Silence Is Golden (A Pet Psychic Mystery No. 3) (10 page)

A bushy brow rose as he glanced over at me. "Josie Desoto?"

Was it Desoto? Yes, it must be because that was Victoria's last name.
"Yes, you know her?"

"Yeah," he grunted before wrapping the bracelet in tissue paper. Eyeing me with new interest he said, "Real piece of work, that one. How do you know her?"

"Well, kind of a sad story. She came into my boutique. I'm co-owner of Darwin's Pet Boutique on Beach Drive. Anyway, she came in to visit the golden retriever I'm adopting. Her name's Goldie. She belonged to Josie's cousin..." I looked pointedly into his eyes as I said, "Victoria." I wasn't disappointed. His eyes widened and his mood changed instantly. Gone was the laid back shop owner. Something dark and dangerous moved into his gaze.

"Victoria." He repeated, letting his gaze fall. Whether to hide the emotion or just to get it under control, it was too late. I saw it. He definitely had very strong feelings for her. I felt them wash over me in hot waves.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed through his emotions, staying aware they weren't mine and letting them pass. "Such a tragedy, what happened. So, you knew her. Victoria?"

"Yeah." He bagged up the bracelet, no longer meeting my eye. "Eugene, her husband and I have been good friends since high school. Grew up together. She... she was a great gal. How is Goldie doing? Victoria sure loved that dog."

"She seems a little less sad every day." He nodded. I handed him my debit card. "Such a small world. I'm glad Eugene has a friend. Seems like he needs one right now. He doesn't seem to be handling his wife's passing too well."

"No," he frowned and shook his head, "he doesn't." He handed me back my card, the package and a receipt and forced a smile. "Have yourself a nice day, Miss Winters."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Frankie insisted on having an engagement party for Sylvia and Landon and after the busy week we had, I knew Sylvia was ready to let her hair down and have some fun. I talked Frankie into inviting Josie so I could find out more about her relationship with Victoria. I had come to the conclusion that if there was somebody capable of driving drunk and hitting a person, she was a good candidate. I hated to think ill of her, but I couldn't ignore the facts either. Plus she had motive. She inherited her dad's house after Victoria died. And I couldn't ignore the lilac perfume. I owed Frankie a favor now, seeing as how she wasn't too fond of Josie, but she finally agreed.

The elevator doors opened up into Frankie's five-thousand-square-foot penthouse that took up the entire top floor of the Vinoy Towers. "Wow!" I whispered. On a normal day the place was impressive with its expanse of cherry wood floors, marble fireplace, crystal chandeliers and leather furnishing. Not to mention the fact the entire front wall was glass with a view of water and sky. But tonight, she had outdone herself.

 A champagne fountain sat in front of the windows. The furniture had been rearranged to allow for a lighted dance floor with a live D.J. off in the corner. Dozens of enormous white rose bouquets made the place smell like heaven. Black and white paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, providing soft, romantic lighting. It was breathtaking.

"Darwin!" Frankie waved me over from across the room. Her "small" party looked like it already held over fifty people and the guests of honor hadn't even arrived yet. I made my way over to her, smiling and stopping to say howdy to some of the ladies who were regular customers of the pet boutique.

"There you are, sugar." Frankie hugged me, being careful not to disturb her red sequined and feather hat which matched her red sequined and feathered dress. The look would have been tacky on anyone else, but it was classic Frankie and worked for her. "Where's Will?"

"He'll be here later. He's got some things to wrap up before he can come out and play."

"That man works too hard," she said. Then turning to Veronica, she added, teasing me. "Darwin's caught herself a hunky homicide detective."

"That's right. I remember you saying that at the Mound. Detective Blake, right? Not a single gal in St. Pete who doesn't know who he is. You guys found that poor woman's dog after she got killed? I heard it was a possible drunk driver."

 I grabbed a glass of champagne off one of the waiters' trays. "Yeah, that's the most popular theory right now. A drunk driver." I didn't mention Tara Scarpetta being the number one suspect. I had no idea who her friends were and didn't want her tipped off.

"Speaking of Goldie, you didn't bring her tonight?" Frankie asked.

I swallowed a sip of the bubbly and pointed down at my black cocktail dress. "I didn't think fur would compliment my outfit."

"Good point." Frankie grinned and then turned to Veronica. "Oh, hey, tell Darwin what you were saying about what happened at the Indian Mound again."

She pulled on the hem of her short skirt and shook her head. "More vandalism."

 "Guess the ghost dog's not really doing his job guarding the place," Frankie chuckled.

I grinned at Frankie and then thought about all the artifacts at Big Barnie's shop. "I still think it could be someone looking for arrowheads or other things to sell."

Veronica shook her head. "I just don't know. Archeologists have been over the Mound already. It was a temple or burial site. I don't think there's anything of value there. Mostly shell tools were found."

I took a sip of bubbly and thought about that.
But, did they dig deep enough?

Frankie adjusted her diamond bracelets. "Oh, hey, did you get anything on the video from the night we were all there?"

"Nope." She pressed her lips together. "A few strange noises at the time that hot breeze came through, but nothing definitive."

"Must be hard to get real evidence," I said. "Too bad we don't know who the vandals are. If there is a ghost dog guarding the Mound, he'd for sure show himself to them."

Our conversation was interrupted by applause as Sylvia and Landon stepped out of the elevator. Brandon kissed Sylvia's cheek as she laughed and they both gave a playful bow. They looked stunning, their dark features standing out against coordinated outfits.

"She's going to be a beautiful bride," Frankie said.

A waiter brought them champagne and then they made their way through the crowd, shaking hands and getting hugs and congratulations.

"Oh, wait until you get a load of the cake I got." Frankie grinned. "Chocolate mint with
Crème de menthe chocolate mousse and dark chocolate ganache."

I groaned. "You're going to put us all in a sugar coma, Frankie." If I didn't have such a fast metabolism I would have gained fifty pounds between Frankie and Sylvia's love of sweets.

"Death by chocolate and champagne." Veronica giggled. "Now there's a way to go."

The happy couple finally made their way over to us. Sylvia's eyes sparkled through some silky strands all the hugging had knocked loose from her up-do. Landon looked handsome as ever in black slacks and a maroon silk shirt that matched the flowers on Sylvia's black satin dress.

"Congratulations, Landon." I gave him a hug. "You're a lucky guy."

"I know." He grinned. "I still can't believe she said yes."

 Sylvia smacked his arm playfully. "Of course I say yes. And Frankie, thank you so much for this party. You've really outdone yourself. It is
estupendo
," she breathed, giving Frankie a tight hug.

Frankie beamed. "You two deserve it. Now go get yourselves some food and dance your feet off!"

It was almost ten o'clock when Will finally showed up. He looked exhausted. I frowned and immediately led him out on the balcony, away from the raucous of the party.

He slipped his arms around me, and I felt cocooned in warmth that seeped right into my heart.

 Pressing his lips into my hair I heard him take a deep breath. "I missed you."

I tilted my chin up and looked into his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Just been a long day." He laid his palm against my cheek and planted a light kiss on my lips. "The moonlight suits you."

"Don't change the subject," I whispered.

He pressed his forehead against mine, and I could feel his weariness. "Sit down. Let me go get you a plate and a drink." I led him to a chair. "Be right back."

I slipped back into the party and fixed Will a plate piled with things I couldn't even pronounce and grabbed him a cold Corona. When I came back out, he had his head leaned back against the chair and his eyes closed.

"Can't really enjoy the view with your eyes shut," I teased him.

He smiled, then accepted the beer while I set the plate on the table beside him.

"So, is it the Victoria Desoto case that's got you so exhausted?"

He swallowed a swig of beer and nodded. "Tara Scarpetta came in for the interview tonight. Doesn't have an alibi for the evening. Says she was home alone. We've got experts going over her car to see if there's any evidence of recent impact."

"She could have already had it repaired, right?"

"Yeah. We've also got someone working on calling all the repair shops in the area to see if anyone has recently brought in a black car with front end damage."

We sat in silence for a moment, then I said, "Victoria's cousin, Josie Desoto is here. She's a real trip. You might want to have a chat with her. She drinks like a fish and apparently she only inherited her father's house after Victoria died. So, there's motive." I didn't mention the lilac perfume. Will wouldn't consider that evidence.

Will glanced at me and then stared out at the dark water. The sky was full of clouds so only a few stars peeked through. "Yeah. We checked into the victim's will. Seems she left most of her money—apparently old money which she had a lot of—to the Golden Retriever Rescue. Left just enough to her husband for him to survive. Also, just days before her death she changed it to leave Josie Desoto the house her uncle had left her. So I had Miss Josie on the interview list." He was lost in thought for a moment and then took a deep breath, blowing it out. "You say she's here?"

I almost wished she wasn't now. Will didn't seem up to talking to her. "Yeah."

He sighed. "Guess I could do an informal interview."

I nodded, handing him the plate. "You put something in your stomach. I'll go get her."

I found Josie on the dance floor teaching a few of our customers some dance moves. She was barefoot and her hair had fallen from its clip.

"Hey, Josie."

She smiled and gave me a sweaty hug. "There you are. Come dance with us!"

I pulled away and grabbed her hand. "No, no. Come take a breather outside. I want you to meet my boyfriend, Will."

"Oh, okay." Her smile grew and she nodded. "I could use a break." She turned to the women. "Carry on, ladies. Shake those moneymakers."

She grabbed a glass of champagne on the way out to the balcony. "Oh, this breeze is just heavenly."

I was suddenly glad she was barefoot as she stumbled over to the curved glass barrier that stopped her from tumbling down into the bay. My heart jumped. I glanced at Will. He raised an eyebrow at me and wiped his fingers off on a napkin.

Moving her away from the balcony to a chair, I said, "Josie, this is Will. Will this is Victoria's cousin, Josie."

"Nice to meet you." She plopped down in the chair, spilling some of the champagne on her dress and shook Will's outstretched hand. "Did you know Victoria?"

I wondered how Will was going to play this. I wasn't sure if she was going to remember that Will was a homicide detective.

He didn't reveal much in his answer. "I've met her husband, Eugene. I'm sorry for your family's loss."

She snorted and gulped her drink. "Thanks."

I tried to move the conversation along for both their sakes. "Josie lost her father, Renny, recently, too. She came here from Las Vegas for his funeral."

Will was staring at her intently. I don't think she noticed though, her eyes were unfocused and pointed toward the dark waters.

"How long after your father's funeral did you lose Victoria?"

"Four days." Ice clinked against Josie's teeth as she drained her glass. "Four, three, two, one... boom." She barked out laughter suddenly.

Will and I shared a concerned look and then he asked, "Where were you the night she got killed, Josie?"

"Where? Where was I?" She rolled her head toward us and her eyes narrowed. "You sound like a cop." Then she smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "Oh yeah, I remember, you are a cop." She shrugged. "I was out. At a club. I suppose you want an alibi? Sorry, I don't remember his name. Cheap bastard. Only bought the cheap liquor."

Her eyes were beginning to droop. It was about time to call her a cab.
One more question.

"Hey, Josie. Something I don't understand. Why did your dad leave Victoria his house instead of you? It doesn't sound like Victoria needed the house or the money."

She made a noise like air rushing from a tire. "Nope. She didn't. But he said he was tired of helping me. Didn't want to be an enabler anymore. Whatever, Dad." She raised her glass to the dark sky. "Cheers. Death has a way of making things right."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A cold front had swept in overnight and added a distinct chill to the air. I decided to skip lunch in favor of taking Goldie for a walk down by the water. I wasn't prepared for her resistance to going near the shoreline, but I understood. Maybe in time. Though the irony of a water-Elemental owning a dog that was afraid of the water didn't go unnoticed.