Fashion Faux Paw (10 page)

The two women left, walking side by side. Kitty was so petite she didn’t even come up to Viv’s shoulder, but they looked like a team. Ellie heaved a sigh. “That takes care of that,” she told Rudy. “Once Kitty gets busy, she won’t have time to pester me, and Rob will get Keller Williams to help Jeffery. This event will be over in a couple more days. Then we’re out of here.”

Rudy jumped on the chair next to her.
“Can I get a word in edgewise, please?”

“Not if it’s a lawyer joke.”

“Nah, not one of those. It’s just that Kitty’s a nice girl, and Jeffery seemed like an okay human, too.”

She ruffled his ears. “I agree. And Mr. Williams is a professional. He’ll do right by them.”

“So you’re not curious?”

“Curious?”

He cocked his head and broke out in a doggie grin.

“Oh, no. Nuh-uh. Do not even think about getting me involved. I don’t have the time, and neither do you.”

He put both paws on her chest and gave her cheek a sloppy lick.
“Aw, come on. This one isn’t like the others. There’s no poison, no scissors, no gun, not even a handheld battery charger. The victim was killed by a peanut. Detective Demento can’t say we’d be in danger from a peanut.”

“But Sam would complain about me sticking my nose in police business. After our adventure in the Hamptons, he asked me to control my urge to snoop, and I told him I would try.”

His next lick hit her chin.
“You said ‘try,’ and that’s the magic word. You’re tryin’ now, and I’m encouraging. It’s not your fault. It’s mine.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that will fly with Sam.” She glanced at her gift basket, sitting on the edge of the snack table. “But I would like to know how the killer did it. And since it seemed so important to Detective Vaughn . . .” She grabbed the bag and started digging, placing each item on the chair next to her. “I know this bag is mine, not Lilah’s, but maybe something will give me a clue.”

She raised the scarf to her nose and sniffed. “No scent here.” She pulled out a pair of red suede gloves and held them to her nose. “Hmm, nothing smells as good as real leather.” She peeked at the designer label. “And they’re outrageously expensive. Lucky for me Viv already has two pair, or she’d snap them up.”

Rudy nosed each item after she did.
“I’m double-checkin’. You humans don’t have the same sniffin’ power we do.”
Then he reared his head.
“But I’m confused.
Why are we smellin’ your stuff, when it was that designer’s bag that held the peanut juice?”

Ellie shrugged. “I guess it’s a dumb idea. Lilah and I compared baskets, so I was hoping something she had could have rubbed off on my stuff.” She passed him a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, a tan clutch from Tod’s, a three-pack of Tom Ford lipsticks that normally rang up at forty-five dollars a tube. Then came a real prize: Viv’s mustard-colored hobo bag from Bottega Veneta.

Now at the bottom of the basket, she pulled out her package of Forever, and held the thin strips of a scent titled Spring. After again smelling a page, she pulled off a strip and stuck it under her pale blue sweater between her breasts.

Then she held the packet up to Rudy. “Take a whiff of this and tell me what you think.”

He cranked out a huge canine sniff and sneezed, smattering her with dog spit. “Thanks a lot,” she muttered, brushing off the droplets. “Do you think a peanut scent could be hidden in something like this?”

“Maybe yes, maybe no. You did say Lilah’s perfume was stronger than yours.”

She recalled sitting next to Lilah as Lilah secured her own strip of perfume entitled Summer. Her scent had notes of lavender and verbena, too overpowering for Ellie’s taste. Finally, it all made sense.

“Duh! I just figured it out. I bet the killer somehow soaked Lilah’s strips in peanut oil. She couldn’t smell it, so she put a strip on, and bingo—ten minutes later she had the attack. If she’d waited until she was home to use a strip, there wouldn’t have been a thing she could do, even if she reached her empty EpiPen.”

Rudy took another strip sniff.
“Hmm, that might fly, but it’s a sneaky thing to do. The killer had to plan it all out and not get caught messin’ with those strips or her pen thingy.”
He sneezed again. “
Would the strip have to be soaked in oil, or would a single drop do?”

“That’s a good question.” She began loading the goodies into her bag “I’ll see what I can find out tonight on the Internet.”

“I did tell you these people were crazy, didn’t I?” said Viv later that afternoon, when she took a seat next to Ellie on one of the chairs.

Ellie cracked a smile. “Yes, you did. So what happened to reinforce your decision?”

Viv crossed her long legs. “First off, Kitty’s models. They’re two of the most self-absorbed women I’ve ever met. That Cassandra person? All she could talk about was her dog. The one that died.” She sneaked a peak around Ellie and stared at the sleeping Greyhound. “I assume that’s Ranger, the pet that’s got her so worried?”

“Do you see another three-foot-tall canine here? Yes, that’s him, and he’s a sweetheart. Quiet, easy to get along with, a real peaceful guy. Trouble is, Cassandra signed a contract and in it she promised she’d bring a small dog to this event. Something Ranger clearly isn’t.”

“She’s looking for a way to convince Nola Morgan Design that her boy can do the job, but now that Jeffery King is in jail, I’m not sure who she’ll talk to.” Viv stretched her arms over her head. “Then, when Yasmine didn’t show to try on the jumpsuit because she was on the runway with another designer, Kitty talked me into being her model. I said yes, thinking she’d take me into one of the changing rooms, but did she?” Viv shook her head so hard her fall of straight and shiny mink brown hair hid her face. “No-ooo. She had me strip right there in front of everybody.”

Ellie laughed out loud. She’d watched the behind-the-scenes action for two days now. Models ignored whoever was around and seemed to have no problem standing nearly naked for the entire event. “Oh, Lord, why didn’t you call me? I’d have given a thousand dollars to see the look on your face.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t so bad once we got started. But it’s a good thing I wore a matching bra and panties, because Kitty stripped off my Donna Karan suit before I could say a word. People walked by and stared as if I was made out of plastic. Then some short bald guy wearing a weird pair of shoes stopped and watched the rest of the fitting. He even took out a notebook and scribbled something before he sauntered away.”

“Who was it?”

“I have no idea.” Viv sniffed. “And apparently, they expect all the tall models to be the same size. I’m a four, but I’m not stick thin, so Kitty had to let out the bust, but the rest of it was okay. It gave her one less thing to worry about. Both of the day wear items are finished, and I left her fitting a whining Cassandra into her evening wear.”

Ellie could have sat and people-watched with her best friend for the rest of the afternoon, but she knew it was getting late. “Don’t you have to be somewhere right now?”

Viv looked at her watch and jumped to her feet. “Yikes! I have thirty minutes to prepare for my five o’clock. I gotta run.”

“And I have to take the dogs out, so I’ll follow you. The second showing will start soon.” Ellie took half the group, with Rudy in the lead, and went to the rear door. “Will I see you tonight?”

“I don’t think so. It’s a dinner meeting, and those can drag on and on. At least we’re going to a trendy new place. I’ll let you know how it is, and we can talk Dave and Sam into taking us out one night next week.”

Ellie waved a good-bye, then, standing on the grass, let her charges sniff and explore. The day had been eventful, and she hadn’t paid them as much attention as she should.

“Earth to Ellie,”
came a voice from below.

She locked eyes with her boy. “Yes?”

“I got a bad feelin’ about all this. If Jeffery didn’t kill Lilah, who did? And why?”

“I don’t know who, but the why is fairly obvious. Lilah was rude and pushy, and she was a thief. She must have offended someone so badly they wanted her dead.” She rubbed her nose while she thought. “The part that I’m really curious about is how someone did it. If the peanut oil was on Lilah’s perfume strips, well, that was genius. Imagine finding a way to get hold of those strips, put on the oil, and get the strips back in her gift bag without anyone noticing. I can see why the cops think it’s Jeffery. He was the one in charge of the bags, and he had a motive.”

“Yeah, but those swag bags were on the table all day. I saw lots of people peeking inside.”

“Really? Do you remember who they were?”

He parked his bottom on the lawn and gazed up at her.
“Marcus David, for one. He said he was a guy and he wanted to make sure there were guy things in his bag, so he dug in there whenever he could, but mostly when you took the dogs out.”

“Who else?”

“That Dominique girl, and that Claire person.”

“I haven’t had much chance to talk to them, but they seem to be as popular as Patti. And I did hear a couple of the other models saying they were happy Lilah was gone. They said—”

“Hey, Ellie. You’re needed in here ASAP.” Patti stuck her head out the door. “The dogs are rioting.”

“Oh, Lord, now what?” She gathered the group. “Stick together, guys. This ought to be good.”

When Ellie returned inside, she saw that Ranger had decided to get in the pen with the Yorkies and the rest of the small dogs. He’d dragged the table from the wall and aimed for their holding area, crowding the circle until the little guys were in a panic. They didn’t want him there, so they were yowling up a storm. It was the first time she’d heard all the voices talking at once.

“Hey, get back on your own side of the fence,”
complained a snooty French bulldog.

“He stepped on me,”
grumped Daisy, the white Chihuahua.

“Get a keeper, ya big bozo,”
said Muffin, the tiniest Yorkie.

Patti held Cheech in her arms. Small, sharp growls and barks rang out, continuing until the Greyhound let out a huge woof that ended with a shout.
“Qui-et!”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Ellie added, surprised the big boy would take such a stand.

Still muttering, the herd piped down, but apparently not in time. Because, in the distance, an officious-looking man dressed in a black-and-white pin-striped suit, wearing a red tie and spats, was headed their way.

“Thanks, I can take it from here,” Ellie told Patti, keeping her eye on the quickly approaching observer. The supermodel passed Cheech to Ellie, while Rudy stood guard at her feet when the fellow neared.

“This racket is absolutely not allowed,” the rotund man pronounced, glaring at her and the milling dogs. His face shined with sweat and his round cheeks and chin needed a shave. “Another outburst like this and you’ll have to put these animals in cages.”

“Who you callin’ an animal?”
demanded Muffin.

“We got a right to our opinion, just like you do,”
said a mini Schnauzer.

“Cage? Who do you think we are?”
asked Daisy.
“Monkeys in the zoo?”

While the rest of the pack continued to complain, Ellie was still trying to figure out who he was. She dropped her gaze and gave the crew a warning glance. She wanted to stay calm and polite, but where in the world did he expect her to come up with that many dog crates? Did he have any authority where she was concerned?

“I’ve got them quieted down now,” she said as she straightened out the pen and put in the last dog. “But I do have to sort out the ones who still need a walk, so if you’ll let me do my job . . .”

“I’m Clark Fettel, the new head of promotions for this contest, and my rules are now in place.” The guy straightened up and stepped closer, as if demanding her cooperation. “We have to talk.”

“Fine by me, Mr. Fiddle, but it’ll take some time. I have work to do. Now if you’ll excuse me.” She opened the clips holding the pen together, hustled the group she’d taken for a walk in, and led the second group out.

“That’s Fettel,” the man called as they left.

Once they got outside, Rudy sniggered.
“Clark Fettel? Is he for real?”

“Sounds like,” said Ellie, letting the dogs take their frustration out on the lawn. She bent and scooped poop twice before things got a bit more under control. “It didn’t take long for Nola Morgan Design to replace Jeffery, did it?”

“Just a couple of hours. And I don’t like that fiddle-faddle guy. He’s gonna be trouble. I feel it in my bones.”

“Could be. He’s not as nice as Jeffery, and doesn’t seem as understanding, either. From the way he acts, I’ll bet he doesn’t even like dogs.”

“I’m with you there.”

“So we have to find a way to placate him until this event is over.”

“You think he could really call off the canine part of this competition?”

“I don’t see how. NMD has promoted the heck out of this show, especially the finale with the dogs dressed to match their owners. I hear there’s going to be special news and television coverage, an interview with some big shot at NMD, the works.” She heaved a sigh. “But even with all that, he could find a way to make our lives miserable.”

“Then I say we let the blowhard blow, yes him to death, and do what we want.”
Rudy snorted, then scratched his back legs over the lawn, throwing up blades of grass and tiny clods of dirt.
“We’re in charge here, not him.”

After gathering the pack, she opened the door. “I’ll do my best to keep him off our case, but you stay quiet. I can’t concentrate when I hear you giving orders in my head.”

Back inside again, she spotted Mr. Fettel, hands in his jacket pockets, pacing the far perimeter as if distancing himself from the dogs. When he locked gazes with Ellie, he acted as if he wanted her to march directly to him.

“Make him work for it, Triple E,”
Rudy advised.