Chow Down (A Melanie Travis Mystery)

it just me or had Bertie assumed the role that I usually played? How unexpected was that? Maybe spending day after day in the company of a child under the age of one had fried my sister-in-law’s brain. But no matter what the reason was, I was happy to play along. When it comes to figuring things out, I’ve found that two heads are almost always better than one.
    “Aloof,” I said.
    “Pardon me? Did you just sneeze?”
    “No, I said that Lisa and Yoda were keeping their distance from the rest of us. Not that, from what I’ve seen so far, there’s anything unusual in that. Lisa isn’t very chatty. She hasn’t warmed up to any of us. And of course, under the circumstances, no one would dream of pushing her.
    “Lisa sat by herself on the bus both ways. There was an open seat beside her, but she has that way of angling her body that lets you know you’re not welcome. The only person I saw her talking to for any length of time in the park was Simone.”
    “She’s one of the judges?”
    “Right. The PR director. Lisa was looking kind of stressed and Simone went over to see if she could help.”
    “Stressed by what?”
    Bertie was relentless. Was this how people felt when I backed them into a corner and grilled them for information? I hoped not.
    Sam emerged from the bathroom. His teeth were brushed and he was mostly naked. And I was stuck on the phone, reliving my day.
    Not a perfect state of affairs.
    “Stressed by what?” Bertie repeated, then paused. “Sam’s back, isn’t he?”
    “Um-hmm.”
    “Ready for bed? Dressed in his jammies?”
    “Yes to the first. No to the second.”
    “Oh.” A wealth of meaning permeated that small syllable. “I guess I’d better go then.”
    But now she had me thinking. “Maybe Simone—” I said.
    “Maybe tomorrow,” Bertie replied. “Have fun.” The phone clicked off.
    I sat there frowning, and wondering if maybe Simone knew something useful. Considering how careful Lisa was to keep the rest of us at bay, the two of them had seemed surprisingly close earlier.
    Sam reached out and took the receiver from my hand. He listened, heard the dial tone, and replaced it in the cradle.
    “Time for bed,” he said.
    It wasn’t like he had to ask me twice.

    With the advent of cell phones it seems like we’ve become a society that’s constantly in touch. People chat while they drive, while they work, while they’re shopping in the supermarket. Sometimes I think people don’t even care who they’re talking to anymore, as long as they’re connected to someone.
    Even I, who regard my cell phone as a necessary evil, seemed to be spending a lot more time on the phone these days. So of course when I got up the next morning, the first thing I did was make another call. Well, let’s not jump ahead. As anyone with dogs knows, the first thing I really did was let the Poodles outside for a run.
    Then I poured myself a cup of coffee, pulled out an old dog show catalogue and looked up the Kims’ address in the back. They lived in Southport, a town too far away to be covered by my phone book; but thanks to the wonders of technology, I was able to get the number off the internet.
    After what Bertie had told me the evening before, I didn’t actually expect anyone to answer when I dialed. But I hadn’t even heard one ring before the phone was snatched up.
    “Hello?” The voice sounded breathless and eager. What it didn’t sound like was Lisa.
    “Hi . . .” I thought fast. “Is this Sue?”
    “Who’s this?”
    “Melanie Travis. I’m Bertie Kennedy’s sister-in-law? We haven’t met but she called me last night—”
    “You’re the one who’s in that contest with Lisa.”
    “Yes.”
    Sue expelled a breath. “Have you seen her? Do you know where she is?”
    “No, that was why I was calling you. To see if there’d been any further news.”
    “Nothing,” Sue said flatly. “The last information I got was when Bertie called me after she spoke with you. I ended up staying here and spending the night on the couch. I guess I half-expected Lisa to come wandering in at three AM but no such luck. Now I don’t know what to do. It’s not like I can just put my entire life on hold until I hear something. But I can’t pack up ten dogs and take them home with me either.”
    “What about calling a professional pet-sitter?”
    “Yeah, I was thinking about maybe doing something like that. I know Lisa is going through a bad patch right now, but let me tell you, this is