Addison was staring right down the barrel of a gun, and it wasn’t a 3D movie. It was real. Too real. She wasn’t a ninja, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Lara Croft. This wasn’t going to be a blank shot at her heart, or red paint that stained her sweatshirt, or fake brains that splattered the walls. It was going to be her blood and brains that splattered the bottles of expensive wine behind her and Felix.
Penny’s gun hadn’t wavered since she took their phones and Addison’s keys in the garden. It had remained targeted on their backs as Penny marched them into the mansion, into Alistair’s study, through the hidden door behind his bookcase, and down the long wooden stairway into the wine cellar.
Princess’s sparkling necklace jingled as she pawed at Addison’s leg, stinging the cuts on her shins from the trek through the woods. Her big brown eyes pleaded for attention. She whined, begging to be picked up, to be comforted by her best friend.
Addison’s fingers twitched to reach out to her, to scratch her behind the ears and give her a million kisses. But she fought her instincts and kept her hands in the air where Penny could see them, while her brain groped for a way out.
She assessed the dim room lit by a single flickering light bulb above them and a few old wall sconces. Every wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling wine racks full of outrageously expensive wine, probably some so expensive they weren’t meant to be drunk. Decades of spilled red wine stained the old hardwood beneath their feet, making it rich with color and aroma.
Wooden barrels were stacked on their sides against the wall beneath the small window. If she had the chance, she could climb them like stairs and escape into the yard, but that would leave Felix to fend for himself. Addison’s eyes shifted to the stairs behind Penny, to the only way out of the tiny, cold cellar for both of them.
The gun flinched.
“Don’t even think about it,” Penny said. “Cozy little place down here, isn’t it?” She spoke about the cellar like she was thinking of redecorating it.
Addison thought she could have started with some new hardwood flooring since the old one was currently coated in sticky urine puddles—and worse—from the thirty-five or more dogs anxiously pacing the congested room.
It looked like the floor had been cleaned a couple of times, but the smell lingered, trapped in the raw wood planks. Addison’s nose stung with the harsh ammonia smell, overpowering the scent of the wine at times, making her eyes water.
“Nobody even comes down here anymore,” Penny said. “Not since Alistair’s heart attack. It was the perfect place to keep the dogs. It’s nearly soundproof down here.” Her eyes widened with glee. “No one can hear you scream.”
Addison gasped, and this time she did risk bending down to pick Princess up. The doxie scrambled into her arms and kissed every square inch of her neck as Addison held her protectively.
“Oh no, don’t misunderstand.” Penny’s expression transformed to one of innocence. “I’d never hurt the dogs.” She held a hand over her heart. “You on the other hand”—she waved the gun casually between Addison and Felix—“what am I going to do with you?”
Felix shrugged with his hands still in the air. “Let us go?”
“And let you run to the authorities?” Penny laughed. “I don’t think so.”
Penny had gone through both their phone-call histories to see if they’d called the police. But of course they hadn’t. Addison had sent Zoe a text instead.
Addison wondered what Penny would do if she knew she’d sent the text. If it would prevent her from killing the two of them. It wasn’t like she would get away with it if someone knew of their whereabouts, right? Then again, if Penny knew the police were on the way, she might simply kill them sooner.
Addison strained her ears, listening for sirens. Charlotte should have told Zoe what happened after they’d left on the lifeboat. Zoe should have gotten her text about their exact location. The police should be on their way. Was that too many shoulds for Addison to rely on?
“We won’t tell anyone,” Addison said. “I promise.”
“I just want my daughter back,” Felix said. “Let me just take her and we’ll be on our way.” Though he said it like it was a simple business transaction, Addison could hear the desperate fear in his voice.
Penny tapped her chin. “Yes, your mischievous daughter. She was an unfortunate complication.”
“Was?” Felix’s voice had gone dry and rough, like he’d swallowed sand.
“Don’t worry,” Penny told him. “She’s still alive. I haven’t decided on what to do with her. Maybe I’ll let her go. Kids’ memories are never very reliable. But you, you…” She waggled her gun at them again before turning to the swarm of dogs circling her legs. “What should I do, little ones? I can’t very well let them go.”
Her voice altered, as though she was pretending to be a dog herself—if dogs could talk. A little like Scooby-Doo, Addison thought. Penny ignored Felix and Addison to confer with the show dogs, as though they were coconspirators in her master plan.
She seemed to trust the opinion of one dog more than she did the others: Kingy. The Pekingese still sported Addison’s stylish kimono from the night of the cocktail mixer, looking princely among the other dogs that were in various stages of disarray since their dognapping.
Of course the dogs that had been taken from the Belle that night still appeared well groomed, full of energy. They jumped around the cramped cellar, unsure of what was going on but excited by all the extra playmates. Colin and Sophie padded over to Addison like it was a regular social call, and Oliver trotted over to Felix like he was checking on his owner before going back to play. The dogs that had been there longer, however, knew the score. They skulked around the gloomy space with matted hair, their long nails clicking on the dirty floor.
Addison could name practically every one of the pets, or at least their owners. There was Baxter, Lilly, Elvis, Precious, Rosie, and a handful of others whose owners had pointed fingers at her at one time or another. And of course there was Oliver and her Princess and even Colin and Sophie who got caught up in this mess. Every one of the dogs that had been taken over the last two weeks, all collected in one place.
Addison was so relieved to find them safe and healthy. Their owners would be overwhelmed to see them. But it wouldn’t do anyone any good if Addison and Felix didn’t get through the ordeal to tell anyone.
Penny looked so put together. Not nuts at all. She’d changed since the gala into a daffodil yellow pantsuit. Too bright and cheerful an outfit for such a maniacal evildoer.
“What was that, Kingy?” Penny asked. She listened for a moment, nodding in all the right places and making noises of affirmation.
“Bark,” he told her. “Bark, bark.”
“Yes, I think you’re right.”
Felix tilted his head closer to Addison while Penny was distracted, deep in her consultation.
“Keep her talking,” he said softly. “Ask her questions.”
“What’s the point? She’s nuts,” Addison whispered back.
“She’s a total egomaniac. She thinks she’s smarter than everyone else to have pulled this off. Just look at her.” He nodded his chin in her direction. “She’s gloating, but there’s no one around for her to gloat to. She wants to tell someone. Anyone. For someone to know how clever—”
“Hey!” Penny screamed.
Marching across the stone floor, she pressed the gun against Felix’s cheek. Her mouth screwed up as she dug it in, and his skin puckered under the pressure. Addison could hear the metal scrape against his stubble. She drew a sharp breath.
“I didn’t say you could talk,” Penny spat.
A noise escaped Addison, but it was incoherent. It took her a few seconds of stuttering to get something, anything to come out. “W-We were just saying how, how clever you were to keep the dogs down here. I mean, who would even think to suspect Alistair when it was his dog that first went missing?”
She didn’t know if Felix’s plan would work, but she trusted his judgment of people. And what else could they do? They needed to stall for time before the police got there.
“Alistair Yates.” Penny said the name like it was a swear word. “All I wanted to do was win. In all my career as a handler, I have never been defeated. My dogs always win.” Her eyes widened as though it was a promise, or a threat.
Addison pitied Penny’s rivals. She imagined Penny as the type of person Kitty Carlisle had been afraid of at competitions.
Penny pulled the gun away from Felix’s face, and Addison’s body relaxed until she thought she would melt into a puddle on the floor. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until her lungs ached with the sweet oxygen that rushed in and out of them.
“But it was an impossible win this time,” Penny continued. “Alistair was going to destroy my perfect record. All because he couldn’t let go of Lilly’s glory days.” Penny wheeled on Alistair’s beagle cowering among the furry group as though it was personally her fault.
She glared at the dog. “You’re old. You should have retired two years ago for God’s sake. You were lucky to win last year. But Fancy. Oh now there is a star.” Penny sighed. “She has a bright future in the circuit. But could I convince Alistair she was ready? No!”
Felix was nodding readily, with an understanding expression that he’d probably used a thousand times while listening to crazy stories from wingbats like Penny.
“Of course,” he said. “It makes perfect sense why you had to take Lilly out of the running yourself. Alistair just wouldn’t listen.” There wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in his voice, and even Addison almost believed his sincerity.
“Exactly.” Penny laughed, clearly relieved to have someone on her side. “I would never do anything to hurt Lilly, so stealing her was my only option.”
It was just like the bad guys in cheesy eighties and nineties movies, Addison thought. Penny was revealing her evil plan, convinced that she’d already won. But the good guys always got away in the end, after they’d been told everything. Addison had to remind herself that this wasn’t a movie though, and in real life the good guys sometimes die.
“But why not just take Lilly?” Addison asked. “Why did you take all the other dogs?”
“Fancy wasn’t a sure thing,” Penny told her. “She’s untested. A virgin to the ring. All those lights, cameras, people. It can be a lot for a first-timer. There was no way to know for sure if she’d win. Especially with so little time left to train before the big show.”
“So you took out all the competition,” Addison said airily. She was trying to imitate Felix’s nonjudgmental tone, all the while thinking Penny was a freaking dog-brained lunatic.
“I made sure to take out all the major players, but I didn’t want to be too obvious about it, so I took a mix of red, yellow, and white ribbons as well to throw off the cops’ scent. I even ended up with this thing.” She gestured to Oliver.
Oliver whined like he knew he was being insulted.
Addison nodded. “And by kidnapping Lilly, it took the suspicion away from both you and Alistair.”
Penny waved a hand through the air, the one that held the gun, and Addison and Felix stiffened as it passed over them. “Alistair will get over it,” she said. “Lilly was past her prime. I did him a favor.”
Somehow Addison doubted he would see it the same way.
“And you two were the perfect fall guys.” Penny grinned at them like they were two well-behaved dogs. “So naive. You were in the right place at the right time. For me anyway. It was easy enough to sneak the dogs out of the cocktail mixer through the hidden trap doors in the stage floor. Once I got your incompetent assistant out of the way, that is,” she told Addison. “I barely even tried to insult the girl and her grooming abilities before she ran out the back door crying.”
“And Charlotte helped you load up the dogs at Phillip’s party,” Felix coaxed her.
“Your boss was very helpful too. He closed up the bar and hid them in there for us until nightfall, after which I shipped them over here to Alistair’s.”
“How did you get him to agree to it?” Felix demanded, his sympathetic demeanor slipping.
“The same way I convinced the Belle’s dog minders to help me out. Everyone has their price. Your boss didn’t seem to mind turning a blind eye for a few bucks. Apparently he’s built up quite the gambling debt.”
Addison could hear Felix’s teeth clench. “Joe knew. He knew I wasn’t guilty, and yet he had no problem pinning it on me. As long as he kept the heat off of himself.”
Even in the dim light, Addison could see the vein on Felix’s forehead begin to throb. She jumped in before Felix lost his cool. “But what are you going to do with the dogs?”
Penny considered the odd mix around her. “Find them good homes out of state. Maybe I’ll even breed them myself.” She paused. Her eyes widened as she turned to the animals. “I mean, just look at all of them.” She spread her arms, waving the gun again. “The ultimate examples of each kind. I would have a monopoly of blue-ribbon winners. I could breed nothing but superior dogs. No one could beat them.”
“I suppose that’s why you’ve been sleeping with Judge Walter Boyd,” Addison said. “To ensure Fancy had his vote. Is he somehow involved too?” She figured if by some miracle they managed to escape, it would be good to know all the details, everyone who was involved.
Penny spun to face her, her left eye twitching. “How did you know about Wally?”
Addison just shrugged. But the mere mention of her robust boyfriend seemed to shake Penny. She swallowed hard, the gun dropping to her side.
“Wally and I share a passion. We are connected through our love of dogs, of perfection.” The bat-crap crazy left her eyes, and her expression softened like a schoolgirl in love. “We’re kindred spirits.”
“Does he know what you’ve done?”
“Of course not.” She grimaced at the very idea of it. “He’s too honorable. He wouldn’t understand. And he can’t ever find out.” She gripped her head, the gun still in her hand. Addison silently hoped the gun would go off and blow off her head.
“He’d be furious!” Penny cried. “But it’s not like I’m hurting the dogs. They’re well cared for.” Her eyes filled with pleading, as though she were preparing an explanation for him. Or maybe just convincing herself. “They’re okay. See?”
But the dogs didn’t look okay. They looked skittish, starved for the freedom and attention that they were so used to getting. The normally mild-mannered, calm animals paced anxiously in the overcrowded space, growling at Penny, at other dogs, at nothing in particular.
Addison was surprised no fights had broken out among them yet. But then again, even when they were abducted, they had never barked or put up a fight. There were never any signs of a struggle. They always disappeared so quickly and quietly, and now it made sense. As nuts as she was, Penny was one of the best dog handlers there was. She could get a dog to do anything.
Penny shook her head like a dog after a bath. When she looked back at Addison and Felix, her face was stony again. As unreadable as a Keanu Reeves character.
“No,” she said firmly. “Wally can’t find out. Ever. I can’t risk you telling anyone.”
Penny raised the gun and pointed it at Addison and Felix. She’d had the gun pointed at them off and on for nearly fifteen minutes—although it felt like an eternity to Addison. Before she’d held it nonchalantly, like a martini glass, like she pointed one at people every day. But now, her muscles tightened with intent, her eyes narrowed with focus, like she meant it.
Addison set Princess down on the ground and pushed her away to safety. Princess just came right back, leaning against her leg as if to say they were in it together.
Penny glanced between Felix and Addison as though trying to decide which one to do in first. Addison could feel Felix’s muscles tense beside her. Her senses hummed with awareness of his body, his presence, his held breath.
She wanted to move closer, to wrap her arms around him or simply reach out and grab his hand. To feel connected to someone, to him, to feel his solidarity and dependableness, to absorb his comfort like a sedative into her veins. To get through whatever was about to happen together. But she was frozen to her spot.
In the electric silence that followed, the faint wail of sirens snuck into the wine cellar. Penny must have heard it too because her head whipped to the narrow window near the ceiling.
The pane glowed red and blue. The police had made it. Thank you, Zoe, Addison thought.
But was it in time? Would Penny still shoot before they got there? Time seemed to drag like someone hit the slo-mo button.
The wine bottles behind Addison clinked softly. Already on edge, she spun in time to see Felix bring his arm back. A flash of glass in his hand. A bottle.
While Penny was distracted, he whipped it across the room. It flew through the air, cork over bottom, straight for her. But at the last second, she turned back.
It glanced off her shoulder. She grunted and stumbled back. Bang, the gun went off.
Felix dove for Addison. He knocked her over and she fell to the floor. She heard him grunt behind her as they landed. Pain exploded in her shoulder and hip as she hit the floor hard.
The dogs were going nuts. But their barking should have been louder, Addison thought. They were muted compared to the high-pitched ringing in her ears.
Addison blinked, feeling a little dazed. Maybe she’d hit her head too.
There was one bark that stood out from the rest, like a voice she’d recognize in a crowd. Princess’s deep bark was close by, insistent like a command. Get up! Get up!
Addison struggled to stand, but Penny collected herself first. With a hoarse scream, the dog handler whipped the gun around, advancing on Addison and Felix for a close-range shot. Like a snapshot in time, Addison could see the vein in Penny’s forehead throb, the hairs up her nostrils as her hooked nose flared with fury.
The dogs barked around her ankles, their growls fierce. Maybe from the gunshot. Maybe from the excitement. It seemed something had snapped inside of them, like Penny’s magic over them had worn off.
Princess planted herself protectively in front of Addison, hackles raised beneath her morganite necklace. Lips curling back in a snarl, she tensed like a spring and bared her teeth.
Addison felt the same tension in her own body. The instinct to fight back at odds with the gun pointed at her; it wasn’t exactly a fair fight.
Penny’s finger wrapped around the trigger. Addison braced herself. Suddenly, Princess lunged at Penny.
As her sharp little teeth sank into the handler’s calf, Penny screamed. The gun went off. Addison recoiled, grunting as though expecting an explosion of pain in her chest. But the bullet had gone wide.
Penny tried to kick Princess off, but the doxie clung on. Her little furry body flung back and forth as the handler whipped around wildly in the cramped space, tripping over other dogs. Then Lilly dove for Penny’s leg and she dropped the gun in surprise. Together they tag-teamed the handler, over and over again, each bite drawing blood through her yellow pantsuit.
Soon the other dogs joined in. They converged on Penny like a pack of wild wolves, barking, biting, chewing, ripping until it looked like one writhing, snarling ball of fur. Those that couldn’t find a limb to gnaw on cheered from the sidelines, like Fight! Fight! Fight!
Kingy nipped at her ankles, proving he hadn’t been on her side at all. But once Oliver and Baxter leapt into the fray, Penny was quickly taken down with a guttural shriek.
Scrambling to her feet, Addison ran for the gun. She reached into the mass of fur. When her hand landed on the cold metal, she picked it up and then held it at the ready. But Penny didn’t look like she was going to get up any time soon.
Addison set the gun down; she wasn’t going to need it. Then again, she thought, the bad guy always came back for a second round, so she picked it back up.
Princess had ahold of Penny’s arm now, gnawing on it like it was a chew toy. Her blonde fur was pink with blood. Oliver drew away and found a new purchase on Penny. This time on her neck.
Addison wanted to look away, but found she couldn’t. She watched in horror. The sounds of chewing and licking seemed to fill her ears until she couldn’t hear anything else. Bile rose in her throat. Penny had had enough.
“Hey!” Addison yelled. She stomped her feet on the cement threateningly to scare the dogs off; she didn’t want to come between them in case they mistook Addison as the aggressor.
A few skittered away, but some of the others weren’t ready to give up on their revenge. Raising the gun toward the top corner of the room, she cringed as she pulled the trigger. She jumped as it went off, startling herself as well as the dogs. The gun recoiled, and her wrist shot back with a sharp twist. She hissed at the pain and cursed the movies, which made shooting a gun look so easy.
Most of the dogs seemed to come to their senses and backed off as though in a daze. Baxter, however, she had to pull off by force. She coaxed the beast with soothing words and gentle strokes down his hackled back while steadily tugging him away.
Eventually Penny stopped fighting back altogether. The danger gone, the dogs finally backed off to lick their bloody chops as if nothing had happened.
Penny lay still and pale on the cold floor. The room was so dim, but Addison knew that the dark liquid seeping through the fabric of her shredded pantsuit was blood. She finally managed to drag her shocked gaze away from the sight of Penny’s body, but from the corner of her eye, she could see her chest rise and fall. She was still alive.
Dropping the gun, Addison searched the room for Felix among the excited dogs. She found him slumped against a wine rack, where he’d pushed her out of the way when the gun had gone off. Beneath his suit coat, deep red stains seeped through his white dress shirt, spreading across his chest.
Felix had been shot.