Janet Evanovich - Full Tilt

"No need," Deedee said.

Beenie stood there for a moment, wringing his handkerchief. "Deedee, I know you hate me, but I truly am sorry about Choo-Choo. I'm going to keep looking, though. I just know I'll find him."

Deedee looked up. Her eyes were sad. "It's not your fault, Beenie. You love him as much as I do." She reached for her mug and took several long sips. When she lowered it, something metal scraped the inside. She peered at her drink. "There's something in here." She took a spoon from the tray and stirred her coffee. "Yes, there's definitely something—" She pulled up the spoon and paled at the sight. "Oh, my God!"

Jamie turned. "What is it?" She felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle as Deedee lifted Choo-Choo's collar from the glass. "He was inside this house," she whispered.

The glass slipped from Deedee's fingers and shattered on the floor.

* * * * *

The door to the library was flung open a second later. Max and Frankie hurried out, Lamar right behind him. "What is it?" Frankie asked. He glanced in the direction Deedee pointed.

"Somebody put Choo-Choo's collar in Deedee's Frappuccino," Jamie told him.

Max muttered a four-letter word. "This is bullshit. How could this have happened? Who has been in this room?"

"I just got here," Phillip said.

"It had to have happened in the kitchen or while it was sitting on the library table," Beenie said, explaining how he'd forgotten to bring in the drink when he'd made it. He mopped fresh tears. "I can't seem to do anything right."

Max strode purposefully from the living room to the kitchen. Jamie followed. The room was empty.

"Where is the kitchen staff?" Max demanded. All at once there were footsteps on the stairs leading from the wine cellar. The chef appeared, a bottle of wine in each hand. He stopped abruptly at the sight of them.

"May I help you?"

"Did you see anyone come into this room?" Max demanded.

"I've been downstairs choosing wine. Not that it will matter. Everything is overdone and will taste like rubber by the time I serve it."

"Where is the woman who normally helps you?"

"She quit on me. Said she wasn't used to working in such a crazy place. I don't blame her."

"You didn't see anything out of the ordinary?" Jamie asked.

The chef scowled at her. "I've got people traipsing in and out of this kitchen all day," he snapped. "I can't get anything done for all the traffic."

Max shoved through the swinging door with Jamie right behind. Frankie and Deedee were on the stairs. "Deedee and I want to be alone for a little while," Frankie said.

"Good idea," Max said, as Duncan and Big John came through the front door. The men paused as though sensing a problem, but Max waited until Frankie and Deedee were gone before pulling Duncan aside. "Is there another way inside this house that I don't know about?"

"There's a cellar door that opens up near the back hedges. But nobody can get in or out because I put a lock on it."

"I want to see it," Max said.

"I've got a flashlight."

They started once more for the kitchen where the chef, clearly annoyed at being questioned, was banging pots and pans together as he prepared dinner. Outside, several security men looked up from their posts as Max and Duncan searched through the hedges.

"It should be here somewhere," Duncan said. "I scattered leaves and pine needles over it so it wouldn't be noticeable." He stooped beside an area and began raking brush aside. Max peered over his shoulder as the area was cleared and a wooden door came into view. Duncan trained his flashlight on the lock.

"Shit." He picked up the lock and handed it to Max. "Somebody sawed right through it. He could be in the house right now for all we know."

"Where's Swamp Dog?" Max asked.

"He watches the back of the property. Says he doesn't trust anyone else to do the job right."

"Find him. And I want the cellar and house searched from top to bottom."

Max returned to the kitchen and found the chef opening the bottles of wine.

"Throw everything out," Max ordered.

"Excuse me?" The man looked at Max as if he were crazy.

"I don't want this food served."

"Are you nuts? I've spent all day preparing this meal. Do you have any idea what tuna steaks cost?"

"Someone had access to this kitchen who shouldn't have. He could have tampered with the food. If you still want to serve tuna, then I'd suggest you serve it from a can."

The chef opened his mouth to protest, but the hard look on Max's face must've changed his mind. "Whatever."

Security personnel began filling the house. "I want the search done as quickly and quietly as possible," Max told Duncan, "and keep the men away from Mrs. Fontana's room. I'll check it personally."

Duncan nodded. "I've got men in the cellar now. Swamp Dog is still at the back of the property, reclined against a tree, holding a high velocity assault rifle and wearing night vision gear." He shook his head sadly. "He's got booby traps along the back fence. I've cautioned my men. You ask me, I think the guy is whacko. He's the one we need to watch."

Max nodded. "Make sure you do that."

It was after midnight before the house was battened down for the night. Jamie had already seen a very worried Phillip out. Max and Duncan were discussing security at the kitchen table, where tuna sandwiches and pasta salad had been the evening fare. Snakeman stood guard at the door.

"We found more evidence inside the cellar of someone coming through the access door," Duncan said. "It's clear now. I've got a guard down there. As for Lenny Black, I think he's long gone."

"Frankie and I searched and secured the master bedroom while Deedee was taking a bath," Max said.

Duncan sighed. "I've never worked a job where I had no idea who the enemy was."

"How long have you owned your security company?" Max asked.

Duncan shrugged. "Ten years. I took early retirement from the police department."

"How come?"

"I figured I'd make more money this way."

"But you were only a couple of years from retiring from the department, weren't you? You lost your pension."

Duncan met his gaze. "You had me checked?"

Max nodded at Snakeman, and the wrestler stepped outside.

Duncan rubbed his eyes. "Okay, so I was forced to take an early retirement, but I was never convicted of any wrongdoing. I was cleared."

"They found drug money in the trunk of your car."

"It was planted there. I'd just busted a big-time dealer, and he was determined to get even."

"So instead of fighting it you moved a thousand miles away and started your own security company."

"I could have fought it in court, but the media had already tried and convicted me. It didn't matter that I had spent twenty years on the force and had a perfect record. My neighbors refused to speak to me, and no matter how many times I had my phone number changed I continued to get crank calls."

"Your wife left you over it, didn't she?"

Duncan nodded. "Our relationship had been over for years anyway so that was no surprise, but it only made things worse when she walked out." He met Max's gaze. "If you have a problem with me you're free to get somebody else. I've told you everything."

Jamie came into the kitchen and stopped short when she saw the two men talking. "Is this a private conversation?"

Max shook his head. "You're free to join us."

She sank into one of the chairs. She was depressed. Not only was her relationship with Phillip growing even more tense, she no longer knew what to expect from one minute to the next. She was edgy after all that had happened and wired from drinking too much coffee. "What a night," she said.

"Is Deedee asleep?" Max asked.

"Yeah. Frankie refuses to leave her side." She asked both men, "Do you think the person who took Choo-Choo will kill him?"