rushed to the parrot and carried him inside.

  The senior McCready glared at his daughters. “I have an idea, and it infuriates me.” He focused on Adrianne. “I believe you owe your older sister an apology.”

  Adrianne crossed her arms over her bright yellow tank top. “I don’t owe her anything. She has everything she wants already. I wasn’t the only woman Marty slept with, but I was the best. He told me my portrait held the secret to his success, and she should know it.”

  Vanessa dropped into her chair. “Portrait? What portrait?”

  Rosa returned to the terrace and set a plate of the shrimp and avocado salad in front of Ellie.

  Viv sat up straight, as if preparing to march into battle. “We saw the painting, Adrianne. It was a cruel and tacky thing to do. So low-class.”

  “What is this painting you’re talking about?” asked Vanessa.

  Arlene seemed to deflate like a balloon with a slow leak. “Adrianne painted a nude self-portrait and hung it on the wall in Martin’s office—and it’s a direct slap in my face.”

  “It’s always about you, isn’t it?” Adrianne thumped the table with a fist. “You’re nothing but a self-righteous prig.”

  “Hey, stop right there,” said Viv.

  Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but Arlene shook her head. “I can handle it.” She stared at her sister with her green eyes blazing. “I want you out of the guesthouse tonight. You are no longer welcome in my home or my life.”

  “Do somethin’, Triple E. Adrianne can’t leave until after the memorial,” Rudy reminded her from under the table.

  Her boy was correct. Adrianne was still on her suspect list. Though it was difficult imagining her as the killer, she was tall with ripped arms and a toned figure. With the right amount of anger and leverage, she could have pushed the doctor hard enough to make him fall.

  “Arlene, just a minute,” Ellie began. Then she realized she couldn’t say what she wanted.

  “Yes, think a minute, Arlene. We drove your sister, so she has no way home. I want the two of you to talk this through here and now,” ordered Vanessa.

  Viv hissed out a sigh. “This is between Adrianne and Arlene, Mother. You need to stay out of it.”

  “What I need is for my girls to get along like sisters should,” Vanessa said. A tear slid down her cheek and she dabbed it with her napkin. “After Evan, you three are all I have in the world. I want you to be happy and—”

  “Sorry, Mom, but that’s only going to happen when you start treating Adrianne like a grown woman and accept what she’s become,” Vivian interrupted.

  “What I’ve become?” Adrianne stood. “You should talk, little sister-with-the-big-job-and-salary. Too bad you can’t hold on to a man, either.”

  “Hey, wait one second—” Ellie said, protesting for Viv.

  Adrianne focused on Ellie as if she were fresh prey. “You have nothing to say in this, Ms. Big Ass. Who do you think you are, barging into our family business, then bragging about how you could find Marty’s killer? You’re nothing but a dog walker masquerading as something special.”

  “Did she just call you Ms. Big Ass?”
Rudy yipped, snaking between her feet to stand clear of the chair.

  Unable to speak, Ellie blinked her shock.

  Evan McCready grabbed his daughter’s forearm. “That’s enough, Adrianne. It’s cruel and it isn’t true. Now you have three people to whom you owe an apology.”

  Ignoring her father, Adrianne scanned the table. “I’m not leaving until after the memorial. I hear our intrusive guest is planning to pull a rabbit out of her butt and reveal Marty’s murderer. I wouldn’t want to miss that show for all the money in the world.” Rounding her father, she stumbled into Rudy, who was blocking her way, and shoved him aside with a jab from her foot. Then she marched down the stairs with her Louboutins thundering.

  Panting, Rudy jumped into Ellie’s lap. “Did you see? Did you see! She kicked me. Me! An innocent pooch. The nerve!”

  Ellie hugged her boy close, then pushed her dinner plate to the middle of the table. This battle was pretty much what she had expected, but when her dog was threatened, well, that was it.

  “I’m okay, Triple E. But we gotta show her we’re right. We’ll do it on the night of the memorial, when we announce the doc’s killer.”

  Raising her gaze, she found that all eyes were on her.

  “Oh, Ellie, I’m so sorry you had to hear that,” said Vanessa.

  “I apologize for my rude and crude sister, too. You were here in support of me. There was no need for her to verbally abuse you the way she did,” said Arlene.

  Viv smiled and threw an arm around her shoulder. “The girl is tough. She can take it.”

  “Still,” muttered Evan. He fisted his hands. “I’m going to the guesthouse to speak to my spoiled brat of a daughter. Vanessa? Are you coming?”

  After the McCready parents left the table, Viv blew out a breath. “If you ask me, once she did that to Rudy, she was toast. You should have used those lessons in self-defense to flatten Adrianne and show her who’s boss.”

  Arlene shook her head. “That might have been interesting, seeing as Adrianne’s been into kickboxing for the past year.”

  “Did ya hear? Did ya hear?” Rudy snapped out. “She could’a learned one of them fancy kicks and slammed Kent in the chest.”

  Ellie again cupped Rudy’s muzzle. He was right, but she couldn’t think about it now. “I’m more angry about my dog than I am about the Ms. Big Ass comment,” she admitted. So what if she wasn’t a size 6 anymore? She’d checked her bottom before buying her new swimsuit and there were no ripples or orange peel skin that came with the cellulite so many women complained about. “But she was definitely rude.”

  “That’s Adrianne for you. She’s always thought the world revolved around her and everyone else was second best.” Viv grinned. “And stop internalizing. Your ass is fabulous. Just ask Sam.” She smirked. “Or Agent Double O Seven.”

  Arlene’s expression slipped into solemn mode. “Ignore Adrianne. That’s what I plan to do. Everything she says is mean-spirited. Viv’s right, by the way. You do have a great ass.”

  Before Ellie could speak, Rosa began clearing the table. Arlene stood and so did Viv. “Come on, let’s go inside and have a glass of wine. Arlene will break out the good stuff. We can get mellow and figure out how to get back at Adrianne.”

  Ellie’s phone began to vibrate, so she shook her head. “I’ll catch up with you later. I think Sam is looking for me, and it’s time we talked.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and saw the signal for another voice mail message. “He’s left a bunch of messages, so I guess I’d better respond.”

  Before phoning Sam, Ellie ran her hands over her boy. She’d checked Rudy for bruises or sprains, and he was fine, but he was also rabid mad. Adrianne had taken him by surprise, and he wanted revenge. Ellie had calmed him down, but he was still pacing the terrace and complaining in short woofs and gruffs.

  Sam had to have free time to be so insistent about calling her, and that wasn’t the norm in his line of work. He was usually at a crime scene, in the station questioning a suspect, on surveillance duty, or filling out the reams of paperwork needed to close a case. Anything was possible, and she found that way of working challenging, tiring, and defeating.

  The few times she’d been on the hunt for a killer, it was only because she was helping a friend. She was not on the NYPD payroll, nor did she ever plan to be. She valued her friends and felt she could never have enough, which was all the reason she needed to lend a hand when they were in trouble.

  The thought of being a New York City detective made her skin crawl. She’d heard about some of the crime scenes Sam had worked, and his description was enough to make her stomach turn. She never wanted to walk through pools of blood, see shattered bodies, or try to figure out why some maniac had butchered a wife, child, or friend.

  And she could never carry a gun or harm anyone in the course of seeking a killer.

  “You about ready to go in?” asked Rudy from underneath the table. “I smell a storm comin’ on.”

  “You’re just tired because you’ve spent a lot of energy nursing a grudge. I plan to stay out here and give Sam another try, but I can open the door and you can go up.”

  She inhaled deeply and caught the scent of ozone, a sure sign of dangerous weather. Staring into the sky, she saw a mass of churning clouds obscuring the moon. It seemed as if Rudy was on a roll, his instincts about the storm, about Adrianne, about the whole murder business.

  “You know, I think you’re right about that storm, but I bet we have another hour or so before we need to worry. You can still go up and find Viv and Mr. T, if you want. They’ll give you a cuddle while you wait for me.”

  “I wouldn’t leave you here alone for all the Dingo bones in the world,” he said, putting his nose on the edge of her sandal. “We’re a matched pair, remember?”

  “Okay, just give me a minute to try Sam one more time. He might be—”

  “Who are you talking to, Miss Ellie?” asked Rosa, slipping through the kitchen door. “Is getting dark and the weather people say we will get a big storm. You should be inside.”

  “I’m just trying to make sense of Adrianne and what she did to her sister, for one thing. Then there’s finding Dr. Kent’s killer to save your son. I’m afraid I haven’t gotten very far with that problem.”

  The housekeeper took a seat at the table. “Ah, sí, I was afraid of that. The policía, they have evidence and motive, correct? And that is all they need to bring my Tomas to trial.”

  “Unfortunately, yes.” Ellie forced herself to chat, even though she was exhausted. “I wanted to ask you about something you said earlier, when you talked about a manda.”

  “Ah, sí, the manda.” Rosa nodded. “It is special, something we do to ensure what you call a happy ending to a challenge or a battle.”

  “And you said it was like a juri—”

  “Jur-a-men-to,” Rudy muttered.

  “Juramento.” Ellie corrected herself. “Sorry, but my Spanish is almost nonexistent.”

  “I understand, so I will explain, yes?”

  “Please do. I need all the assistance I can get if I’m going to free your son.”

  “Ah, but my Julio, he has already gone to the highest giver of help. The one who can do the impossible for her believers. The Virgen.”

  Though she pronounced the word as “veer-hen,” Ellie knew whom she meant. “The Blessed Mother?”

  “Sí, sí. A juramento is a promise to a saint when one of my people wants to stop drinking. A manda is like that, but it can be for anything.”

  “So Julio made a manda to the Holy Virgin.”

  “Sí. When our boy is freed, he and Tomas promise to go home to Mexico City, where they will crawl on their knees to the Altar del Perdón in the Catedral Metropolitana in gratitude.”

  “Wow, that’s some promise,” said Ellie, clasping her hands together on the table.

  “Told ya so,” Rudy gruffed.

  “But it will be well worth the trip, if our Tomas is proven innocent. And we will owe you a year’s
worth of prayers in thanks, as well.”

  “That’s fine with me. I don’t think you can ever have too many prayers,” Ellie said, trying to hide the emotion welling in her throat. “I’d appreciate that.”

  “It will be the least we can do for someone who is so willing to save our boy.” Rosa stood. “Can I get you anything before I retire? Hot tea or some lemonade?”

  “A cup of Earl Grey would be nice. Thank you.”

  “Sí, un momento.”

  Rosa left, and Ellie used the time to dial Sam, who answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, babe. How are things?”

  She leaned back in her chair. She hated lying to anyone, especially Sam. “Fine . . . just great. . . . How about you?”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked after a full five seconds.

  “Wrong? What makes you think something’s wrong?” Ellie swallowed. “Everything is wonderful.”

  “Aha. So why do I think you’re lying?”

  “I’m not. Though I did have some problems with that pricey sunscreen Viv talked me into buying. My tan isn’t exactly what I was hoping for.”

  “Sorry to hear it. But you knew it would be tough to tan with your fair skin and red hair. Maybe next time you want some color I’ll be there to put on the sunscreen. Besides, having a suntan is no big deal.”

  “I was just hoping. How are you?”

  “I grabbed a crappy case the other day, so I’ve been busy, but Vince is on call so I have a break. Since we’re in a storm situation, I thought maybe I’d drive to Montauk early tomorrow morning and spend a day with you, seeing as you’d probably be housebound.”

  Eeek! “What? No!” She sucked air into her lungs. “I mean, this isn’t a good time. There’s been a death, so we’re holding a memorial service and—”

  “A death? Who died?”

  Ellie slumped in her seat. Sam sounded suspicious. Too suspicious. “A—a—friend—of the family. No one important.”

  “You’re going to a memorial service for no one important?”

  “Well, they weren’t important to me, but they were to the McCreadys so I’m tagging along,” she said, proud of the half-truth. “In support of Viv, of course.”