Jeopardy in High Heels (High Heels #12) - Gemma Halliday Page 0,29
taping yesterday with Doggy Z. We just wanted to come by to offer our condolences on your loss," I said, going with the angle Dana and I had agreed on during the car ride over.
Her hazel eyes looked me over without comment, but she opened the door farther. Laura was pretty in a delicate manner, with dark hair and an olive complexion that was just starting to wrinkle and sag in places. She was dressed simply in jeans and a Dodgers jersey.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "It's been quite a shock. You knew Dog well?"
"My stepfather knew him," I said, stretching the truth a little. "Fernando was so upset to hear of his passing." At least that part was true if, again, stretching.
"Uh, please, come in," she said, stepping back to allow us entry. "My son and his fiancée are here as well."
Dana and I stepped into the foyer then followed Laura the few paces to a small living room off the entry. The cream colored walls held several collages of photographs, mostly depicting pictures of John at various stages in his life. An 8 by 10 photo in the center showed John on his graduation day, in traditional cap and gown, his mother's arm around him.
John and the woman we'd seen him with at the Jeopardy! taping were seated next to each other on a chocolate brown sofa. The television in front of them was tuned to a baseball playoff game, but neither of them appeared to be paying much attention. John rose politely when we came into the room.
"This is my son John and his fiancée Chloe," Laura said, the pride imminent in her voice as she made the introductions. "This is Maddie Springer. Her stepfather was a contestant on Jeopardy! yesterday before your father—" She didn't finish the sentence, putting a hand to her mouth as if to hold back a sob.
"It's nice to meet you." John's dark, penetrating eyes stared curiously at me as he shook my hand and then Dana's. Up close I could see he had more of a resemblance to his father than I'd originally noted. His features were the same as his father's, if softened by youth, though his dark hair was more like his mother's.
"Hello," Chloe said quietly but made no attempt to rise from her seat. She was attractive, with porcelain-like skin and straight hair the color of honey. Her large cornflower eyes were red and looked puffy from crying.
"We're very sorry for your loss," Dana said to the pair.
John nodded solemnly. Chloe's eyes looked like they were filling with tears again. While few people we'd encountered so far seemed broken up about Dog's death, it was clear this family was grieving.
"Please sit down." Laura gestured to two matching armchairs across from the sofa, where she settled herself next to John. "You said your father knew Dog?"
I nodded, feeling just the teensiest bit bad about lying to them. "I'm sure he would have come to offer his condolences himself, but he was just too upset."
"Fernando is the hairdresser, right? How thoughtful of him." Laura folded her hands primly in her lap.
"I didn't see you at the taping," John noted, his eyes still holding a note of suspicion in them.
"We were in the audience," Dana said quickly. "We didn't want to make Fernando nervous by hanging around backstage."
"I remember seeing you there," Chloe piped up. "You were with that red-haired woman who kept shouting, right?"
I cringed. Mrs. Rosenblatt did stand out in a crowd. "A family friend," I mumbled.
"We did go backstage after the show wrapped, but I believe you and your father were already gone by then," Dana added.
"Yes. He wasn't feeling well," John said, a frown falling over his features.
I bit my lip, hesitant to tell him that was because someone had poisoned him. "Have the police been by to talk to you?" I asked in what I hoped was a casual, conversational tone.
John eyed me curiously. "Yes, but they honestly didn't tell us much."
"Dog left the taping with the two of you, right?" Dana asked.
Chloe nodded. "We drove him home. But he seemed fine when we dropped him off." She blinked back tears. "I mean, a little out of it, but we figured he'd just been smoking a little. You know, for the nerves before the game show." The tears leaked over her eyelids, spilling down her cheeks.
John took her hand in his, the frown still etched on his stoic features.