Dying to Get Even by Judy Fitzwater

Author:Judy Fitzwater [Fitzwater, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Judy Fitzwater
Published: 2011-10-06T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Maxie Malone was stymied. The fiasco at Rufus’s Chocolate Heaven had left her with few options. With the ban in force keeping her from the premises, she had no choice but to pursue other leads. Still, she was sure the key to Rufus Donaldson’s death lay at his place of business.

Restlessly, Maxie paced the floor of her apartment. She hadn’t heard from the two undercover operatives she’d sent in as hand-dipping chocolate experts. She’d had to go with who was available, and now she was ruing her decision to send in anyone at all. They were a liability—both of them—the petite femme fatale Leandra and the courageous and exotic Teresa. While semicompetent in their own rights, they had no experience with chocolate outside of eating it. They knew even less of subtlety, being more suited to stakeouts and in-your-face confrontations. Yes, their silence was not a good sign, and it was making Maxie more nervous as each hour passed. She would never forgive herself if they wound up as the key ingredients in Rufus’s homemade fudge.

Muffy whimpered loudly, lunged, and dropped her food dish in Jennifer’s lap.

She picked up the bowl and turned her attention toward the mutt. “I don’t suppose you could wait just five minutes more while I finish this scene?”

Muffy let out a pitiful howl that needed a full moon for proper effect and then collapsed in a defeated heap on the floor.

“All right! Stop your playacting. I know you’re overdue for lunch, but I was on a roll. Most dogs don’t even get lunch. Your vet would have a fit if she knew I fed you in the middle of the day. She doesn’t realize you’re really a person. A spoiled person, at that.”

She went to the kitchen, scooped up a third of a cup of dry food, and placed it in Muffy’s bowl along with a treat. It wasn’t enough to make any difference in her diet, but Muffy seemed to believe it was the only thing that kept her from starvation.

Jennifer plopped the bowl down on the floor, Muffy nosing past her and swallowing every morsel in one quick slurp. Jennifer went back to her computer.

Yes, Maxie was becoming concerned. If she didn’t hear from her people soon, she’d have no choice but to go in after them.

Jennifer sighed and pushed back from the keyboard. Maxie was worried, but at least Leandra and Teresa both knew martial arts and carried weapons—Teresa a boot knife (she was an expert knife thrower) and Leandra a bolo, being part Australian aborigine. Teri and Leigh Ann, however, were defenseless and not the best improvisers she’d ever met. Most of a week had passed since she’d last talked to them, and their silence was nagging at her. Maybe April had heard something.

She dialed the phone. “April, hi, it’s Jen.” She hoped none of the tension she was feeling was evident in her voice. She could hear a baby crying in the background.

“What happened?” April sounded more than a little concerned.

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