Suzanne Price - Grime Solvers 03 - Notoriously Neat by Suzanne Price

Author:Suzanne Price [Price, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery: Cozy - Professional Cleaner - Massachusetts
ISBN: 0451226593
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2009-02-28T23:00:00+00:00

6. Leave your shoes at the door. Think about it. We always hear about washing our hands often because they pick up germs—and we should. But who knows what we’re tracking in on the bottoms of our shoes? If it was on the street, we should be sure to keep it off our floors and rugs.

Chapter 10

Twenty minutes later Bryan and I were at the Pilsner home. Just last night, I’d run breathlessly from across the road behind Chief Al, stuffed to the gills with sushi. Now I’d again found myself short of breath going up the steep wooden stairs to the door—but for a very different reason. As I may have mentioned, I’d gotten in great shape at Get Thinner’s that winter. The climb wasn’t what bothered me.

I supposed what did was just returning to the place so soon. When I’d parked the Versa out front, everything I’d seen inside had flashed through my mind. Gail’s body in the entry hall, the ransacked veterinary offices … everything. I don’t know how to describe the way I felt. Not exactly. I can only repeat that the sheer force of those images knocked the wind right out of me. And add that I was almost gasping for air as I reached the hilltop and rang the bell.

Naturally Vaughn Pilsner answered the door before I could pull myself together.

A tall, rail-thin man with a light natural tan offset by a mane of white, wavy hair, he smiled at me from the entryway, wearing perfectly pressed jeans and a pale blue oxford shirt that matched the color of his eyes. Pushed behind his ears, that snow-white hair fell at least three inches below his collar and instantly caught my attention. So did the fact that he was barefoot, though I couldn’t have explained why … and yeah, I know I’m a newspaper columnist, a basic requirement of which is that I be able to express myself with words. But when I’m at a loss, I’m at a loss.

“Sky?” Vaughn said in a quiet voice, offering his hand.

“Not to be confused with Bry,” Bryan said from beside me. “That’s my name tag. Making us ‘Sky and Bry’ when we’re together.”

Vaughn’s smile grew larger as he shifted his attention to Bryan. I might have cringed otherwise. But he seemed slightly removed without being aloof, and the result was an air of calmness about him.

“I heard you’ve done a wonderful job with Gail’s kennels,” he said. “Come on in. It’s chilly out here. We can chat in the sunroom.”

So much for Vaughn having a problem with Bry’s hard-core bodywork. As he led us through the foyer, in fact, he carried himself with such ease that my cringefulness was almost dispelled.

But when my eyes landed on the still-broken mahogany rail along the staircase … well, so much for not cringing.

“I truly apologize.”

I looked up at Vaughn.

“For what?” I said.

“You were here the night of the attack. Right after they found Gail.”

I shook my head. “It’s all right.”

“No. No, it isn’t.

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