Dating is Murder Read Online Free PDF

Explorer
now, you can’t watch
Sesame Street
in half an hour.”
    “Dora the explorer. Dora the explorer. Dora the exp—”
    “Okay, okay, okay. But no more TV till bedtime, when Mommy’s at pastry class. Run into the house and tell Lupe you can watch Dora.”
    The little girl jumped up, then caught sight of me and stopped. I smiled. She didn’t smile back, but when I gave her a little wave, she raised a hand in response, opening and closing her fist in a toddler like gesture. The woman saw it and turned.
    “Hi.” I sneezed. “Sorry to barge in. I tried the house, and nobody answered, so . . .”
    An overfed yellow cat jumped with a thump onto the granite work surface and sniffed at the leaves. The woman on the ladder and the child looked at it, then turned back to me, as if it was still my turn to speak. They were both blond, with wide faces and peaches-and-cream complexions. They wore light blue work shirts and white jeans. I tried to recall if I’d ever seen a mother and daughter wearing matching outfits outside of a catalog.
    “Mommy, that lady has blood.”
    I looked down. Three drops of blood lay on the white tile floor, from my hand. It didn’t seem polite to say their bird had assaulted me, so I closed my fist over the bleeding palm and said, “My name is Wollie. I called yesterday and left a message. I’m a friend of Annika’s . . .”
    “Of course.” The woman climbed nimbly down the ladder, someone who obviously lived in high heels. “I’m Maizie. I’m so sorry, I was writing down your number last night and little monkey here hit the delete button. Emma, love—” She frowned at the girl, now chanting something that sounded like
alla myna engine.
“Emma, why don’t you run in and watch
Dora
?”
    “Emma want to stay with Mommy.”
    Maizie looked like she might argue the point, then turned to me. She had an attractive face, with good bones. “So. Annika. It’s all so—disturbing.”
    “Yes.” I sneezed again.
    “Allergic to cats?” she said. “Sorry. This guy wandered in and adopted us. Adopted Annika, actually. Are you a close friend?”
    My stomach clenched, thinking of the last time I’d seen her. I nodded. “She’s like a little sister. A smarter sister. She’s been tutoring me in math. We met on the set of a TV show.”
    “She is smart.” Maizie smiled, dimples softening her face. “It sold my husband on her. He respects intelligence.” She ruffled her hair. It was thick hair, well cut. “We’ve been out of town; Annika had the weekend off and I’ve been telling myself she misunderstood, thought we were coming back later. But now it’s Tuesday. I hate to say this, but I think she’s—taken off.”
    “Where?” I said.
    “I can think of a few places.” Maizie glanced down at her daughter, who followed the conversation with the intensity of a cub reporter. “But there’s a lot in her life I’m not privy to. A boy she’s quite taken with; I’ve been trying to remember his last name. And there’s—well, she’s on duty with Emma from six A.M. until four in the afternoon, eleven on Fridays, which leaves a lot of free time. And she fills up those hours. It’s one of the things we love about her, her independence, but it makes it hard to—narrow it down.”
    Emma spoke up. “Annika not here, Mommy.”
    “No, she’s not, bunny.”
    “Where is Annika?”
    “We don’t know. That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”
    “We better go find her, Mommy.”
    My sentiments exactly. “Is her stuff still here?” I asked.
    Maizie took a moment, then nodded. “Come see for yourself,” she said.

4
    W e entered the house through the back door. There was no sign of the killer goose, but Mr. Snuggles approached in a frenzy, the kind small terriers excel at. Maizie gave me a treat for him, a miniature faux T-bone steak. Mr. Snuggles ate it and accepted me into the pack.
    “Emma feed him,” Emma said. “One scoop. His bowl is yellow.”
    “Oh,” I said. “How