Coco listened attentively and didn’t interrupt me once. By the time I was done talking, he was sprawled over my lap and snuggled against me. We sat like that until the kids came home, and it was time to get dinner started. Heading into the house, I realized that was the best therapy session I’d ever had.
Chris got home in time to eat, and the kids filled him in on Coco’s former owner. “So you’re going to look into it?” he asked me.
“Yes.” I explained what I’d discovered at the precinct, and that I was planning to question the neighbors and the people from the search-and-rescue team. “The detectives have already done that, but maybe I’ll pick up something they missed.” I shrugged. “It’s the least I can do.”
“You should take Coco with you,” Josh said. “He probably knows who the killer is, and he can tell you.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Savannah said. “Coco can’t talk.”
“I know that, dummy, but if he starts barking at them, don’t you think that’s a good clue?”
“I guess… but that doesn’t mean that person is the killer, maybe there are some people Coco doesn’t like. You never know.”
“I think I’ll take him with me.” I broke in, hoping to diffuse the situation. “I’m sure the neighbors and the rescue people could tell me more about Coco, and they might be more open to talk if he’s there.”
“That makes sense,” Chris agreed. “Could you pass the salad?”
Later that night, I asked Chris how the estate planning for Uncle Joey was going. He shrugged. “There’s a lot to go over. Let’s just say that Manetto’s got a ton of assets, and it’s going to take me a while to make sure everything is included.”
“So it’s a big job?”
“Yeah. Once I have everything put together, I’ll go over it with him so he can tell me who gets what after his death. Legally, I’m not supposed to tell you what his assets are, but I’m a little blown away by all of his holdings. He’s loaded.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I figured.”
“And I was shocked that he wants you to be his successor. Did you know?”
“No… it blew me away, too.”
“What are you thinking? You don’t want to do it, do you?” Chris didn’t want me tied up in Uncle Joey’s business. My involvement was bad enough already, and I had no idea how to run such a large enterprise. “I mean… being the executor of his estate is fine. You can’t get a lot wrong because it’s all spelled out. But running his business, even in name only, is asking for trouble.”
Besides having no training in business, being tied to a mob boss would leave me vulnerable to all sorts of undesirable things. And what about the kids? This was a big deal.
All the earlier tension of the day tightened my chest until I could hardly breathe. “I know, but… weren’t you there when he said it was in name only, and someone else would run the business?”
At his nod, I continued. “So it won’t be that bad. Otherwise, I’ll tell him no. Can we write that condition into his will or something?” Hope blossomed in my chest. “I know… you can write up a contract between me and Uncle Joey with that stipulation. That would work, right?”
“Maybe so.” Chris thought about it for a few seconds, and his mood lightened. I was on to something, and it could be the perfect solution. “I’ll see what I can come up with.”
I didn’t want to ruin that happy thought by telling Chris about Uncle Joey’s drug dealer problem, and that I might have to go chasing off to help Ramos and Vinny tonight. Instead, I told him about Dimples’s case with Willow-the-Psychic, and how I’d helped bring Sophie out of it because I’d heard her dead husband.
By the time I got finished, it was late, and Chris’s eyes were drooping. Luckily, I got a text from Ramos that nothing had happened, and, for now, I was off the hook. Relieved, I climbed into bed, grateful I didn’t have to explain it to Chris just yet. But that didn’t mean I could quit thinking about it, and worry kept me awake long into the early morning hours.
CHAPTER 8
Wide awake at seven-thirty a.m., I decided to get up. Chris was just leaving for work, so I gave him a quick kiss before he walked out the door.
After pulling on some clothes and eating a bowl of cereal, I made a couple of phone calls to the people from Mack’s search-and-rescue unit. One of them was available to talk with me later in the morning, especially after I explained that I was Coco’s new owner. That gave me plenty of time to take Coco on a walk back to Mack Haywood’s home, where I hoped to speak with his neighbors.
With Josh and Savannah still asleep, I wrote them a note and left the house with Coco. We took the same route as yesterday, and Coco seemed to know exactly where we were going. As we neared his former house, Coco pulled on the leash a bit, but he wasn’t as excited as yesterday.
He seemed to know that Mack was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. There was no sign of Austin today, but boxes and furniture were visible through the window, so I knew he wasn’t finished cleaning out the house.
I stepped to the neighbor’s house on the right and rang the doorbell. A woman came to the door, but eyed Coco warily. I picked up her fear that someone had killed her next door neighbor, and she wasn’t about to talk to a stranger. After I explained who I was,
