He rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. It’s like any other sense to you and you can’t just turn it off. But isn’t there a way of… I don’t know, shielding your brain or something?”
“Yeah. It’s called high doses of antianxiety pills and lots of meditation.”
His lip curled up just a little. “I could use your help on this one, Landa.”
“But I don’t want to help you, and you can’t make me.” She flipped through her notebook. “You don’t think me or Chip had anything to do with this, do you?”
“You? No. Chip?” He shrugged. “It’s early. He could have done it, and the dog would have trusted him. He’s a good suspect.”
“He’s staying in a hotel and flying back to England in a little over a week. You think he’s going to smuggle a prize poodle out of the country in a week?”
“You’re the one who pointed out that the dog had half a mill around his neck. Maybe Chip doesn’t care about the dog.”
“Then why take him at all? If Baron knows him, it would have been way easier to just take the collar and leave the dog if you wanted a quick getaway.”
“True.” He glanced at her. “See? You’re good at this. That’s why you should help me with this case.”
“I can’t tell you anything that you can’t figure out yourself,” Evy said. “I’m not Vivian or Julia. I can’t use this thing a little bit. It’s like throwing myself into a crowded club where everyone is shouting in my ear.” She shook her head. “I’ve tried meditation, shielding, all that shit. It doesn’t work with the telepathy.”
“So you’re just going to pretend it’s not there?”
“Yep.” She patted his shoulder. “That is exactly the plan. Come to me if someone’s life is actually at stake. I’m not risking my sanity for Bunny’s dog and a fancy necklace.”
“Are you sure? I understand there’s a very handsome reward for finding Baron.”
That made Evy pause. “How handsome are we talking about? Henry Cavill undeniably handsome or Benedict Cumberbatch weirdly handsome but nonetheless compelling?”
John frowned. “I don’t know how to answer that. It’s fifty thousand dollars.”
Evy nearly choked. “Fifty thousand United States of America dollars?”
“And that’s just for the dog.”
“The reward doesn’t mention the necklace?”
“Nope.” He raised an eyebrow. “Interested yet?”
Yes. No. Definitely maybe? “I’ll keep my eye out for anything or anyone here at the show. Why so much for one dog? I realize he was a champion and obviously really special, but—”
“Do you know how much they got for new puppies from Baron and Zara? Seven thousand for a pet and ten to fifteen thousand for a dog that they considered ‘show quality.’ Sometimes even higher than that if it was an unusual color.”
“Good Lord.” Evy had said it before and she’d say it again. “Some people just have way too much money.”
“The important thing is, fifty thousand is a reasonable investment to get a dog like Baron back. So if I were you, I’d think about what edge I could use to find that pooch.” He started to wander away. “And Landa?”
She turned and met his eyes. “Yeah?
“Keep your eye on Chip Dunklin. There’s something about him that sets off my radar.”
“Sounds like you need to be the department psychic, not me.” It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to keep an eye on Chip anyway. He was her cohost for fuck’s sake. “Take care, Chief Marcos.”
Chapter Four
Saturday drinks with the girls varied in location, but that night they were meeting at Casa de Lirio, Richard’s palatial house, and borrowing the pool and Richard as a bartender. Henry had already gone to sleep, so Vivian was relaxed and lounging in a loose summer dress while Julia and Evy sat on the steps of the pool.
“I’m just saying,” Evy said. “If Richard wanted to marry you, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Something hit Evy on the back of the head. She looked down and fished a waterlogged napkin out of the pool.
“You’re starting to sound like my mother. Stop.”
Julia only looked amused. “They’ve only been together for a few months.”
“And you’ve been with Mick for like a year now, and you’ll never marry him.”
“I don’t believe in marriage.” Julia stared off into the distance. “It’s incredibly beautiful tonight.”
Richard’s garden hosted a portal that attracted ghosts and spirits. It wasn’t always there, but when it appeared, it produced a joyful and peaceful feeling in all three of them, which was one of the reasons Vivian had suggested they meet at Richard’s tonight.
“Any ghost activity tonight?”
“No one crossing over that I’ve seen.” Julia’s smile was beatific. “Mae and Elton both came from Sergio and Dean’s. They’re just hanging out and partying with the band.”
According to Julia, the Vista de Lirio neighborhood was chock-full of famous ghosts, but she rarely identified them.
“Hey, Evy?” Vivian called from the lounger. “Did John get ahold of you today?”
“I talked to him. Why?”
“I thought you might be able to help him out with the investigation. I don’t think Julia or I would be much help, but with your telepathy—”
“Okay, I’m telling you the same thing I told John.” She sipped her Paloma for courage. “You all have these nice, manageable gifts that don’t make you crazy. If I flip that switch and stop my meds, I will very quickly become a slobbering mess. I cannot control it, and I’m not risking my mental health so that John can retrieve a fancy dog.”
Julia said, “You should never have stopped your lessons with Maud.”
“Maud wasn’t helping,” Evy said. “She said it herself. She’d never known anyone with true telepathy like mine, and she didn’t know how to limit it without just cutting it off.” Evy shrugged. “So we did, it worked, and I can function again. I’m fine with it.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Vivian said. “After all, Bunny is distraught about Baron, but it’s not like someone has been murdered. I have a feeling the dog will turn up with that giant reward on the table.”
“The giant reward is the only thing I find tempting about the case,” Evy said. “Fifty thousand dollars. I might be able to buy a run-down hovel on the edge of town with fifty grand as a down payment.”
Julia lifted her sunglasses and frowned at Evy. “You never told me you wanted to move out of Aunt Marie’s house.”
“I don’t really.” Evy shrugged. “But you both own your own homes. I’m in my midforties now, and I own nothing other than my car. I feel like I’m… falling behind in life. I don’t have a retirement account. I do have a profitable business, but I can’t clean pools forever.”
“Don’t look at it that way,” Vivian said. “Trust me, houses are a lot of work too. They’re assets, but they cost money to maintain. Renting isn’t a bad thing.”