Corpse Suzette

and
marveled.
    “Yes, Gran,” she whispered
to her far away, Georgian grandmother. “You’re so right. It just takes all
kinds to make the world an interesting place to live.”

Chapter

7
     
     
     
    T he next morning, Savannah
was grateful that Abigail slept late because it gave her some private time with
Tammy and Dirk. While Tammy sat at the desk in the corner of the living room,
typing away at the computer, Savannah and Dirk stood behind her, leaning over
her shoulder, staring at the screen.
    “Emerge appears to be on
good footing financially,” Tammy said, studying the screen in front of her.
“The Mystic Twilight Club, on the other hand, is in trouble. Looks like they
were fine until about six months ago. Their credit rating started to decline
last summer, and now they’re running ninety days late on many of their payments
to creditors.”
    Savannah stared at the
screen, trying to see what Tammy was seeing, but the columns and figures there
might have been a foreign language for all they meant to her.
    “I’m glad I’ve got you,
kid,” she said, patting Tammy’s shoulder. “You’re worth every penny I pay you.”
    Tammy looked up at her, a
bright grin on her pretty face. “You pay me? Since when?”
    “Maybe since this weekend
if Sergio gives me that retainer check today. I’m going by Emerge in a little
while to shake him and see if it falls out of his pockets.”
    “Yeah, yeah...” Dirk
shifted from one foot to the other. “And how about this guy’s finances? How’s
he sitting?”
    “Pretty, just like Dr. Du
Bois,” Tammy replied. “That condo on the water costs him a bundle. So do the
cars, the private clubs he belongs to, not to mention his jewelry bills.
Apparently, he keeps himself and some females in sparkling style.”
    “Any engagement rings?”
Savannah asked, thinking of Devon and that passionate butt-feel in the parking
lot.
    “No. Three-carat, princess-cut
earrings and a pinky ring for him, but no diamonds on ladies’ fingers.”
    “And he’s not up to his
neck in debt?” Dirk wanted to know. “Nope. Credit is perfect. He looks great,
at least on paper.”
    “And Suzette’s finances
seem fine, too,” Savannah told him. “No obvious money problems to prompt any
skullduggery.”
    Dirk grunted. “Most people
don’t need prompting. They can be rotten for no reason at all.”
    Tammy looked up at him and
rolled her eyes. “You are so negative, Dirko. Do you get enough fiber in your
diet?”
    He returned the look. “Do
you have to get that head of yours aired up regularly like a leaky tire or—”
    “Okay, okay. Enough of
that.” Savannah gave them both a swat. “We’ve got work to do. I’m headed over
to the vet’s office. Then I’m off to Emerge. I’m meeting Sergio there at ten.
Tam, you see what you can do with that account number and password I gave you.
And keep working on Suzette, too. Her finances may be in order, but something’s
got to be amiss somewhere. Whether she disappeared on her own or had some
serious help, there has to be a reason.”
    “I’ve got to get back to my
drive-by,” Dirk said. “Until we find some of the doctor’s blood or body parts,
I’m not going to spend much time on this thing. Unlike you rich private
detectives, I’m not getting paid to chase down women who decide to run away
with their good-looking, stud-muffin poodle groomer.”
    Tammy closed down the
computer and stretched a kink out of her neck. “I’m going to have some
breakfast, and then I'll work on that account number until Abby gets up. I
promised I’d take her to the old mission today. It’s sorta spooky and gloomy.
Thought she might like it. Unless we hear from Emerge, that is. They’ve kind of
left her hanging.”
    “I’ll see what I can find
out about that, too, while I’m there,” Savannah said. “How long do you think
she’ll be with us... if the makeover is off, that is?”
    Tammy squirmed in her seat.
“Not too much longer, I hope. I’m sorry that she’s such a pain. She’s always
been a bit on the negative side, but I swear she’s a lot worse than I remember.
I know it’s been hard on you having her here.”
    Savannah thought of the
woman dancing in her living room the night before. She recalled how nicely
Abigail had smiled when she had teased her, how well she had taken good-natured
ribbing. She thought about the lonely little girl, the “fat kid” in every
class, the absentee parents.
    Savannah’s parents had