and I thought I heard Scout growling softly in her throat. Did they suspect intruders? I was surprised they were so jumpy because they seemed accustomed to the constant comings and goings downstairs.
“Another tour bus?” I asked.
Ali shook her head and peeled off her oven mitts. “I don’t think so. I’ve got the CLOSED sign up.” She waved a hand at the dinner plates. “You go ahead and start. I’ll get rid of whoever it is. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Almost immediately, Allison came back upstairs and darted into the kitchen with a red-haired woman trailing after her. “Taylor,” Allison said breathlessly, “you remember Gina from the dance studio and the Dream Club?” I certainly did remember. Chico’s glamorous assistant. Ali turned to Gina. “My sister, Taylor. You met each other at the Friday night meeting, right?”
Gina nodded and gave me the once-over. “We sat across from each other,” she said coolly.
She was wearing a skin-tight black spandex top with a flowing red and black skirt. Her flaming red hair was done up in a loose bun, with tendrils framing her face. She was really quite attractive in spite of the fact that her perfect features were twisted into a scowl and she was popping gum like a teenager.
“Hi.” I nodded politely as Ali riffled through a drawer in the kitchen. Gina drummed her fingers on the tiled countertop, her lips pressed together. “Can I help you find something?” I asked Ali after a long moment had passed.
“Gina needs a key to the dance studio, and I know it’s in here somewhere,” Ali explained. She flashed an apologetic smile at Gina. “I’m chronically disorganized, I’m afraid. This is my junk drawer. Well, it’s one of my junk drawers,” she amended.
She wrenched the drawer out and dumped the entire contents on the countertop. “Chico gave me a set of keys for emergencies last year,” she went on. I raised my eyebrows and she added quickly, “We decided to exchange keys because there was heavy flooding in the district after a storm. I don’t think I ever returned the key to him.” Her mouth curved in an ironic smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Gina. I’m an inch away from being a hoarder.”
“No problem,” Gina said, cooling down a little and looking around the kitchen. “I should have brought my own keys. I took the kids out for ice cream this afternoon, and I left my house in a rush.”
“So you hold dance classes on Sunday?” I asked, just making conversation. I could see Ali had no luck with the first drawer and now was scrabbling through a second drawer, pulling out a collection of pens, pencils, and sticky notes. Barney and Scout ambled into the kitchen, watching her with interest. I wondered what they found so fascinating and then remembered that Ali kept their catnip in that drawer.
“We just started offering Sunday classes,” Gina said, looking supremely bored. “It’s an experiment. Chico wants to bring in more working people, and we figured Sunday might draw in some new students. Saturdays aren’t so good because everyone’s running around shopping and doing errands.”
“Got it!” Ali said, holding up a key ring. She passed it to Gina, who nodded her thanks. “The square one’s for the front door, and the pointy one is for the back. If you’re going in the front door, though, you have to jiggle the handle a little to the left, or it sticks and the lock won’t turn.”
“Okay, thanks, I’ll remember. And I’ll bring it right back,” Gina said. “I don’t know why Chico didn’t answer the door, his car’s parked behind the studio. He must have walked into town on an errand and he’s running late as usual,” she huffed. “Once he gets talking, there’s no stopping him. Nice to see you again, Taylor.”
“Gina, please tell Chico to keep the keys.” Ali spoke quickly but Gina was already down the stairs, her dance shoes tapping a noisy staccato on the bare wooden steps.
“How long has she
“Another tour bus?” I asked.
Ali shook her head and peeled off her oven mitts. “I don’t think so. I’ve got the CLOSED sign up.” She waved a hand at the dinner plates. “You go ahead and start. I’ll get rid of whoever it is. I’ll be back in a sec.”
Almost immediately, Allison came back upstairs and darted into the kitchen with a red-haired woman trailing after her. “Taylor,” Allison said breathlessly, “you remember Gina from the dance studio and the Dream Club?” I certainly did remember. Chico’s glamorous assistant. Ali turned to Gina. “My sister, Taylor. You met each other at the Friday night meeting, right?”
Gina nodded and gave me the once-over. “We sat across from each other,” she said coolly.
She was wearing a skin-tight black spandex top with a flowing red and black skirt. Her flaming red hair was done up in a loose bun, with tendrils framing her face. She was really quite attractive in spite of the fact that her perfect features were twisted into a scowl and she was popping gum like a teenager.
“Hi.” I nodded politely as Ali riffled through a drawer in the kitchen. Gina drummed her fingers on the tiled countertop, her lips pressed together. “Can I help you find something?” I asked Ali after a long moment had passed.
“Gina needs a key to the dance studio, and I know it’s in here somewhere,” Ali explained. She flashed an apologetic smile at Gina. “I’m chronically disorganized, I’m afraid. This is my junk drawer. Well, it’s one of my junk drawers,” she amended.
She wrenched the drawer out and dumped the entire contents on the countertop. “Chico gave me a set of keys for emergencies last year,” she went on. I raised my eyebrows and she added quickly, “We decided to exchange keys because there was heavy flooding in the district after a storm. I don’t think I ever returned the key to him.” Her mouth curved in an ironic smile. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Gina. I’m an inch away from being a hoarder.”
“No problem,” Gina said, cooling down a little and looking around the kitchen. “I should have brought my own keys. I took the kids out for ice cream this afternoon, and I left my house in a rush.”
“So you hold dance classes on Sunday?” I asked, just making conversation. I could see Ali had no luck with the first drawer and now was scrabbling through a second drawer, pulling out a collection of pens, pencils, and sticky notes. Barney and Scout ambled into the kitchen, watching her with interest. I wondered what they found so fascinating and then remembered that Ali kept their catnip in that drawer.
“We just started offering Sunday classes,” Gina said, looking supremely bored. “It’s an experiment. Chico wants to bring in more working people, and we figured Sunday might draw in some new students. Saturdays aren’t so good because everyone’s running around shopping and doing errands.”
“Got it!” Ali said, holding up a key ring. She passed it to Gina, who nodded her thanks. “The square one’s for the front door, and the pointy one is for the back. If you’re going in the front door, though, you have to jiggle the handle a little to the left, or it sticks and the lock won’t turn.”
“Okay, thanks, I’ll remember. And I’ll bring it right back,” Gina said. “I don’t know why Chico didn’t answer the door, his car’s parked behind the studio. He must have walked into town on an errand and he’s running late as usual,” she huffed. “Once he gets talking, there’s no stopping him. Nice to see you again, Taylor.”
“Gina, please tell Chico to keep the keys.” Ali spoke quickly but Gina was already down the stairs, her dance shoes tapping a noisy staccato on the bare wooden steps.
“How long has she
Similar Books
