Begging for Trouble Read Online Free Page A

the dark right up until Rob came to that party in regular male clothing. Calling him Bobbi-Rob was her dog’s way of continuing the joke.
    “Don’t be silly. Rob was great, very talented. The whole show was amazing . . . until the murder.”
    Rudy gave a full-body shake. “Not funny, Triple E. You promised there’d be none of that talk ever again, remember?”
    “Oh, I remember,” she said, pulling her sweater off over her head. Walking to the closet, she folded the garment and put it on a shelf, then slipped out of her gray wool slacks and hung them up. “But it couldn’t be helped. There was a”—she glanced at Bitsy, who was huddled into a tight ball, and held a finger to her lips—“problem at the club tonight. Someone got killed and they arrested Rob.”
    “What? Bobbi-Rob? Our Bobbi-Rob?”
    “Yep.” Ellie donned a sleep shirt, gave Bitsy a pat, and headed for the bathroom. After performing her nightly ritual, she returned to the bedroom and found Rudy lying next to their houseguest, his pose protective.
    “Has she said anything?”
    “Nope. But she stopped shiverin’ when I got close to her, so I’m stayin’ down here for a while. Is that okay with you?”
    “I was hoping you’d do that. Bitsy is always talkative when you’re around, but she hasn’t said word one to me.” She doused the light and snuggled under the covers. A few minutes later Rudy gave her cheek a sloppy lick. “I thought you were sleeping next to Bitsy.”
    “I will, but she’s out like a light, so I have to ask, was there really a murder?”
    Ellie ruffled his ears. “Yes. One minute the performers were headed into the finale; the next someone offstage was screaming like a freight train. Sam left to—”
    “Detective Doofus? It figures he’d stick his nose in it.”
    “He was simply doing his job as an officer of the law.”
    “So how did you get involved?”
    “I followed him, of course. I didn’t want him to get hurt.”
    “As if you could stop a bullet.”
    “I didn’t hear any shots, so I thought it might be a fight. When I got to the backstage area, I took a look in the room with a crowd at the door and . . .”
    “And . . .”
    “There was blood. Lots and lots of blood,” she said in a hushed tone. “And Rob was kneeling over the body with a pair of scissors in his hand.”
    “Somethin’ must have happened, because the Bobbi-Rob I know would never kill anyone.”
    “Exactly what I thought, but nobody asked for my opinion.”
    “Then the cops arrived?”
    “Not just the cops. Vince, the medical examiner, her new assistant, the EMTs, the whole investigative team. Before I could find out more, the place was crawling with officials.”
    “Where was Bitsy when it happened?”
    “Under Rob’s makeup table. She would have been left there overnight or, worse, taken to the city pound if he hadn’t asked me to look after her.”
    “Typical cop reaction,” the yorkiepoo pronounced. “Forget the canines. They’re not worth a second thought.”
    “You’re being too harsh. Vince and Sam could have insisted they take Bitsy to canine prison, but they agreed to let her stay with us. They did the best they could.” She rolled to her side and gave him a shove. “Now get down there and stay close in case she has a nightmare or something. If she wakes up, try and get her to talk. I’ll find out what else we can do in the morning.”
     
    “Bitsy is totally traumatized,” Ellie said as she and Rudy accompanied Vivian to her subway stop. “On this morning’s walk, she did her business, then sat in a trance until I picked her up and carted her the rest of the way home. If she doesn’t act normal by the end of the day, I’m taking her to Dr. Dave for a checkup.”
    “Where is she now?” Vivian asked as they headed up Lexington.
    “Asleep on my bed, I hope. She didn’t spend a very restful night.” Rudy had complained that Bitsy had awakened him several times with pathetic-sounding whimpers. Ellie