“Good dog,” I whispered when she caught up to us.
“I thought only male dogs lifted their legs to pee,” Charles said rather than remarking on the man’s defensiveness.
“Little dogs do it, too. You know, to put some space between themselves and the ground,” I explained.
“Ah,” was all he said to that.
We walked in silence for a while until we came upon a couple jogging.
Charles tried to flag them down, but they both pointed to their headphones and made to run past us. Surprising me and the joggers, Charles threw himself in their way, forcing them to stop.
“What’s your problem, buddy?” The man loomed over us, ready for a fight.
“I’m just trying to get some information,” Charles said, taking a step back. “We’re looking—”
“Mitch. Yeah, he’s just over there watering his grass,” the man growled, pointing a meaty finger back in the direction from where we’d just come. “That’s who you’re looking for.”
“That’s who you guys are always looking for,” the woman parroted with poorly concealed disgust. “Sue ought to just let up on the poor guy, but you vultures are all the same. As long as your invoices are paid, you keep on keeping on. How does it feel to ruin people’s lives just to cut a paycheck?”
“We’re not lawyers,” I shouted in exasperation. “Well, Charles is, but that’s not why we’re here. We’re looking for the woman that lives in the apartment with all the flamingos. Her name is Lyn Jones.”
Both of them made faces like they’d just smelled something horrible.
“Her?” the guy asked.
“We don’t know her and don’t care to.”
The woman scowled.“Yeah. Why would we? All those lawn ornaments? Yuck. As if this neighborhood wasn’t bad enough.”
They continued to bicker between themselves about new people coming into the neighborhood and messing up the good dynamic they had going.
“Thank you,” I said with a sigh.
If they heard me, they didn’t show it. The couple took off jogging again, leaving Charles and me standing there dumbfounded.
“Care to keep trying?” Charles asked, shaking his head. “Three strikes before we’re out of here?”
“I don’t think I can take another strike right now,” I answered. The last thing I wanted was another panic attack.
He didn’t even question my decision.
Together, we returned to the unit with the pink flamingos to collect Octo-Cat and the car. I tried the door one last time since we were there already.
When my knocks went unanswered, I chewed my lip, then said,“I’m going to try calling her again.”
The phone rang and rang, but only on the other end of the call, not inside the house.
Charles frowned.“Like I said, it’s possible I got the location wrong. After all, Bravo’s instructions were pretty hard to follow.”
“No, this is it.” I wasn’t sure how I knew this was the place, but something deep inside me refused to be deterred. Besides, just how many stick-colored houses were there with pink sentinels standing guard around this place?
“Why don’t we head back to the bed-and-breakfast and get some lunch?” Charles suggested as he opened the car door for me and the animals.
“Finally, UpChuck is good for something,” Octo-Cat meowed as he settled himself into the back seat. “What are the chances we can find some lobst—?”
“No,” I cut him off. “Hey, Charles. Which place had the good fries?” I said, suddenly craving something salty.
“My darling, I thought you’d never ask,” he quipped, and we were off.
13
We parked outside the bed-and-breakfast, planning to go around back and enter our room through the sliding glass door. Charles carried the overstuffed bag of greasy fast food while I held an extra-large soda in each hand.
I’d planned on feeding the pets food we’d brought from home, but Octo-Cat had argued with me unrelentingly until I acquiesced, agreeing to purchase him a fish filet. We grabbed a plain burger for Paisley, too, since it would have been unfair not to treat her as well.
It wasn’t a total defeat on my part, though. I made them both swear up and down they’d eat their pet food the rest of the time we were here.
“C’mon, let’s get to the room before these babies get cold.” Charles preferred that no one eat in his car, so we’d kept the bag sealed tight for the entire drive back, the delicious scents tormenting me the whole way.
A flash of orange caught my eye. At first I thought it was Louis the cat, but then I realized it was Millicent who had been watching us.
“And just where have you two been all morning?” she demanded, wrapping her long, red fingernails around a can of Diet Coke.
“Oh, here and there,” I said with a shrug, then turned away.
But Millicent followed us, her flip-flops slapping against the gravel.“You weren’t up to anything illegal, were you? Why, just last night I had a guest tell me her diamond ring had gone missing.”
I gaped at her.“That was me. My ring went missing.”
She balked, then sputtered as she searched for words.“Well, what did you do with it? Come out with it, then.”
“I tried to tell you all of this last night. Weren’t you listening? I took it off to get some sleep, then when I woke up it was gone.”
She considered this before narrowing her eyes and demanding,“How do I know you’re not trying to frame my establishment just so you can collect the insurance money and get something better?”
“Are you actually serious right now?” I exploded. She was lucky my hands were full, or I’d—Okay, I wouldn’t actually do anything untoward, but sometimes it was nice to pretend that I might.
“C’mon, Angie,” Charles urged, tugging at my elbow and motioning with his chin. “Our lunch is getting cold.”
“But she can’t talk to us like that,” I insisted, returning the cruel woman’s glare. “See, this is why I’m guessing you don’t get many return guests. Personal items go missing, the doors don’t work, and you’re one of the rudest people I’ve ever met!”
“I can’t believeyou would talk tome like that,” Millicent snarled. “I don’t have to let you stay here. In fact, pack your bags and—”
“No,” I said firmly. “I’m not going anywhere until my ring is returned. So if you want to get rid of me, I suggest you find it first. Now good day, Millicent.”
I stormed off with Charles and the animals in silent pursuit.
“Meee-yeow,” Octo-Cat said, then let out a low whistle. “I’ve never been more proud of you, Angela. It seems I have taught you something, after all.”
“Yeah, well. Don’t get used to it,” I said, kicking off my shoes and slumping down onto the bed. My heart was beating like crazy again. I needed to stop getting so keyed up before it sent me to an early grave.
The toilet flushed in our connected bathroom, and I tensed up even more.“Who’s there?” I shouted, still teetering on the edge.
The door burst open, and Sharon stepped out with her hands raised in the air.“Sorry, sorry. That glass door was open, so I let myself in. I wanted to apologize for how we left things yesterday and check to see how you’re feeling today. Did you meet your grandmother? How did it go?”
Charles motioned for Sharon to join us and handed her a large container of fries.
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean to intrude,” Sharon began to argue, batting her eyelashes.
Charles pushed the fries at her again.“It’s okay. I had at least five servings yesterday as part of my search. I’m all fried out.”
She studied him with a furrowed brow.“That’s a bit… odd. What do you mean you—?”
“Thanks for coming by,” I blurted out, drawing her attention back to me. “We went to her house, but nobody was home.”
She frowned.“Oh.”
“Yeah, and she’s still not picking up her phone, so we’re kind of stuck.”
“Oh, boo.” Her features crumpled into an even deeper frown. It was totally at odds with her usual free-spirited style. And so was her current outfit for that matter.