Deadly Décor (A Caprice De Luca Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

and playful with each other, yet that spark was there. Roz had remarked that Caprice lit up like a Christmas tree when he was around. That lit-up feeling was so enjoyable, she didn’t want to ever lose it.
    Five minutes later, as she searched her mom’s refrigerator for something for the cocker, like leftovers from the night before, Caprice’s cell phone played from her pocket. She checked the screen. Eliza.
    Eliza was one of those demanding clients who expected Caprice to be at her beck and call.
    “Hello, Eliza.”
    “Where’s Bob?” her client demanded to know.
    “Bob? He was supposed to finish painting your house this afternoon.” When it came to home-staging, Sunday could be a workday like any other. Caprice tried to keep the morning for church, and once a month or so she had dinner with her family, but most Sundays she was working in her office or scrambling to finish a project. Bob was one of those painters who didn’t take any days off, though his crews did.
    “You haven’t heard from him?” Caprice asked.
    “No, I haven’t. What are we going to do?”
    She’d planned to complete the staging tomorrow—have the furniture delivered from the rental company, move around what was already there. She’d also added hanging drapes, changing a few light fixtures, and mounting sconces to her to-do list. But in order for all that to be done, the painting had to be finished.
    One of her main jobs as a home-staging professional was to quiet her clients’ fears and anxieties, as well as get the job done. She said calmly, “We have plenty of time before the open house next Sunday. I’ll try to call Bob. But if I can’t get hold of him, I have someone else in mind who can help me in an emergency.”
    And this was an emergency if Bob was missing in action. Monty Culp, Roz’s former gardener, had helped her in a pinch before, and she hoped he could help her again if she needed him.
    After she ended her call with Eliza, she found Bob’s number. But her call to him went to voice mail. She left a message for him to contact her as soon as he could, and then she hung up. If he didn’t get back to her later tonight, she’d be on the phone to Monty. Getting Eliza’s painting finished couldn’t wait.
    Her phone back in her pocket, Caprice found leftover chicken in the fridge. Minutes later Seth was leading the cocker to his truck. She’d already said good-bye and hugged everyone inside. They knew the drill with animals. The fewer people around, the better. She and Seth waved to her family, who stood on the porch watching as they drove away, headed for the veterinary clinic.
     
     
    The cocker she’d found was pregnant! In a month or so she’d have a litter of pups to care for along with their mom . . . if she didn’t find the dog’s owner.
    Caprice stood in her fenced-in backyard and tossed one of the balls Dylan had left behind. It landed near a bed of fuchsia and white vinca plants that were thriving in the July heat. When the August humidity really set in, they’d be bushier and a few inches taller. Clumps of Shasta daisies bookended the vinca and gave Caprice an idea.
    “I have a name for her,” Caprice suddenly told Seth, who was working on cutting down a huge cardboard box so she could use it for the cocker’s bed.
    “I’m sure that, coming from you, it’ll be original.”
    Caprice gave him a sideways glance and saw that he was complimenting her. She was used to Bella talking about her uniqueness as if it were a disease.
    “She’s sort of the color of my Shasta daisies. I’m going to call her Shasta. What do you think?”
    “As I said—unique. I like it. I don’t know any other dog with that name.”
    “Do you know any other dogs?”
    He smiled and stood, holding the carton that was now about six inches high on the sides. “No, but I’m sure you’ll introduce me to a few . . .” He stopped.
    What had he been about to say? If he stuck around? If they continued seeing each other? If the