Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates (distant reading .txt) 📗

a rueful shrug, and she dug in her bag for a ten-dollar bill, which she passed to him.

“Thank you for your time, Mrs. Lewiston,” Watson said. “If I need anything further, I’ll be in touch.”

“I’ll be here,” she said. “Until I can take my husband home.”

Ricky lifted the lid off a chafing dish, and the delicious scent of perfectly done bacon and hot buttered toast drifted through the room. “Once I’ve had breakfast, Mom,” he said, “I need to take the car and try to find where I left my jacket last night.”

“I’d like to see this jacket,” Watson said. “When you find it.”

“Surely you can buy another one?” Evangeline said.

“Yeah, but it had my things in it. I seem to have misplaced my phone and my wallet.”

My mother and I followed the police into the hallway, and Butch shut the door behind us.

“Looks like you have two mysteries to solve, Detective,” I said. “Not only who killed Rich, but why he was here in the first place.”

“Once I find the answer to one question, I’ll have the answer to the other. You know these people well, Mrs. Richardson. Is what they said about Rich Lewiston’s habits correct?”

“Oh, yes,” Mom said. “A more regimented man I never have met, and I gather from my husband that Rich is getting more so as the years pass. I’ve often thought the reason they only have one child is Evangeline couldn’t find the opportunity to arrange a second appointment with her husband.”

I choked. Butch’s eyebrows rose.

Watson cleared his throat. “I need to talk to your husband about his law partner. Is he still at the O’Malleys’?”

“Yes,” Mom said. “He’s expecting you. He’ll be going home later this afternoon.” She looked at me. “I’ll be staying for a while, dear. Evangeline’s not always as stoic as she appears, and she has no one else to call upon. She has a younger sister, but they are not close. She told me yesterday her parents are traveling in Europe at the moment.”

The elevator pinged, and a woman stepped out and headed our way. She was dressed in a neat but cheap baggy gray suit with the hotel’s logo discreetly embroidered over the breast pocket. She smiled politely to us as she passed and knocked firmly on Evangeline’s door.

Watson made no move to walk away, and so neither did I.

The door opened, and Evangeline peered out. “Yes?”

“I’m very sorry, ma’am, but we’ve had complaints about your dog barking.”

“My dog does not bark. The sound must have been coming from another room.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I heard him myself a few minutes ago. The noise is very intrusive.”

“Her.”

“What?”

“Fluffy is a her. A girl dog.”

“I don’t know that the animal’s gender matters.”

At that moment Fluffy lunged for the hotel employee and broke into a chorus of high-pitched barking. She bared a row of small teeth, and the woman took a quick step backward. “Please, ma’am. You’ll have to make other arrangements for your dog.”

“That’s preposterous. I’m paying good money to stay in this hotel.”

Chuckling, Watson walked away, followed by Butch. I bent over and scooped Fluffy up.

“Thank you, Lucy,” Evangeline said. “See, she’s under control.”

“Madam, please. The dog cannot stay.”

“How tedious is this?” Evangeline turned her head and spoke into the room. “Ricky, take care of this, will you, my darling?”

“I don’t have any money on me at the moment, Mom, as I seem to have lost my wallet, and I don’t think a bribe will work in this case anyway.”

Evangeline bit back a bad word and turned to face the woman. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m sorry. So sorry. I’m dreadfully upset, you see, and my dear little Fluffy is only reacting to my emotions. She’s so very sensitive that way. I’ve been given the most horrid news imaginable. I’m sure you saw the police officers who just left. They were here to break the news to me of my husband’s sudden death.” A tear drifted ever so slowly down her cheek.

“My condolences. But the dog cannot stay. Unless you have a muzzle to put on it.”

Evangeline recoiled. “That’s positively barbaric. In any other circumstances, I’d check out immediately, but …” Her eyes settled on me. Fluffy had stopped struggling and was clearly enjoying the nice back rub I was giving her.

“Very well,” Evangeline said with a martyred sigh. “If you insist. Suzanne, dearest, you’ll look after Fluffy for me.”

My mother started. “Me? Oh no, you’re not unloading your dog on me.”

“Aunt Ellen’s allergic to dogs,” I said. “She can’t have one in the house.”

“That’s true,” Mom said. “I always wanted a dog when we were children, but Ellen suffered too much.”

Evangeline turned her smile on me. “Will you look at that? How sweet. She seems to like you, Lucy. I know she’ll be comfortable with you.”

“I can’t take her,” I protested. “I live in an apartment that’s smaller than this hotel room.”

“Won’t be for long. Thank you so much, dear. I’ll send you a text with feeding instructions.”

The door shut in our faces.

The hotel employee grinned at me. “Have a nice day.” She walked away.

I stroked Fluffy. “What does this mean?” I asked my mom.

“It means you have temporary guardianship of a small and excessively annoying dog.” She rapped on the door. “Evangeline, I need my purse.”

“Just a minute,” came the voice from behind the door. I put my ear against it and heard Ricky and his mother talking, trying to keep their voices low. Eventually the door opened and Ricky slipped through. He carried Mom’s purse over one shoulder, a pink leash over the other, a plastic bag containing cans and a bag of what was probably dog food in his left hand, and a hastily made bacon-and-egg sandwich and a cup of coffee in his right.

The door slammed shut behind Ricky.

“Mom needs the car,” he said. “She has to go shopping.”

“Shopping?” I said. “Now?”

“Unlike the queen,” Mom said, “Evangeline doesn’t travel with a full set of mourning attire in case it’s unexpectedly needed.”

“Right,” Ricky