right places, and most vital of all-'
I never found out what this most vital thing was, because at this point the front door was flung open and a skeletal woman, accompanied by two unleashed standard poodles, one black and one white, strode in. She gestured with a hand weighed down by many rings, and the poodles obediently sat, one on either side of her.
The woman was, to say the least, an arresting figure. Her face was dead white, her lipstick brilliant red, her short hair midnight black. She had on a tight purple Spandex top and what I took to be a version of a brightly colored gypsy skirt, with many ruffles. On her feet were strappy purple sandals. Most notable of all, around her neck was a jeweled collar which exactly matched the jeweled collars her poodles wore.
'My man, Lonnie,' she said in a surprisingly soft, sweet voice, 'where is he?'
Melodie didn't miss a beat. 'Lonnie stepped out for a moment. He'll be back soon.' Flashing a dazzling smile with her perfect dental equipment, she added, 'You must be Pauline Feeney of Glowing Bodies.'
She nodded, then fixed Melodie with an intent gaze. 'I never forget a face. I've seen you on the small screen. Refulgent Toothpaste, wasn't it?'
This was Melodie's great success story, and so far the only commercial in which she'd appeared. Melodie's smile grew even wider, exposing another couple of tooth veneers to the air. 'Yes, that's right! I'm the Refulgent Girl in the Laundry.'
'Your name?'
'Melodie Davenport,' Melodie breathed. I happened to know her last name was Schultz, but as Melodie had pointed out, that was not the name of a star-to-be.
I came around the other side of the desk to check out the poodles. Much as I liked dogs, I did have Julia Roberts's welfare to consider. For all I knew, these two were inveterate cat chasers, and Jules could come around the corner any moment and create a nasty scene.
The white poodle was nearest to me. 'G'day,' I said. 'How are you with superior felines?'
'That's Upton and this is Unity,' Pauline Feeney said, indicating the black poodle. She added with a hint of asperity, 'Both are highly trained, and are totally under my control. If they weren't, then I'd have them on leashes, wouldn't I?'
'Fair enough.' I put out my hand. 'Kylie Kendall,' I volunteered helpfully. 'You wouldn't know me from a bar of soap.'
She shook my hand briefly, her very red lips curved in a faint smile. 'You're too modest. You're Ariana's business partner. Brought up in some little outback town in Australia. You inherited a controlling interest in Kendall & Creeling when your father died.'
Blimey, this sheila knew a lot more about me than was comfortable. Lonnie had obviously been gasbagging.
Almost as though my thoughts had materialized him, Lonnie came rushing through the door. Red and perspiring, he exclaimed, 'Pauline! I saw your car, and realized you'd arrived early. So sorry I wasn't here.'
'Well, you're here now,' she said, taking his arm.
'Hold my calls, Melodie,' said Lonnie in an authoritative tone as he and Pauline set off in the direction of his office, with Upton and Unity trotting along behind.
'Watch out for Julia Roberts,' I called after them.
''Hold my calls,' he says,' muttered Melodie to herself. She gave a snort worthy of Aunt Millie. 'Lonnie's just trying to impress her.'
'I reckon she's going to be impressed by the state of Lonnie's office.'
This thought cheered Melodie. But then her expression grew speculative. 'Is it true what Pauline Feeney said- that you own more of Kendall & Creeling than Ariana does?'
'Forty-nine to fifty-one percent. Didn't you know that?'
'I never liked math,' Melodie said with an airy gesture. She frowned. 'No offense, but it's hard to believe you have more say than Ariana.'
I knew exactly what she meant. Ariana radiated cool, controlled authority. I wasn't altogether sure what I radiated, but it wasn't that.
'What do you see when you look at me?' I asked.
Melodie frowned. 'It's obvious, isn't it? I see you, Kylie.'
'Imagine you were auditioning me. What would you see then?'
Melodie's expression cleared. 'I get what you mean.' She cocked her head, considering me. 'Nice hair, much better styled than when you came, but you should consider color. I mean, dark brown is boring, don't you think? Good skin, but you've got no clue about makeup. And you have to drop some pounds. That's a definite. As for your clothes-'
Pandemonium broke out down the hallway. Shouts, barking, and then a series of frantic yelps were followed by the sight of Upton speeding towards us, Julia Roberts, her claws hooked into his curly white coat, grimly riding him like a jockey.
Four
'Just how many people are we planning to save?' asked Lonnie, staggering under the weight of a large carton.
Fran, who was superintending the removal of the office supplies to a shed just erected in the backyard and the re-stocking of the storage room with disaster supplies, snapped, 'The Department of Homeland Security has made it very clear that citizens cannot be too prepared. Terrorists could strike at any time.'
'You're not answering the question,' Lonnie pointed out, depositing the carton where Fran indicated. 'You must have enough stuff here for scores of people, and last time I looked, there were only seven of us in the building. You, me, Kylie, Ariana, Bob, Melodie, and Harriet. And Harriet will be on maternity leave any day now.'
'Don't forget Julia Roberts,' I said.
Lonnie glared at me. 'Forget Julia Roberts? Would that I could!'
I felt duty bound to speak up for her. 'She was just defending her territory yesterday.'
'Defending her territory by lacerating the back of an innocent poodle who was peacefully minding his own business?'
'Jules obviously felt threatened. After all, there were
Lonnie put his hands on his pudgy hips. 'Since Julia Roberts is yours, I'm expecting you to cover the vet bills.'
By all accounts it seemed that Jules had started the whole debacle, so I said, 'Fair enough.'
'It'll cost you,' Fran observed. 'The Feeney woman goes to Dr. Stanley Evers, veterinary surgeon to the stars.'
'How do you know that?' Lonnie demanded. 'You haven't even got a pet.'
'It's none of your business, Lonnie, but if you must know, Quip happened to mention it.'
Bob Verritt came around the corner hefting two large cartons, one under each arm. His extremely tall, skinny frame didn't seem substantial enough to handle anything really weighty, but from the thud when he set the cartons down, they were really heavy.
'What in the hell is in these?' he asked.
'Disaster supplies,' snarled Fran. 'How many times do I have to tell you people?'
'We're stocking up enough to rescue the whole neighborhood?' Bob inquired.
'Of course not,' Fran said. 'I've taken into account there may be clients in the building when the catastrophe occurs. Besides that, some of us have dear ones we would want to save.'
In Fran's case that would be Quip, her husband. The person most dear to me was Ariana. Harriet had Beth. As far as I knew, Bob had no one special, nor did Melodie.
'Would that include poodles?' Lonnie asked. 'Pauline won't go anywhere without her poodles.'
Fran's pale face was suddenly suffused with red. 'No poodles,' she ground out, 'and certainly no Pauline
