Page 110 of Murder By the Millions

“You won’t believe what I learned.”

“Tell me.”

I whispered in her ear and pulled Finette’s bracelet from my pocket. She gazed at it and whistled softly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Finette approaching. Quickly, I stuffed the bracelet into its hiding place.

“Allie,” Finette said, “thanks for calling and leaving a message. Given your kind visit to my great-aunt, I was hoping you would show up. A word.”

“After the meeting.”

“Now.”

CHAPTER24

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly.It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it,that you may come across four or five times in life.

—Nick Carraway in F. Scott Fitzgerald’sThe Great Gatsby

Finette hitched her chin, insisting I follow her.

I did and glanced at her ankles. The one that usually sported an infinity bracelet had a wide flexible fabric bandage on it.

Tegan trailed me. “I’ll come, too.”

“No, Tegan,” Finette said. “This is a private matter. Stay here.” She flicked a finger. “Allie, outside.”

“It’s okay,” I assured my pal. “When Zach gets here, tell him where we are.”

Finette said, “Let’s go,” and passed through the archway into the vestibule. She made a beeline for a door leading to the rear patio and exited. She strode to the cast-stone fountain, which stood about twenty feet from any walls or windows.

The air was cool, but I didn’t dare wrap my arms around my torso. I might need them to defend myself.

“For your information, Zach won’t be coming,” Finette said. “He’s on a call. It appears there’s been a disturbance near the Sugarbaker estate.”

My stomach wrenched. Had she killed someone else? Did she hope Zach would think a serial killer was at large? “What kind of disturbance?”

“A vicious dog named Moose is on the loose.” Her eyes glinted with malice.

Oh, no. After learning I’d spoken with Katherine and intended to attend the council meeting, she must have let the dog out to distract the police.

“What’s in your pocket, Allie?” she demanded.

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying. You showed Tegan a piece of jewelry.”

“Oh, that.” Man, she had eagle eyes. I pulled the ankle bracelet free. “I came across this at my place. Could it be yours?”

“It is. I lost it the night of the neighborhood watch party.” She opened her palm. “Hand it over.”

“Now who’s lying? You had it on at Ragamuffin on Sunday. Iggie commented on it.”

Her eyes flickered, as if she was trying to work out a better explanation.

I gestured to the bandage on her leg. “What happened to your ankle? Did you catch it on a nail or, to be specific, a cat’s toenail?”

“No.”

“Many cat scratches heal within a few days, but a deeper one can take longer. It could even get infected. Want me to take a peek? I’m an expert at treating wounds.”