Whiskey Rebellion (Romantic Mystery/Comedy) Book 1 (Addison Holmes Mysteries)

shop,” Marika said. “Ve have to be poor for a little while. Ze government is paying attention to our spending.”
    I made a sympathetic noise, trying not to gag. “Oh, sugar. It’ll be my treat. I’m sure you need the break more than I do. I can’t imagine having to live like a poor person.”
    “It is very difficult,” Marika agreed. “Zey have nothing. No sexy cars or hot tubs. No body scrubs or shopping sprees. It is a dismal life. I’ll be glad ven ve can collect our money.”
    I restrained the urge to march up to her front door and put my hands around her throat after her comments about being poor, choosing the mature route by making notes in the margin of the file about she and Noogey being able to collect their money soon.
    “That’s just terrible,” I drawled. “How much longer are you going to have to live that way?”
    “Not long, I zink. Walter promised me we’d be in Rio zipping zhampagne by the end of the month.”
    “Ooh, then you definitely need a spa day, sugar. You can’t go to Rio with the smell of poor following you around.”
    “Zes, zou are right. I vill meet you at ze Green Door in half an hour.”
    Without so much as a goodbye, Marika disconnected and I shuffled my way back to the edge of the dumpster so I had a better view. I’d have to report the trip to Rio to the authorities. The judge hadn’t demanded Noogey’s passport because his lawyer had claimed Noogey needed to be able to deal with his foreign businesses in person, but this information would likely change that.
    I smiled as the trailer door opened and Marika came trotting out in tiny shorts that showed off miles of tanned legs. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her breasts held up a halter-top of shimmering violet. Her feet were in strappy heels and a Yorkie stuck his head out of an oversized purse. I could see the disgust on her pouty lips from where I sat as she made her way to the hatchback with the missing bumper.
    I shook my head in disgust. It was the most terrible attempt I’d ever seen at subterfuge. Marika made the worst poor person I’d ever seen. She kicked the tire once and let out an oath ripe enough to make a sailor blush. I zoomed in on the rock decorating her ring finger, taking several quick shots of the tacky diamond. It had to be at least ten carats, though she was wearing it on her right hand, so it wasn’t an engagement ring. If Noogey and Marika were truly in financial trouble, that ring would have been the first thing to go.
    Marika threw the car in reverse, the gears grinding and tires squealing, before she sped out of the trailer park. I waited a good five minutes to make sure she was gone before I unfolded from behind the dumpsters. The sun was brutal, and I could feel the burn on the back of my neck and my nose. I needed ice cream, a bottle of water and a shower. In that order.
    The surrounding trailers were quiet as I crept toward Noogey’s, most of them having left for work bright and early. The flimsy knob and hole in the front door were a nice diversion, considering it also had two sturdy deadbolts and the door was thick as a tree trunk. The windows were a heavy, double-paned glass, and I was willing to bet they were wired with a hell of a security system. They were coated with grime, dirt and a black film to keep anyone from being able to see in. Noogey was protecting something, that was for sure.
    I walked the perimeter of the house and found a broken dog kennel by the back stairs that looked like it had been ground in a garbage disposal. I pushed it up to the window carefully, avoiding the sharp pieces of metal, and I climbed on top. I held on to the windowsill for balance, distributing my weight on each corner of the kennel as it creaked and wobbled beneath me.
    My heart pounded in my chest and adrenaline coursed through my veins as I lifted the camera above my head. All I needed was a weak spot in their security and this job would be done. Maybe the camera would be able to see something I couldn’t. I started clicking the shutter as the wobbling below me increased, and I found it harder and harder to keep my balance.
    I’d just decided to get down and try another window when the face of a beast crashed against the window—snarling jowls and strings of snot hanging between razor sharp teeth.
    I screamed as the kennel collapsed beneath me and I went sprawling on the concrete, my arms wrapped around the camera to protect it. I hit on my back with a