She was in desperate need of a hug, and no one gave better ones than her Uncle Stan. Her father’s younger brother, he was built in the same Cooper male mold as Mel’s dad, who had passed away unexpectedly over ten years ago.
There was nothing polite about Cooper men’s hugs. They were big, meaty bear hugs that made even a tall girl like Mel feel safe and protected. One of the many reasons Mel had fallen in love with her fiancé, Joe DeLaura, who was also Angie’s older brother, was that he could give the same type of no-reservations-all-in-don’t-worry-I’ve-got-you sort of hug. At the moment, however, Uncle Stan was all business.
“Tell me what happened,” he said.
Mel recited the events of the past fifteen minutes while watching the door, willing a patrol officer to appear. She really wanted to hang up and call Joe now.
Angie rubbed the tears off her face and took her phone out of her handbag. She stared at it for a moment and then blew out a breath.
Mel watched as she opened her contacts and pressed Tate’s number. They exchanged a look of shared misery while Angie waited for Tate to pick up.
Angie cringed when Tate’s voice came through her phone, sounding delighted to hear from his bride. Angie closed her eyes. Her voice was gruff when she spoke.
“Tate, I have some bad news,” she said.
A movement by the front door drew Mel’s attention and she saw a female patrol officer walking towards the entrance. She gave Angie’s shoulder another quick squeeze and went to greet her.
“Uncle Stan, there’s an officer here,” she said.
“Don’t hang up until you let him know who you are and that I’m on the phone with you,” he said. “In fact, put him on with me.”
“It’s a her,” she said. “It’s Lisa Kelley.”
“Good, she’s the best,” Uncle Stan said. “Hey, does she have Cupcake with her?”
“Cupcakes?” Mel asked. “Why would she have cupcakes?”
“Not cupcakes—Cupcake,” Uncle Stan said. “Lisa was moved to the canine unit. Her dog’s name is Cupcake.”
“Really?” Mel asked. “That’s ridiculously cute.”
“Don’t be fooled. She’s a four-and-half-year-old Belgian Malinois, and she can take down a three-hundred-pound drug dealer on the run in less than ten seconds.”
“Well, okay then,” Mel said.
“Put Lisa on the phone,” Stan said. Then as an afterthought he added, “Please.”
“Will do.”
Mel reached the door before Officer Kelley and pushed it open. Lisa kept her dog tight at her side as she stepped into the studio. Mel watched Lisa do a visual sweep of the room. Cupcake made a low whimper in her throat and Lisa patted the dog, letting her know she heard her.
“She smells the body,” Lisa said. “She’s not a cadaver dog, but still the smell must be alarming for an animal that has three hundred million olfactory receptors in her nose.”
Mel nodded. She had no idea what to say. They were standing in the midst of a crime scene, which was bad enough, but the fact that it was someone she knew and liked made her heart hurt and her stomach twist.
Lisa seemed to understand. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck and she glanced at Mel and then Angie through her rectangular-framed glasses. Mel suspected she didn’t miss much. Lisa gave Mel a rueful look, and said, “I much prefer seeing you when you come into the station with cupcakes.”
“Same,” Mel said. “But I’m glad you’re here.” She held out her phone. “Stan wants to talk to you.”
Lisa took the phone, but before answering, she asked, “Are you two all right?”
Mel nodded. “We’re okay.” She gestured towards Blaise’s office. “The owner of this studio, Blaise Ione, he’s . . . he . . . you’ll find him in there.”
Lisa nodded and lifted the phone up to her ear. “Hey, Stan, it’s Lisa.”
Mel could hear Uncle Stan barking instructions while Lisa listened, a wrinkle creasing her brow. Mel couldn’t tell if it was concern or annoyance. Uncle Stan could be a wee bit overbearing.
“Yes, I can do that,” she said. “Right away.”
Mel glanced back at Angie to see how she was holding up. She was weeping again and having a hard time talking. Mel took the phone from her hand and lifted it to her ear.
“Hey, Tate, it’s Mel,” she said.
“Mel, are you both okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Officer Kelley is here from the Scottsdale PD and Uncle Stan is on his way.”
“Good, that’s good,” he said. His voice cracked. “I’m on my way, too.”
Mel knew it was pointless to try and talk him out of it. Blaise was an old friend of his and Tate’s bride was here in a puddle of tears. Of course he was coming. That was the sort of man Tate was.
“Be careful, Tate,” she said. “I know how hard this must be for you, but I’m with Angie. There’s no rush.”
“Got it,” Tate said. His voice was gritty and Mel suspected that was all he could get out.
The call ended and she handed the phone back to Angie. Angie dabbed at her nose with a tissue she’d pulled out of her bag. She glanced up at Mel and handed her one, too. Mel felt the dampness on her cheeks. Huh, she hadn’t even realized she was crying. She took the tissue and blotted her face.
“What if we did this?” Angie asked. Her voice was just above a whisper and Mel had to lean in close to hear her.
“What?” Mel’s eyes bugged. She looked at Angie as if she’d hit her head on the concrete chair. “What do you mean? I’m pretty sure I’d know if I strangled someone with a camera strap.”
Mel glanced over her shoulder to be sure that Officer Kelley and Cupcake had gone into Blaise’s office to check on him. She could only imagine what Lisa would think if she heard what Angie had said.
Angie twisted
