With an enormous smile on my face, I sped down PCH toward the shop. I spied Cliff’s Land Rover at Nick’s restaurant. Without a second thought, I cranked the steering wheel to the left and parked.
As soon as I climbed out of the Jeep, the powerful aroma of fried chicken and coffee assaulted my sensibilities. My stomach growled, demanding to be fed. Nick’s was one of the few restaurants in town where you’d find an entree of fried chicken and gravy with waffles on the menu.
It was a nice place with trendy deco and good food. At times a long wait to get into for dinner. Especially during tourist season.
I walked inside and spotted Cliff sitting at the bar, no breakfast. Unless you considered a Bloody Mary the breakfast of champions. I claimed the barstool next to him.
“What the hell do you want?” he growled.
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I took in his mussed hair and scruffy face. He was wearing the same bowling shirt he’d worn yesterday. Correction. Someone still needed to go to bed.
“Long night?” I asked.
“Whada you care?” He drank deeply, almost stabbing himself in the eye with the celery stick sticking out of his glass.
“I hear you’re in trouble.”
“What do you know about it?” he snapped.
I waved the bartender over and asked for an iced tea. His gaze shifted between Cliff and me but wisely kept his opinion to himself.
“I guess you’re the last to know. It’s well known around town you’ve got a gambling problem.”
An awkward moment passed. The bartender brought my tea, then vanished.
Cliff shrugged. “So I gamble. What’s the big deal?”
“I’d say borrowing money from Batty is a big deal,” I whispered.
His glass slid from his hand, landing upright on the bar. He whipped around and glared at me. “Are you trying to get us killed?”
Lord, he could get angry fast. Imagine how angry he could be at someone he hated. I moved him to the top of my suspect list. “If you’re that afraid of him, why on God’s green earth would you take money from him?”
“I didn’t.”
It took me a second, but I got it. “Ted.”
“This is all Mona’s fault. If she hadn’t gone back on her word, I wouldn’t be in the mess.”
“What part did she go back on?” Fluffy or paying him off in cash?
He motioned for the bartender to bring him another Bloody Mary. “Up until a month ago, she was giving me money.”
“That doesn’t sound like Mona.”
“I had a little leverage.” He leered at me as if I should be impressed with the revelation. “She was leading a fictional lifestyle. You know what I mean?”
Her and sixty percent of the US population. Way too many people living beyond what they could afford. “So you were blackmailing her?”
“Not at all. We had an agreement. Then she stopped paying me.”
“Why? Because you were sleeping with her best friend?”
He blinked, then laughed. Loudly. You know that annoying drunk-guy laugh? Only I don’t think he was drunk. Yet.
“Whoever told you I was boffing Tricia is crazy. I had the real deal, and I couldn’t stand her. Why would I want a cheap imitation?”
Wow. That was harsh. Accurate, but harsh nonetheless.
“So you threatened Mona?” I asked.
A rather charming smile appeared, and, for a moment, I caught a glimpse of what Mona may have seen in him. Then he opened his mouth. “I explained the situation. And out of the goodness of her heart she started paying me again.”
He was so lying. He was trying too hard to convince me.
“How’d she find the money?”
“How should I know? I didn’t care as long as I was getting what she owed me. She still owes me that dog.”
“You’re not getting Fluffy.”
“I’ll sue you,” he tossed out his empty threat.
We both knew he didn’t have the resources to take me on. “What’s stopping you?” I asked.
He glared at me and chugged the rest of his drink. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“What about her art?” I asked.
“What about it?” he asked warily.
“Why’d she leave it to you? You live on a yacht.”
He sneered, “She had a twisted sense of humor.” He slid off the stool and threw a handful of bills on the bar.
“Is that why you killed her?” I asked before he could get away.
He didn’t bother to even look at me. “She was my cash cow. Why would I kill her?”
That was a very good question. “Maybe you weren’t planning on it. It just happened.”
He looked at me in complete seriousness. “Nothing just happened with Mona.”
And with that he waltzed out of Nick’s as if he didn’t have a care in the world. If the mob was after me, I’d be changing zip codes faster than you could say lily-livered pond sucker.
I’d just stepped outside when I heard someone call my name. It was Darby strolling down the PCH sidewalk with Fluffy.
I watched the two come toward me. Apparently Darby woke up this morning thinking she was impersonating Annie Hall in her wide legged trousers, white long-sleeved t-shirt and brown scarf tied around her neck like a tie.
For all their differences, Fluffy and Darby fit together. Her Highness was in go mode, prancing along side Darby. I had to give Fluffy credit for not tugging on the lead. Impressive. It also gave me an idea.
“Why in the world do you have her?” I asked as soon as Darby was within ear shot.
“I stopped by your place when Bow Wow never opened. I was worried.” Her face was flush from the brisk walk. For a moment she looked like the Darby I met two years ago. Fresh from the midwest without a care.
“And then what? Her Highness raced out the front door, hopped into your little Fiesta, and demanded that you take her for a walk?” I laughed, thinking about Fluffy riding around Laguna in a Ford. So different than her Jag.
“Not exactly,” she hedged. “She doesn’t seem to like your brother.”
I greeted Snob Dog with a pat. She shook off my show of affection.
“Did he guilt you into taking her?” I asked, offended on my friend’s behalf.
“I offered. I’m getting used to her. Was that Cliff driving off?”
“Sure was. He freely admitted he had a gambling problem and was indebted to a certain group of unsavory characters.” We fell into step. The Koffee Klatch was behind us, but there was a Starbucks up the street. I could still get my chai.
“Did he explain about the paintings?” she asked.
“No. But Grey’s working on that angle for us.”
“Grey?” she asked, surprised.
I filled her in on last night. She was also impressed I’d gotten Tova to drop the lawsuit, even if I had to pay her off in the process.
We were standing in line waiting on our Starbucks order when I asked, “How about the three of us visit a certain pet psychic? Mona’s last call was to Jo. I want to know what they talked about.”
“What if she won’t tell you?” Darby asked.
“Then I’ll ask her why she’s blackmailing Tricia.”
