Foul Play - By Janet Evanovich Page 0,27
a rooster that was potty trained. When we get into her apartment you should watch where you’re stepping.”
“When we get into her apartment? No. Not me. That’s very illegal.”
Jake parked and hauled Amy out of the car. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
Jake found the correct door number and looked around. He took a credit card from his wallet and inserted it between the door and the jamb.
“That’s against the law!” Amy said.
“Nonsense. The police taught me how to do this. They wouldn’t teach me to do something illegal. It must only be illegal if you intend to steal something.” The door swung open.
“Jacob Elliott! Don’t you dare go into that apartment.”
“I don’t think it’s breaking and entering, because I didn’t break anything. Are you coming?” he called from the hallway. “I wouldn’t stand out there with the door open if I were you. It looks suspicious.”
Amy put her hand over her heart and crept into the apartment. “I’m too young to go to jail. I’m just beginning my life, for crying out loud.”
Jake closed the door behind her. “If it makes you feel any better, I promise I won’t let them take you away until you’ve … lived a little.”
Amy gave him a black look. “You should be ashamed of yourself. A man of medicine. Isn’t this against your Hippocratic oath?”
“I didn’t take a Hippocratic oath. I said the pledge of allegiance under a picture of Dr. Dolittle. And he’d approve of me looking for Red.”
Jake walked through the living room, dining room, bedroom, and kitchen. He looked in the closets, in the cupboards, in the refrigerator.
“This is strange. There’s absolutely no sign of a rooster having lived here. No rooster food. No cage. No rooster paraphernalia of any kind. That stuff costs money. If it were me, I’d wait a while before I got rid of it. I’d make sure the rooster wasn’t coming back.”
“Maybe the rooster never lived here. Maybe she kept it someplace else.”
“I suppose that’s possible …”
Jake and Amy froze at the sound of a key being inserted in Veronica Bottles’s front door. “Oh hell,” Jake whispered, pushing Amy into the bedroom. “Under the bed!”
“It’s a waterbed. There is no under.”
“The closet! Get into the closet.”
It was a long closet, extending three feet beyond the sliding doors. Jake dived for the deepest part of it and held Amy to him. He could feel her heart thudding against her backbone. Or was that his heart? Pull it together, he ordered himself. Don’t let the panic control you.
He listened for footsteps, straining his ears because sound was muffled through the closet door. Footsteps in the living room. No conversation. She was alone. Jake realized he’d been holding his breath and let it out in a small whoosh.
Minutes ticked by, and he became more aware of the woman in his arms. They were locked together spoon fashion, with her perfect derriere pressed against his zipper. Her hair was silky and fragrant. Her breast hung soft against his thumb. He closed his eyes and silently willed himself to keep control.
Amy’s eyes opened wide. Something suspiciously personal was moving against her bottom. It couldn’t be … It was! She’d read somewhere that this sort of thing happened to men when they were nervous. “Are you nervous?” she whispered.
“No. I’m sorry. I’m ridiculously libidinous.” His hands curled around her rib cage, cuddling her even closer to him. He kissed the tip of her ear and bent to kiss the sensitive spot just below the lobe.
Amy felt the heat pour through her. She’d never been a daredevil, but she had a sudden insight into the allure of the dangerous and exotic. Passion hummed in her veins. Her educated mind told her it was due to a surge of adrenaline, a primitive, primordial instinct to survive, to procreate. Her heart whispered more romantic reasons. This was Jake. Her protector, her love, her friend. It seemed natural to respond to him. It was the intensity that gave her cause for wonder.
They both stiffened as a light flashed on in the bedroom, casting a sliver of yellow under the closet door. More footsteps and suddenly the closet doors were flung open, and a perfectly tanned, naked arm reached into the closet and extracted a hanger. Clothes rustled, and the hanger returned with a dress draped over it. Veronica sighed heavily and kicked her shoes into the closet.
Amy waited, barely breathing. Hard to believe Veronica hadn’t seen them, hadn’t sensed their presence. They were so