Purrfect Rivalry

Chapter 17

On their way home, Chase passed Brown’s Apothecary, the 24-hour pharmacy, and she said, “Just drop me off here, Chase. I just thought of something.”

“Another hunch, huh?”

“Something like that.”

“If you need aspirin, I’ve got some at home.”

“No, it’s nothing. I just need to pick something up for my cats.”

“All right,” he said. “You sure love those furballs of yours, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” she admitted. He pulled up to the curb and she got out.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked, leaning over.

“Um, pretty sure I’m not.”

“You’ve got a smudge on your nose, Poole. C’mere.”

She stuck her head back in, wondering where she could have smudged her nose, and when she was close enough he gave her nose a kiss. “There. That should take care of it.”

“I, um, I think I have another one… here,” she said, pointing at her upper lip.

He quickly pulled her into the cab and she laughed as he ravished her until they both had to come up for air. “Well, hasn’t this been fun?” he asked with a grin as she crawled from his lap and out of the car. “We should do this again sometime.”

“See you around, Chase.”

“Pick you up in the morning?”

“Sure thing. Though you’re going to need a cannon to wake me up.”

He drove off and she headed into the pharmacy. Max and Dooley had been looking so dispirited lately she thought they could use some extra vitamins. Max probably thought it was the beef he seemed to have with Diego, but she was pretty sure he simply needed some choice supplements. Or maybe she should change his diet? Max was a very picky eater.

She got the vitamins and walked out of the pharmacy, and she’d just set foot for home when a white stretch limo drew up next to her and Charlie Dieber opened the door.

He was only dressed in navy star-spangled boxers and looked much the worse for wear. Not the squeaky-clean pop star she’d become a fan of. “Hey, babe!” he called out from inside the limo. The pervasive sweet smell of marijuana assaulted her nostrils and she coughed. “Wanna party with the Dieber?”

“No, thank you,” she said with a disapproving frown. “And shouldn’t you be home?”

“Home’s for suckers,” he announced. “Besides, they keep trying to kill me, so home’s kinda dangerous right now. But I’ve got everything we need right here, babe. Just step into the Dieber Machine and the Dieber will give you a night you will never forget.”

She bent down so her eyes were level with the pop star’s. “I’m Odelia Poole, Charlie.”

He grinned lasciviously. “Nice to meet you, Odelia Poole. Lovely name for a sexy dame.”

“I’m working with the police to find the man who tried to shoot you this morning.”

“I’m liking you better and better. Why don’t you get in so you can tell me all about it?”

“She’s a cop, boss,” the driver called out. “You may want to rethink this.”

Charlie gulped. “A cop? She doesn’t look like a cop. Are cops usually this hot?”

“She’s a civilian consultant,” said the driver, who seemed to be well-informed.

“We met at the house this afternoon,” Odelia reminded him, a touch of pique in her voice. How could this idiot not recognize her? They met twice! “And again this evening? I was the one who discovered it was one of your bodyguards who put that knife on your pillow?”

“So you did!” he said, his face clearing. “Hey, you’re clever and hot!”

She pressed her lips together. “Please be on your way, Charlie.” She would have said ‘Please get lost,’ but she was still working the man’s case, and didn’t want to be rude.

“Ouch.” He touched his bare chest. “You just broke the Dieber’s heart, babe.”

“Oh, for crying out loud,” she muttered, slammed the limo door shut and stalked off.

He rolled down his window. “Some other time, huh, babe? Can I have your number?”

Without turning back, she held up a hand. She would have raised her middle finger but the same principle still applied: never disrespect the subject of an ongoing investigation.

She couldn’t help wondering, though, if the world wouldn’t be a better place if Charlie Dieber had taken that bullet that morning instead of Ray Cooper. She reprimanded herself. Charlie might be a douchebag, but even douchebags didn’t deserve to die. Right?