The Girl With The Dachshund Tattoo Part 19

"Of course she does," Betty answered. "Cookie, I've got to use the little girls' room. You two still gonna be here when I get back?"

"I'm not the one who keeps vanishing."

"And you're not the one I want waiting for me. I'll be right back, sugar buns." Betty blew her newest crush a kiss. She floated toward the port-a-potties, giggling.

MacAvoy blanched. "Are you two related?"

"No," I said with a laugh. "Let's just say she adopted me. So, why do you want to know if I'm marrying Grey?"

"It's none of my business."

I raised my brow. "Agreed. But that didn't stop you from asking. Look, I can read people pretty well. You think you know something, so get it off your chest. If you haven't put two and two together yet, I'm rather direct. I may not like what you have to say, but I'd rather hear the truth than a lie."

He tucked his notebook inside his jacket. "Do you trust him?"

"With my life," I replied with conviction.

He nodded a couple of times. "Remember what I said about Hagan, that if you get in his way he'll do whatever it takes to get rid of you?"

"Yes."

He pushed back his blazer and shoved his hands in his pockets. On a heavy sigh he said, "I've seen your fiance and Hagan confiding in each other on more than one occasion. Whatever it is they're talking about is very secretive. Don't let Hagan's suave persona suck you in. He's a skilled gamesman. Whatever house of cards Hagan has conned him into, your fiance is undoubtedly in over his head."

His concern took me aback. I blew my bangs out of my eyes and searched for a way to explain Grey without explaining Grey. "Um, I appreciate your concern. But you don't need to worry about Grey. He's been known to outfox a schemer or two."

He gave me a half shrug, obviously unconvinced. "Suit yourself. But when you're bailing that guy out of jail, just remember I tried to warn you."

A half smile tugged on corner of my mouth. Most likely it would be the other way around-Grey would have to bail me out of jail.

MacAvoy strutted off to secure his own one-on-one with Malone. My smile slipped, and I sighed heavyhearted. Grey wasn't at the race because of me. He was on a case. Possibly one that involved Hagan Stone and an illegal gambling ring. My heart sank.

When had he started to keep secrets again?

Chapter Twenty-One.

"YOU RAN OFF ALL the men, Cookie." Betty sauntered up next to me. She'd reapplied her lip gloss and had drawn on cherry red eyebrows. Maybe one day she'd divulge why she preferred lipstick to an eyebrow pencil.

I pushed away the feelings of betrayal and anger toward Grey, and focused on what Malone had asked me to do.

I smoothed my hair back from my face and forced myself to grin at Betty. "We have an errand to run for Malone. He wants us to find Zippy."

She rubbed her hands together. "Well, we can't let Detective Hottie down. Let's go."

I wrapped my arm around her and gave her a quick hug. "First, let's get you a corn dog. You can eat it while we walk."

We followed the smell of fried calories toward the corn dog truck, aptly named The Dog House. The side of the truck was designed to resemble a popular comic strip's dog house. We'd lucked out; the wait was short. As we stood in line, my stomach growled. I know, I'd just eaten a meatball sandwich. In my defense, Grey had only brought me half a hoagie.

Since we were already there, I bought a corn dog for myself too. I slathered mine with mustard. Betty dribbled two lines of ketchup on her fried masterpiece.

We polished off our dogs as we headed to the racetrack by way of cutting through the vendor area. Betty insisted we check on our booth, which we'd left unattended for far too long. I couldn't deny she had a good idea.

No surprise, there wasn't a single customer at our booth. Quinn, the owner of the Wag and Treats bakery, had pitched a vendor tent across from ours. She said she'd been watching our merchandise in our absence. I thanked her profusely with a promise to make it up to her.

Betty found a note Darby had taped to the display of dog treats, an invitation to watch the races with her at the starting gate. Betty jumped on the offer, ready to leave immediately. I quickly reminded her we needed to find Zippy first and take him to Daniel.

Truth be told, I'd been relying on Luis to catch Zippy, and once he had, that he'd maintain possession of the dog until someone came for him. A rather brazen a.s.sumption on my part, but if you knew Luis, my supposition wasn't that inconceivable.

We found Luis within minutes. He and Barney anxiously paced in the waiting area with other racers and owners. The racetrack and waiting pen were the only areas where dogs were allowed off their leashes, and the dogs were taking full advantage of the situation.

I didn't see Zippy. Darn. I might have overestimated Luis and his ability to catch a champion wiener racer. Besides Barney, there were two smooth-haired doxies, one black and white, the other one red. Then there was my personal favorite, a long-haired chocolate-and-tan dappled beauty. She was adorable and very friendly. She raced up to Betty and me as we squeezed through the gate.

"Hi, Luis." I bent down to greet the congenial pup. "And who are you, cutie pie?"

"Hi, Mel. Betty," Luis greeted from the far side of the fenced-in area.

"That's Chloe," her owner, a tall, warrior-princess looking woman answered. She smoothed her sleek ponytail. "Careful, she likes to nip."

Hearing her name, Chloe eagerly nosed my hand demanding my attention. I rubbed the pooch's deep chest. "She's a sweetie."

Betty stepped to the side and called Barney over. She loved him up. Nose to nose, she whispered doggie-sweet-nothings. In return, he licked her cheek repeatedly. Had her purse not been full of money, I'm sure she'd have pulled out a handful of Bowser treats for all the dogs.

I straightened and carefully backed away from the dogs that ran circles around my feet. "Did you catch Zippy, Luis?"

"Sure did." I caught a flicker of pride in his dark eyes. "Took him to the veterinarian tent. I thought he should be checked out. You know, in case he was injured in the fight."

I smiled. "You're a good man."

He looked down, but not before I glimpsed the pink tint spreading across his cheeks. He cleared his throat. "Who won the fight?"

Betty snorted. "Detective Hottie broke up the brawl. Before he showed up, I'd call Gia the winner, hands down."

Luis nodded thoughtfully. "I could see that."

"What time is the race supposed to start?" Betty stood and patted her handbag.

I narrowed my eyes and nodded at her purse, silently communicating she needed to cease the betting references. She shrugged as if she had no idea what I meant.

"The first heat has been postponed. Again. At this rate, we'll never run that last race," Luis muttered.

Affable Luis was actually a little pessimistic. I wasn't sure why that realization tickled me, but it did.

"Trust me, the show will go on." I patted him on the back.

"Yeah, what else could go wrong?" Betty said.

That lame comment was just an invitation for catastrophe.

While Betty and Luis chatted and shared strategy tips, I observed the other compet.i.tors as they ran through their paces. I recognized the side-glances, the silent sizing-up of the other racers, and the occasional condescending backhanded compliments meant to chip away at someone's confidence. The similarity wasn't lost on me-whether a beauty pageant or a wiener race, the need to win pulsed through every true compet.i.tor.

I didn't miss the mind games and subterfuge.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Darby taking candid photos near the track. I waved until she saw me. She waved back and pointed toward the starting gates. I guess we were supposed to meet her there.

"Great. Look who's coming," grumbled one of the female doxie owners. She pointed behind us.

We all turned and watched Lenny and Pickles chase Hagan toward us. I wasn't sure if she was unhappy about the arrival of Lenny or Hagan. I looked forward to chatting with each of them. I had a few questions pertaining to their respective relationship with the Eriksens.

"Don't ignore me," Lenny shouted at Hagan's back.

Lenny no longer looked as refreshed as he had this morning. He looked rumpled and dirty. The bottom of his shirt was torn, and there was a black smudge of what I suspected could be grease on the leg of his shorts.

Hagan, who was definitely ignoring Lenny, tromped toward us with long strides. He stopped at the gate and announced, "I'm here to inform all of you the race will start in fifteen minutes."

Betty and Luis high-fived; the other owners cheered.

"You got Barney's chicken?" Betty elbowed Luis. He grinned, patting the f.a.n.n.y pack.

"Game on, Chloe." Xena The Princess Warrior picked up her pooch and kissed her soft head.

Lenny marched up behind Hagan. He grabbed him with a brawny hand and yanked him around. "You have to disqualify the witch." He poked him in the chest with his beefy finger. "I told ya she was cheatin'. You should have listened to me."

Hagan straightened his narrow shoulders, then stared down his beakish nose into Lenny's angry face. "I beg your pardon." His Cary Grant accent was extra thick, magnifying his indignation.

"Beg all you want, but you can't have it. I was right. You have to kick Gia Eriksen and her dog out of the race." Lenny cracked his knuckles.

Hagan held his hands out, palms up. "I don't have proof of any misdeed."

He didn't seem particularly upset about that either. I had to admit, with my newfound information I looked at Hagan in a new way. What I once found as awkwardly endearing facial features now looked somewhat creepy and sinister.

Lenny's face turned brick red. "Yes, you do. You don't want to admit it." He jabbed a finger in my direction. "Tell him, Melinda."

Great, why was I being dragged into his fight?

I walked over to where Lenny stood, keeping the fence between us for good measure. "How do you know about that? We didn't tell anyone." And I highly doubted Daniel or Malone had informed him.

His red-rimmed eyes stared at me unapologetically. "I saw the police bring Gia's water bottle to the veterinarian tent. Pickles and I stood by the door and listened."

I leaned forward catching a whiff of his minty fresh breath. Was the guy drinking mouthwash? Maybe he was attempting to mask an alcohol smell with mouthwash.

"You eavesdropped?" Betty asked, appalled.

I kept my mouth shut. You already know where I stand on that topic.

He snarled. "d.a.m.n straight I did. I wasn't about to let evidence get swept under the rug this time."

This time? As in, there had been evidence of cheating in the past? Fallon had mentioned Lenny had argued with a judge last year. Could it have been about cheating? A year was a long time to carry a grudge.

I looked at Hagan. His face was emotionless, but his fixed eyes a.s.sessed the situation. Probably calculating a way out.

"I heard the cop tell the doc that Melinda had seen Gia give whatever was inside the water bottle to Zippy." Lenny's face contorted into a hardened mask of scorn. "You have to act Hagan. You have to disqualify Zippy from the race."

The sun disappeared behind a dark billowy cloud. I rubbed my arm, feeling suddenly chilled. An eerie quiet settled around us as we all waited to hear what Hagan Stone would decide.

One way or the other, someone was bound to end up very unhappy.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

HAGAN RECOVERED quickly. His face softened, and his eyebrows drew together in concern. "Is it true, Melinda? Do you have proof Gia Eriksen was cheating?"

I couldn't figure this guy out. Was he mad or concerned? "I did. I gave the water bottle to Detective Malone. I believe Dr. Darling has it now."

He formed a steeple with his fingers and rested them against his lips. With all eyes on Hagan and Lenny, no one noticed Gia waltz up to the gate, Zippy in tow, until she opened her mouth and whined. "Are you talking about me, Lenny?"

I blinked a few times. This was the first time I'd seen her up close since the fight. Gia's face was battered and bruised. She'd managed to pull her black hair into a messy ponytail. Her designer clothes were grimy; her torn collar hung on by a handful of st.i.tches. Gia's swollen lips pouted her displeasure at our horrified stares.

"What the h.e.l.l happened to you?" Lenny bellowed.

"She got into a girl fight with her dead husband's mistress. But don't you worry. Gia kicked her b.u.t.t. That is, until the cops arrived and broke it up." Betty beamed with admiration.

Good grief, next she'd ask for her autograph. I was concerned that Gia might need medical treatment. "Did you have someone at the first aid station look you over? Make sure you're okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she snapped.

She obviously hadn't looked in a mirror recently.

Lenny narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "You were caught fighting by the cops, cheating by the doc, and Hagan refuses to disqualify you. Are you two sleeping together?" His accusatory tone reverberated throughout the park. "What other explanation could there be?"

All eyes were glued on Gia and Hagan. Heck, I've learned over the past few years, anything was possible. I felt a little remiss that I hadn't thought of that possibility myself.

"That's enough." Hagan sounded very un-Cary-Grant-like.

Gia waved her hand in front of her as if to dismiss all of the overwhelming evidence of her misdeeds and any possibility of her fornicating with the Chairman of the Board.

"This is all the filmmaker's fault. She obviously wasn't a professional. She believed Lenny and has managed to somehow turn everyone against me."

I shook my head. This was suddenly Stephanie's fault? I wasn't following her logic. Maybe she had a head injury.