Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Author:Linda O. Johnston [Johnston, Linda O.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780425240212
Google: mVr2LQEACAAJ
Amazon: 0425240215
Barnesnoble: 0425240215
Goodreads: 9277027
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2011-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Back in my car, I inhaled deeply, ignoring the smell of eau de parking lot and trying to calm the synapses in my brain that flashed among relief and anger, indecision and determination. Guess I hadn’t been as cool inside about the nasty and accusatory Mandy Ledinger as I’d pretended. Did she buy it? I’d no idea.

My BlackBerry rang. I pulled it from my pocket and saw the caller ID. “Hi, Carlie.”

“Hey. I’m back in LA at last.”

“You didn’t warn me you were coming last time we talked.”

“I wasn’t sure. So what’s going on?”

I’d want to hear all about her trip but, at this moment, had even more of a desire to vent to a friend.

“Nothing much. I just visited the loving stepmother of the guy murdered at HotRescues. She recognized me from the news and attacked, claiming I was his murderer. When she calmed down, I tried to get her to admit she killed her stepson. That’s all.”

“Just another boring day in LaLa Land.” LA, of course. “So, is the strategy you mentioned working? Did she confess?” Carlie was never fazed by anything, no matter how bizarre. I suppose she had to be that way, as a veterinarian. Even more so, as the star of her own TV show.

“No, but she gave me a reason to check with Efram’s girlfriend.” I leaned back in the driver’s seat. I’d a feeling this could be a lengthy conversation, and I didn’t necessarily want to use my BlueTooth.

“You mean someone actually hooked up with that ruthless freak?”

“I haven’t talked to her yet, but that’s what I gathered.”

“Eeew. What miserable taste that woman must have.”

“My sentiments exactly,” I agreed.

“So when will I be able to do a show around the puppy mill and Efram’s death?”

“What does that ugly situation have to do with pet longevity?” I asked. That was the focus of her TV show.

“The puppy mill aspect, of course. I can get into how people who breed dogs over and over can kill not only the parents, but also subject resulting puppies to major health problems from the ugly conditions, inbreeding, and all. I’ve done shows warning people to check out puppies from pet shops carefully, since so many get the animals they sell from puppy mills or similar places for kittens.”

I’d seen at least a couple of those shows. I’d been a fan of Carlie’s since I met her and she adopted Max. “You’d focus on the potential health problems?” I asked.

“That’s what I do, kid.”

“Sure, but the puppy mill has been shut down. The owners are still around, but I doubt they’d talk to you since they were arrested for animal cruelty. And I haven’t exonerated them in Efram’s death.”

“Have the police?”

“I sure hope not, but they seem to love me as their top suspect.”

“With your involvement, I’d have an inside track on this story. Could turn my little show into—”

“A tabloid clone.” Carlie was one of my best friends, but sometimes she went too far in her zeal to turn a great topical show on pet health to something with a bigger audience.

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