her two fellow contestants as the credits rolled, wondering if it was possible that Angela Gold could have rekindled a love affair with Dog and written him the letter…and killed him out of anger when it had gone south once again.
"Looks like it will be an interesting match tomorrow," Ramirez noted, nodding toward the screen. "Didn't Ralph play against her last time?"
I nodded. "And he won." I only hoped he could pull a repeat out in the finals.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The next morning, Ramirez went in to work late so he could drop the twins off at preschool on the way. He assured me that his mother would be picking them up later and watching them that afternoon while I cheered Faux Dad on at the finale of the Celebrity Jeopardy! Tournament.
With the house to myself, I grabbed a second cup of coffee and took my time scrolling through my morning emails. Most were about my fall line, though a few were putting in early purchase orders for spring, which was a good sign that the current designs were selling. After I updated my social media with some teasers about the vintage inspired line coming soon and had fully fortified myself with caffeine, I dared to take a peek at the Informer's page to see what sort of story Tina had published.
As expected, her headline was front and center.
Secret Lover Slays Scot
Who was the mysterious last lover in Dog's life? And what did she have to do with his death?
I had to hand it to Tina, she knew how to pique a person's curiosity. Even though I already knew she had no answers to those questions, I found myself scanning the article. While it was several inches long, it was full of innuendoes and speculations, giving precious few actual details. Or, I noticed, direct accusations that could be refuted by a libelous celebrity's attorney. Tina knew how to skirt a defamation suit almost as well as she knew how to skirt the truth. Still, I was glad to see it focused on Dog's personal life and away from any mentions of my stepfather.
I was just about to go grab a third cup of coffee and see what my lunch options looked like when my doorbell rang, and I opened it to find Dana and Marco standing on my front porch.
"Hello, dahling!" Marco flounced in first wearing black leggings, a black skirt, and a sheer black blouse covered in frills.
Dana followed in a pale grey shift dress and a pair of tasteful heels. Unlike Marco's heels—which were red, chunky, and looked like they belonged attached to someone working a pole.
"Marco told me everything," Dana said. She grabbed me in a hug and crushed me to her. "You could have been killed, Maddie!"
"Ash a it amatic," I mumbled, my lips mashed against her shoulder.
"What?" she asked, pulling back.
"I said 'That's a bit dramatic,'" I repeated. "I had some car trouble, but I'm fine."
"Car trouble?" Dana shook her head. "Marco said you plowed headfirst into a taco truck when someone cut your brakes."
"We don't know for sure they were cut," I hedged. "They just kind of didn't work."
"Come on, honey," Marco said, putting a hand on his ruffled hip. "How else do you explain it?"
Honestly? I couldn't.
"I don't know." I sighed, sinking onto the sofa.
"Well I do," Dana said, sitting beside me. "Obviously we made someone nervous enough to try to warn you off Dog's murder. The killer must have followed us back to Legends and tampered with your brakes while we chatted in the car."
That cold chill crept up my back again at the thought that someone had not only tried to harm me but had also been following us the entire day. "You think?" I asked, my voice suddenly coming out shaky.
"Unless the killer is Rupert Blick," Marco reasoned. "In that case, he probably cut them after you interrogated him at the restaurant."
Which didn't make me feel any better. "Ramirez said he'd send an investigator to look at my car. I'm sure he'll find out what happened."
Dana frowned. "Did you tell him what we found out yesterday?"
I nodded. "I gave him the broad strokes."
"And?" Marco asked.
"And I'm sure he'll look into it."
Two pairs of dubious eyes stared back at me.
"Look, we should leave this to the professionals. There's nothing more we can do anyway."
"Wrong," Dana said. "We can go to Dog's memorial at the studio today. It will be the perfect chance to talk to Laura Delmoore and find out for sure if