Whispers seemed to follow Addison wherever she went in Phillip’s mansion. Whispers, gossip, secrets, and lies.
The estate had seemed so large a couple of hours before, but now that no one was allowed to leave, the place felt stifling. It was stuffed with shifting eyes, pointing fingers, subtle head nods, and the whispers. Whispers that seemed to follow Addison no matter where she tried to hide from all those suspicious looks.
She thought that would have stopped now that there was a new suspect: Felix. But it hadn’t. The speculations had merely changed.
Addison could hear them murmuring with their backs turned in their exclusive clusters in the foyer, in the halls, on the terrace. Their voices grew louder as the police statements were taken and the alcohol had time to sink in: Addison and Felix were in league with each other in black market dog trading. No, an illegal dog fighting business. No, they were criminal dog breeders out for a monopoly on the best dog litters in the country.
Some of the guests eyed Princess, as though Addison should feel guilty that she still had her dog. Or maybe it was because they were considering stealing the doxie out of revenge. Addison rarely let Princess down except to drink water or stretch her legs on the grass in the backyard. Even then she was always on a leash that was wrapped securely around Addison’s wrist.
Whispers, gossip, secrets, lies. Addison circulated through the property, attempting to overhear them all without being too obvious about it. The last thing she wanted was to draw more attention to herself, but even more dogs were at stake now. She needed to start looking for clues. To figure out how to find the dogs and get them home safe—and hopefully to clear her name. With or without Felix’s help.
As she passed the drawing room, she overheard Phillip talking to the head of security, or rather, at him, as he paced back and forth across the marble flooring.
“How could you let this happen?” he demanded.
“Well, sir. We—”
“What am I paying you for?” he interrupted. “I thought you were supposed to have this place secure.”
“We did everything—”
“Your company was supposed to be the best in town.”
Addison didn’t blame Phillip for being upset. Those three dogs disappeared right from under his nose, in his own home. She imagined he felt like she did the night of the cocktail mixer.
Pretending to appreciate a painting in the hallway, she peeked into the drawing room to see Phillip rubbing a hand over his clean-shaven jaw. The sight of him so frazzled filled her with guilt. He was the last person she wanted to spy on.
Besides, she already knew Phillip couldn’t be guilty. She just knew it. Someone whose eyes sparkled like diamonds couldn’t be evil. Phillip practically glowed with angelic innocence.
Addison tiptoed past the doors to sneak away, but then she heard him call out, “Addison!”
Totally busted. She waited in the hallway, trying to think of some excuse. However, when he caught up to her, he was the one who looked guilty.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I know I’ve been a bit distracted. I haven’t been ignoring you, I promise.”
“Of course,” she said. “I completely understand. There’s so much that you have to deal with.”
He sighed. “Not exactly the fundraising event I had planned.”
“It seems someone else had their own plans for your party.”
“I’m sorry that you got caught up in all this.” And he did look remorseful.
He was so sweet.
“It’s not your fault. They just need someone to blame.” I just wish it wasn’t me.
The tension around his eyes and perfectly sculpted lips relaxed. He slowly reached out to her, and she thought he might try to kiss her again. But then frantic barking and yelling carried down the hall, echoing throughout the expansive home.
Phillip’s hand froze in midair and he gave a small, frustrated groan. “I’d better go check that out.”
The tension was getting to humans and canines alike. After being cooped up for so long, it wasn’t the first dogfight that had broken out. It was only a matter of time before the humans started to snap and the first punch was thrown. She just hoped she wasn’t on the receiving end.
Addison sighed in disappointment as he walked away. But that disappointment quickly turned to annoyance. Annoyance at the situation, the unknown surrounding the poor lost dogs, at her own vulnerability and public disgrace.
Not only had the new round of missing dogs seemed to convince people that Addison was somehow involved, but her date with Phillip had been ruined. And for some reason, the only person she could think of to blame was Felix. Not that it was his fault, exactly. It wasn’t like he took the dogs himself. Or had he?
Felix was the one in charge of that van and had sent it back to the bar, after all. Maybe he and Red Bra were in on it together. If that was the case then Addison needed to find him.
Spinning on her heel, she stormed outside to find Felix so she could … well she didn’t know what yet. Rub it in his face now that he was the one accused? To spy on him, maybe even interrogate him until he snapped like a brittle nail?
The first place Addison looked for him was at the temporary bar near the lawn, but when she didn’t find him there she wandered around to the private drive where the van had been parked. Felix was nowhere to be seen, but his van was still there. For now. A tow truck was currently backing up to it. She watched the truck driver jump out to speak with the police.
Making her way around the other side of the house, she froze when she heard Felix’s voice nearby.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s not like I planned for this to happen. I was bartending the whole time.”
Addison and Princess peered around the corner of the old mansion. Felix had his back to her. The muscles under his shirt looked tense as he talked on his phone.
He kicked a stone in frustration. “I know this is a big deal, but there’s got to be a way to fix it.”
It sounded like he was talking about the missing dogs. She wondered who was on the other end. There was only one way to find out.
Glancing over her shoulder, she checked to see if anyone was watching. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she snuck behind him and into a gap in the pruned hedges he was pacing in front of.
“Who cares what a bunch of uptight customers say?” he growled into the phone.
Uptight? Who was he calling uptight? Well, okay, some of them she could see, but that didn’t include her, did it?
She crept closer, but thick tree branches blocked her view of him. Setting Princess down on the ground, she shuffled even closer and swept a branch out of the way to see him better.
He was pacing back and forth, his posture stiff. He was actually a little scary-looking when he was mad. He might have cleaned up as well as some of the gentlemen at the party, but looks could be deceiving. Felix was definitely no gentleman. Addison was pretty sure he could hold his own in a fight.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Felix said. “Come on, you’ve known me for four years.” He ran a rough hand through his hair, gripping it in frustration as he listened. “But this is my livelihood too.”
Livelihood? Addison wondered if he was talking to his boss. Maybe he was getting fired.
“But I’ve been banking on the extra side work. I’ve got bills to pay.… Yeah. Fine. I understand.… Good-bye.”
Felix hung up and jammed the phone into his pocket. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
Addison shrank back from her viewpoint. Felix might have deserved a taste of his own medicine, to be the one accused after he refused to help her. But that didn’t mean he deserved to get fired.
Guilt tickled at her insides for listening in. Some spy she made.
She began to sneak away before he discovered her hiding in the bushes, prying into his personal affairs. But that’s what private eyes like Dick Tracy did, right? Surely they never felt guilty while on a stakeout or squeezing information out of informants.
Addison took another step backward. Her foot came down, and there was a loud snap as a twig broke under her weight. She froze.
“Who’s there?” Felix said.
“Crap,” she hissed. Now it was definitely time to scram.
Addison spun around, intending to bolt before Felix discovered her, but when she turned, she came face to face with a half-naked woman. A yelp escaped from her lungs before she realized it was only a moss-covered statue. She clamped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. She’d outed herself.
The grass swished outside her shelter as Felix approached. “All right. Come on out.”
Addison searched for an escape route, but she’d trapped herself in an alcove of sorts. Like a romantic little nook, nestled into a horseshoe of vegetation long since overgrown and forgotten.
She glanced at Princess for help, but the doxie was too busy sniffing the ground. Giving up, Addison tried to act natural. She slung an arm around the statue like she was just hanging out there by complete coincidence.
When Felix brushed the hedge aside and his eyes landed on her, his scowl eased slightly. “Oh, it’s you.”
She gave him a look like Fancy meeting you here. “Oh, hello.”
“Eavesdropping much?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Paranoid much? The world doesn’t revolve around you, you know. Princess had to pee.” She waved at her dog in evidence. Thankfully, Princess decided to corroborate her story and squatted near the base of the statue.
He narrowed an eye suspiciously. “In here?”
“Princess has a shy bladder,” Addison said. “She’s a lady.”
He shrugged it off, either believing her weak story or because he didn’t really care. “Well in case you didn’t catch every word, I’ve been laid off.”
“I’m sorry.”
His head snapped to her like he thought maybe she was being sarcastic.
“No, really. That sucks,” she said, giving him a small, earnest frown. “Trust me. I know what you’re going through. I’m facing losing my own income.” Not just her income, but her business, her passion, her dream.
“Well, it’s not indefinitely,” he said. “It’s just until things calm down with this damn dognapping business. Joe doesn’t want to lose me, but he also has to appease the customers who are calling for blood. He does a lot of private gigs for these rich types.” He waved a tired hand in the general direction of the house. “As long as I’m working for him, people are threatening to cancel their private bookings through his bar.”
He took a seat on the curved marble bench in the center of the alcove.
She sat down next to him. “That’s not fair.”
“I’m associated with this whole dognapping crime, fair or not.” He shrugged. “Isn’t that exactly what happened to you? Was it fair then?”
She was surprised by his sincerity, at this temporary truce that seemed to form between them. When he was the one who admitted it, it took the satisfying “Aha! In your face” feeling out of it. Now Addison just kind of felt bad for him. Maybe for both of them.
“No. You’re right,” she said. “So, are you going to look for a new job now?”
“A new job? No way.” He shook his head. “This gig pays great. Besides that will take too long. I’m on a tight deadline.”
She smirked. “Loan shark got a hit out on you?”
He gave her a withering look. “Ha-ha. Very funny.”
“So then what are you going to do?”
He sat up straight and seemed to consider the question for a moment. “I’m going to clear my name. Prove that I had nothing to do with the stolen dogs.”
“What?” She laughed, for what seemed like the first time in days. “Sure. Now you’re interested in helping me find the real dog snatcher?”
“I didn’t say anything about helping you.” He flashed a wolfish smile. “I just have to prove it wasn’t me.”
She groaned. So much for the truce. “You’re a real prince, you know that? Ever hear of a damsel in distress?”
“It’s the twenty-first century, sweetheart. Damsels help themselves now. Gender equality and all that.”
Addison stood up. “Well good luck then. Things don’t look good for you either, you know. After today, the evidence is stacked against you.” She grabbed Princess’s leash, marching out of the hidden alcove.
“Okay, okay.” Felix tugged on Addison’s arm and pulled her back inside. “You’re right. Things don’t look good for me. But how are we going to fix this?”
She snorted. “So now you want my help? Why should I help you? You weren’t exactly leaping to my rescue.” She remembered his own ultimatum. Shoving her fists on her hips, she stared him down. “What’s in it for me?”
“One”—he held up a finger—“we’re their two lead suspects. Or at least as far as the public is concerned we are, and sometimes rumors are all that matters in the service industry. Even if they can’t send us to jail, we’ll both be searching the help wanted ads within a few weeks.”
He took a step closer to her until his cologne overpowered the smell of the foliage around them, but she stood her ground. He held up a second finger.
“Two, I’m far too pretty to go to jail. I’ll be someone’s bitch for sure. And three”—he closed the gap between them until she was staring straight at the lips she was sucking on just a few days before—“they’re saying we’re in cahoots, that we’ve somehow set this all up like we’re a pair of criminal canine masterminds.” Felix reached up and held her chin. “So like it or not, damsel, we’re in this together.”
She groaned, swatting his hand away. “Fine. I guess two heads are better than one, anyway.”
“Great.” He rubbed his hands together. “And I’ll do it for only ninety percent of Lilly’s reward money Alistair Yates offered on the news at the cocktail mixer.”
“What?” She balked. “How do you figure that?”
He crossed his arms with a giant grin on his face. “Well, it’s my expertise and knowledge that’s going to solve the case.”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “Fifty-fifty.”
“Sixty-forty and that’s my final offer.”
Addison gritted her teeth. “Fine. I was going to be nice and offer you a ride, but I’m sure with all your expertise and knowledge you can find your own way home.”
“What makes you think I’d need a ride in your girl-mobile?”
“Because your ride is being towed as we speak,” she informed him with a satisfied grin. “Probably for evidence.”
“What?” Felix’s snide grin faltered. He shoved past her, out of the alcove, and circled around to the private driveway.
Addison followed behind smugly. Even Princess seemed a little self-satisfied. When the empty driveway came into view, Felix slowed his steps. He ran a hand through his thick waves, gripping them like he wanted to pull them right out.
He swore under his breath. “My car is in the shop. Joe was letting me use the company van for the week.”
“Then I guess you’ll need my girl-mobile to solve the crime.” Addison patted him on the back, giving him her sweetest smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you have forty percent.”