Part 15 (2/2)
”I left her home. She's worn out from yesterday.”
”Do you kennel her when she's home alone?”
”Not anymore. She's too lazy to rummage around in stuff she shouldn't.”
”But you used to kennel her?”
”Sure,” I replied, puzzled at why Betty was asking so many questions. ”Some dogs actually like their kennel. It's comforting. But you have to do it right. You have to train them. You can't make the kennel a place of punishment. Why all the sudden interest in dog care?”
”Can't a body be curious?”
Nah, this was more than curiosity, but for the life of me, I had no idea what it could be. She was probably plotting her next crazy marketing idea.
”So what were you two doing before I arrived?” Betty puckered her lips and made kissing sounds.
She couldn't have been further from the truth. ”We were talking about Gia. She and Zippy were hiding behind the cat tent. She was acting very secretive as she poured something from her purple water bottle into Zippy's special bowl.”
”What?”
I shook my head. My earlier excitement returned at the possibility of catching Gia cheating. ”I'm not sure. It's possible she's doping Zippy like Lenny said. Grey and I were brainstorming a way to get the water bottle so we could take it to Daniel.”
”I never liked her. What's the plan?”
”But what about our merchandise?” Now I sounded like my sales-crazed a.s.sistant. Seriously, why did I even bother setting up the booth if we weren't going to be there?
Betty looked torn. ”How 'bout we give ourselves fifteen minutes? If we don't find her, we come back and make some money.”
I looked over at the grove of trees. Grey was gone. My heart hurt knowing he didn't seem to find it necessary to include me on his comings and goings.
My biggest reason to stay put had simply vanished.
I grabbed Betty's arm, not willing to let her disappear too. ”Fifteen minutes. Let's go.”
Chapter Eighteen.
GIA WAS GONE.
It wasn't surprising. She couldn't hide behind the tent forever. I was self-aware enough to admit I was jumping to conclusions about her juicing Zippy. For all I knew, it really was her vitamin water like she'd claimed. But my gut told me Gia had a secret, just like everyone else.
”Thirty minutes until the first heat in the heavyweight race. All compet.i.tors report to the waiting area.” Hagan's distorted voice thundered over the PA system.
”Do you want to keep looking for Gia?” Betty stopped under a eucalyptus tree off the pathway to pull up her socks.
”What's with the rainbow-colored socks?”
She looked up. ”I don't judge your boots.”
”Point taken. Yes, I want to keep looking for Gia.”
She stood and rested a hand on her narrow hip. With a mischievous smile she said, ”Let's look for Stephanie too.”
I know what you're thinking. We'd promised to let the police handle it. But the police were a no-show at this point, and Betty's gun was still missing. ”If we find her, we call Malone directly.”
”Let's grab a corn dog, first. I haven't eaten lunch.” Betty patted her stomach.
What could I say? I had been in that exact position thirty minutes earlier. We circled back toward the food area.
”No chili truck,” I insisted. ”And I'll pay. The last thing we need is for you to start a riot showing off a purse full of money.”
Betty grinned. ”I won't turn down free food.”
Just one more thing we had in common. The more time I spent with Betty, the more convinced I was that she was what I'd be like in fifty years.
I'd hoped we'd stumble upon either Grey or Darby at some point, but we hadn't laid eyes on either of them. I kept watch for the enigmatic filmmaker since this was where Betty had last seen her.
The gray clouds had disappeared, and the sun warmed my back as we followed the well-worn pathway toward the food area. I recognized a number of clients, which wasn't unusual at an event like this. I enjoyed seeing their smiling faces. Betty and I were a few yards from the food area when loud shrieks and excited barking resonated throughout the park.
We looked at each other. With a nod, we agreed to check out what was going on. We followed the wave of people rus.h.i.+ng toward the arguing voices.
”Hey, there's Luis.” Betty waved in his direction.
He held his doxie, Barney, in his arms, their attention locked on whatever was occurring inside the human circle. Suddenly, a recognizable female screech rose above the whispers of the crowd.
”Gia,” Betty and I exclaimed in unison.
We elbowed our way in between Luis and a ginger-haired man who hid his wind-battered face behind a pair of thick, black-rimmed gla.s.ses.
”I love a good fight,” the man said. The sides of his mouth curved upward, deepening his tanned wrinkles.
If crowd size was an indication, he wasn't the only one eager to witness a good scuffle.
”Luis, what's going on?” I asked.
He smiled sheepishly, finally noticing Betty and me. ”Some lady picked a fight with Mrs. Eriksen.”
The ”lady” was Fallon Keller. They faced off, surrounded by a ring of drama-thirsty onlookers waiting for one of the women to throw the first punch. I had a flashback to middle school playground fights. This would not end well.
”I said, leave. You're in violation of the restraining order,” Gia demanded. Her face screamed she was willing to wage a battle between good and evil. Terrifyingly enough, I couldn't tell which side she was defending.
”That's ridiculous. There's no such thing.” Fallon thrust her picket sign between herself and Gia.
Zippy barked as he lurched for Fallon. He wasn't threatening. He acted like Missy when she rushes toward me after she hasn't seen me for a while. I found his reaction to her curious.
”Stay,” Gia commanded. She slung her large handbag on her shoulder. In an attempt to keep her energetic pooch close, she wrapped the leather leash around her free hand. ”Yes, there is. Our attorney filed it the same day we sued you for hara.s.sment. You've followed us from race to race for two years. You're obsessed with us.”
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