Goodbye Dolly

nerves are shot,' she said. 'I think it's a combination of the heat and Ronny's murder.'

'You should have let me drive.'

'You're always lost. I'll take care of the driving. You pay attention to where we're going and start orienting yourself to Phoenix's streets. I've never known anyone with such a poor sense of direction.'

'I haven't gotten lost for a long time.'

'Right. Sure.'

'There she is.' Gretchen pointed. 'Pull over.'

Nina edged to the curb and idled in a no parking zone.

'Make it quick,' she said, adjusting the bows in her hair. 'I don't want a ticket.'

As soon as the car stopped, all three dogs began prancing in the backseat, running into each other and yipping. Gobs of canine goo streaked the back windows. Nimrod and Tutu recognized Daisy immediately, and their chorus resounded at a nerve-racking level.

Daisy sat alone on a wooden bench wearing a baggy purple dress and a red baseball cap, and weeping into a corner of the dress.

'What's wrong, Daisy?' Gretchen said, getting out of the car and sitting down beside her.

'Oh, hey.' Daisy looked up and sniffed, trying to compose herself. 'I'm okay.'

'Your bedroom is still waiting for you, whenever you feel like stopping by.'

'Thanks, Gretchen, but it's hard to get noticed by talent scouts way up there by the mountain. I need to be on the streets. Visible. Besides, I have everything I need right here with me.'

She motioned to a shopping cart wedged between the bench and an electrical pole. It was packed with old clothes and other miscellaneous items Daisy had found in her wanderings.

'Any luck with the acting yet?' Gretchen slung her arms across the back of the bench. She saw Nina scowl at her from the car.

'Soon,' Daisy said, sniffling. 'I just need my first big break. Then it's Hollywood, here I come.'

Gretchen wished she had paid more attention in her college psych classes. Daisy talked incessantly of her future as a movie star. There must be a clinical name for it. Not that a label mattered. The woman would never agree to psychological testing or medication.

'You know, I promised to look out for you,' Gretchen said. After Daisy almost died in a car accident, Gretchen had made a vow to herself that she planned on fulfilling, with or without Daisy's cooperation.

'I know you did.' Daisy's eyes were red and rimmed with tears.

'You're not making it easy.'

'Don't worry about me. Worry about Nacho,' Daisy said, beginning to sob again.

'What's going on?' Gretchen felt a tightness in her chest, and she sat up straighter.

'They did a sweep again. I can't find him.'

'Oh, no.'

Daisy shook her head sorrowfully. 'They came in a van,'

she said, 'and rounded us up as we came out of the soup kitchen. I ducked back inside, but Nacho wasn't quick enough.'

Angry, Gretchen looked down the street as though she might spot the van. 'How long ago?'

Daisy shrugged helplessly and looked off into the distance. 'I don't know. Awhile.'

Nina blew the horn.

'Come with us,' Gretchen said, rising from the bench.

'We'll help you look for him.'

'I can't leave my stuff behind.'

Gretchen eyed the mounded shopping cart. 'It won't fit in the car,' she said.

Daisy looked up and down the street, then she called out, and two women left a bench farther down and started over.

'We're neighbors,' Daisy said. 'They'll watch my things.'

'Hey, doggies.' Daisy slid into the backseat, and the canines pounced on her with a volley of delighted squeals. Gretchen saw Nina scrunch her nose at the new odors permeating the Impala. Nina rolled down her window a few inches.

'Nacho's been relocated again,' Gretchen informed Nina.

'Isn't that illegal?' Nina asked. 'To take Nacho against his will and drop him off someplace else?'

'I suppose,' Daisy said. 'But what's he going to do about it? Sue?'

'They probably didn't take him far,' Nina said. 'Last time, wasn't he dumped in Mesa?'

'And he found his way back,' Gretchen said to reassure Daisy. 'He'll be back this time, too.'

Nina nodded. 'He could be anywhere, but he's resourceful.'

She shot into traffic and wove expertly between lanes.

'You're right,' Daisy said. 'He'll come back. He wouldn't leave me by myself for long.'

'You know,' Gretchen said, changing the subject. 'Ronny Beam was murdered a few hours ago.'

'I heard,' Daisy said.

'How did you find out already? It just happened.'

'It's all over the street. Nobody liked Ronny much.'

'That's an understatement if I ever heard one,' Nina muttered.

'Last January he came to our campsite,' Daisy said.

'He said he wanted to see how we make it through the winter. Like Phoenix winters ever get that cold. He was really obnoxious. He had cheap wine in a paper bag and tried to panhandle from an undercover cop. Everybody was relieved when they arrested him and carted him away.'

'Dumb as a brick,' Nina said.

Daisy had all three dogs on her lap. Her newest fan, Sophie, rode in the crook of her arm. 'Who killed him?' she asked.

Nina shrugged, her eyes on the road. 'Could have been anyone who ever met the creep.'

'Could be you,' Daisy said. 'You really didn't like him.'

'Oh, my.' Nina slowed down and glanced in the backseat at Daisy. 'I had a fight with him yesterday in front of all kinds of witnesses.'

'It was quite a fight,' Gretchen said to Daisy. 'She hit him with her pepper spray.'

'What do you think, Gretchen? Am I a suspect?'

'No, of course not,' Gretchen reassured her. 'You were at your table the whole time, weren't you?'

Nina paused to think about it. Then she grinned widely.

'Yup. I was.'

'And you have all kinds of witnesses to that,' Gretchen said. 'You're off the hook.'

Gretchen thought of Steve's altercation with Ronny, which had taken place in front of as many, if not more, witnesses. She couldn't say the same for him.

Daisy showered and changed her clothes while Nina occupied her time with a training session for Sophie. This was Gretchen's chance to get some much-needed advice, and her aunt Gertie in Michigan was the perfect person to ask for it.

Gretchen could use a break from personal conflict, and the last thing she wanted was for Nina to know about this phone call. She closed the workshop door to ensure privacy. Aunt Nina and Aunt Gertie didn't get along, mainly because they were both strong, opinionated alpha females. Gertie Johnson came from Gretchen's father's side of the family and was only related to Nina through marriage. Nina mentioned that fact every time Gertie's name came up in conversation.

When the familiar voice answered, Gretchen said, 'How are things in the Upper Peninsula?'

'Still holding together,' Aunt Gertie said. 'The fall colors are at their peak. You should come for a visit.'

'I'd like that. Still running your private investigation service?'

'Of course. Someone has to catch criminals. You don't expect my sheriff son to be doing much.'

Blaze, Gretchen's cousin, ran the local law enforcement service like The Andy Griffith Show. Stonely, Michigan, had a lot in common with Mayberry. So did Blaze and Barney Fife. No wonder her aunt took the law into her own hands.