Doggie Day Care Murder by Laurien Berenson

Author:Laurien Berenson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2012-08-08T16:00:00+00:00

15

Well, that had gone well.

Not only had I not learned anything of value beyond the fact that Adam Busch had a very short temper, but I’d left our encounter on the run. I was pretty sure that that humiliating turn of events had to be a first.

After Busch went back inside his house, slamming the door behind him for good measure, I sat in my car and considered what to do next. If I returned home, I’d probably end up involved in some dull domestic chore. It seemed I could make better use of my time by seeing what else might be accomplished while I was out.

The only other person Candy had mentioned by name as having had a grudge against Steve had been client Lila Harrington, owner of JoyJoy, the amorous Shih Tzu. I wondered if she might be as eager to tell me her side of things as Adam Busch had been.

Usually I think of cell phones as the bane of Western civilization. I carry one but talk on it as infrequently as possible. Occasionally, however, even I find their services useful.

I had programmed Candy’s number into my phone earlier and now all I had to do was push a couple of buttons to get connected.

“Hey,” I said, when she picked up. “It’s Melanie. I need you to give me some more information about Lila Harrington. I was thinking of paying her a visit this morning.”

“Why would you want to do something like that?”

I would have thought the answer was obvious. Candy, however, seemed to be waiting for a reply.

“You asked for my help,” I said.

“I know that.”

“So this is how I help.”

“I thought you were going to be hanging around here.” Candy sounded petulant.

“I did that. Yesterday. And I’ll probably do it again in the future. But you want me to explore all the possibilities, don’t you?”

“I guess.”

“So tell me something about Lila. Where does she live? Where does she work?”

“Do you have to start with her?”

Actually, I hadn’t. I’d started with Adam Busch. But somehow this didn’t seem like the right time to bring that up.

“Is there a reason that I shouldn’t?” I asked.

“Lila can be . . . difficult.”

“All the more reason to like her as a suspect,” I said cheerfully.

“You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me.”

It was beginning to sound like this conversation might take a while. I started up the car, looked both ways, then eased out away from the curb.

“Lila grew up in Greenwich. On Round Hill Road.”

The address implied wealth. And perhaps a sense of entitlement. But let’s get real, I thought. If Lila Harrington had been so far above the rest of us mere mortals, wouldn’t she have had her maid watch over little JoyJoy rather than dropping the Shih Tzu off at Pine Ridge?

“She won’t want to talk to you.”

“Then I’ll leave,” I said reasonably.

“She’ll be mad.”

“So what? From what I heard, she’s mad at you and Steve already. That’s why I want to talk to her.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I don’t know yet,” I said honestly.

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