Jenny Jane, I noticed, had wandered over to the house and was peeping in the front windows.
“I think it was the wind in the trees,” I said, lying through my teeth. “While you’re here, Doc, do you know what happened to Virgil Keane’s dog, Louella? Someone mentioned her fondly the other day and it got me to wondering.”
“Fondly?” he repeated, looking stricken by the idea.
Okay, fondly had been a stretch, but I hadn’t wanted to insult Virgil.
“Ugh,” Idella groaned. “That little dog was a menace. Gabriel put her down. Good riddance!”
Visible beneath his beard, color flared in Doc’s cheeks as he glanced at his wife.
Virgil moaned again, this time in anger as he floated straight over to Idella and wagged a finger in her face.
She paled. “What is that noise?”
I latched onto my locket and said to Dr. Gabriel, “You put Louella down?”
“Of course he did,” Idella said as though I was an imbecile. Tsk. “She was unadoptable, the vicious little thing.”
Virgil’s angry brown eyes narrowed to slits.
Have mercy on my soul. I wasn’t sure what would happen if she kept insulting his beloved pet.
Fortunately for all of us, Doc said, “Actually, I didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” his wife asked him.
“Put her down.” He shifted in his leather seat. “I couldn’t. She was perfectly healthy. Contrary to popular belief,” he said loudly to his wife, “I can and often do make decisions on my own.”
Virgil slumped in relief.
I nearly gasped, as I’d never once heard Doc raise his voice—and especially not to Idella. She pursed her lips. I had the feeling Doc Gabriel would be hearing about her outrage later.
“Where is she?” I asked.
“At my clinic,” he said. “Idella’s right. Louella’s unadoptable. She doesn’t tolerate many being near her, people or dogs, and she does bite. She has her own stall in the kennel and is perfectly happy living in solitude.”
This warranted another groan out of Virgil.
Idella looked around. “Is it the fountain, you think?”
I ignored her and focused on her husband. “Do you think I could see Louella?”
Once Virgil could see that Louella was just fine, he could be on his ghostly way into the light.
“Are you thinking of adopting her?” Dr. Gabriel asked with a tone of disbelief.
Virgil stared at me and crossed his arms, tapped his foot, and nodded his head.
Oh geez. By his stubborn look I knew he wasn’t going to go anywhere until he knew she’d found a good home.
“Yes,” I said meekly. What in the world was I going to do with a dog? Roly and Poly were never going to forgive me.
I was never going to forgive myself.
That was the meanest little dog I ever did meet.
Doc’s eyes were wide with disbelief as he checked his watch. “Do you want to go now?”
“No,” Idella snapped. “Not now. We have lunch plans, if you recall. Tomorrow is soon enough, during regular office hours.” Tsk.
How Doc could stand that vocal tic was beyond me.
“Tomorrow is great,” I blurted. That gave me some time to figure a way to get out of adopting Louella.
“Fine,” Doc said. “It’s settled then. Eight tomorrow?”
“Eight it is.”
Twenty hours. I had twenty short hours to find that dog a home.
Doc cleared his throat. “Has there been any word from Dylan about Haywood’s murder?”
Idella shot him a look, but he kept watching me.
I debated what to tell him, considering that his wife would likely become a suspect soon. I opted for the truth, to rattle her cage a bit. “Actually, some evidence was found that indicated why Haywood might have been killed.”
Neither so much as blinked.
“Evidence that will prove Patricia’s innocence?” Idella asked.
“Perhaps,” I said, gripping my handlebars. “Perhaps not.”
“What does that mean?” Dr. Gabriel asked.
“It’s likely that Haywood was killed because he was the mysterious heir to the Ezekiel house,” I said, watching them closely.
Idella’s mouth parted in shock, and Dr. Gabriel’s eyes went round. “The heir?” he repeated.
“The heir,” I confirmed. “It was probably going to be his big announcement last night.”
They looked truly flabbergasted, but they may have been good actors, so I let down my guard for a moment to feel their energy.
Pure surprise.
Sometimes being empathic came in handy.
They definitely hadn’t known Haywood’s secret, but I couldn’t help but rattle Idella’s cage just a little bit harder. “I’m sure the sheriff will be around to talk with you soon, Idella.”
“Why’s that?” she retorted. Tsk.
Trying not to take too much pleasure in the moment, I said, “Isn’t it obvious? All the Harpies are now suspects in Haywood’s death.”
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