Meow is for Murder Read Online Free Page A

was that I’d need to assist on some cases he brought in. Since most involved interesting issues, I had been pleased to accept his offer.

    Of course, our way of practicing law also meant money didn’t pour into my pockets as it once did. Ergo, I still had to rent out that big, beloved house. Lexie and I resided in a small but comfy flat over the garage. Our tenants leased the right to park inside. Hence, my Beamer’s special spot outside.

    “We’re here,” I informed Lexie unnecessarily. She was ricocheting from one car window to another, eager to visit her digs. “But you never answered my question. Do you think I should take care of Amanda’s cats myself? I mean, I have insurance now, in case they injure Rachel. Of course I’d warn her about how they acted toward you. They didn’t actually attack me except when I held you, and Rachel’s a really nice person, so they’re unlikely to dislike her at first sight. I’d pay extra, and—”

    That was when Beggar, the beautiful Irish setter belonging to Russ and Rachel, bounded out of the big house toward us. The security gate had closed once the Beamer was beyond it, so I had no worries about Beggar’s safety. Lexie’s, either, although the Beamer might be in peril of acquiring claw marks on both sides if the pups attempted to dig their ways through to one another.

    “Okay, forget it,” I told Lexie. “Go have some fun.” I opened the car door and she leapt out. In moments, she and Beggar were romping enthusiastically around the side yard.

    The setter’s presence meant Rachel was home. Russ, a Hollywood location scout, was off on one of his many missions to find the finest settings—this time, for an upcoming adventure starring one of the industry’s biggest box-office draws.

    I slipped out of the Beamer and locked it. That’s when I noticed that Rachel had exited the house and was racing down the walkway toward me.

    She was officially an adult at age nineteen, but her waiflike appearance, including big brown eyes and the short and shaggy style of her brunette hair, made her appear much younger. Her enthusiastic attitude toward life lent her an enchanting youthful exuberance, too.

    Her parents were divorced, and she’d followed her dad here to Hollywood, sure that he’d taken on his new career solely to ensure her a future in film roles.

    “Kendra, hi!” she called as she ran. “Wait till you hear.” She slid to a stop in front of me. “That audition I told you about? The one where that friend of the grip on the last film Dad worked on thought I would have a chance at landing a speaking role? Well, it’s tomorrow. I’m so excited!”

    This last comment was unnecessary, given her little leaps in the air.

    Despite Lexie’s lack of an answer to me earlier, I’d already realized that my success in trying to talk myself into having Rachel handle Amanda’s cats was waning. Even so, I had to ask, “How early does it start? And any idea how long it’ll last?”

    Only then did it dawn on my young assistant that I might not completely share her exuberance. Her big smile segued into a larger frown of dismay. “I have to be there at 6 A.M. And if they like me, I’ll need to hang around. Kendra, I’m sorry, but the pet-sitting stuff I’m doing right now . . . can you handle it tomorrow? The only thing that should be a problem is the midday stuff, right? And right now, that’s only Widget.”

    Widget was a highly energetic terrier mix who lived in the northern Valley. I’d walked him midday myself until I got my law license back. For a while, I’d had to tell his owner I couldn’t care for him during the day—until I’d hired Rachel. Then, I’d turned him over to her.

    Rachel had attended auditions before. She’d even achieved a teensy role in a play once. I wished her well in her acting ambitions. But if she ever landed a role of substance, or one that required filming out of town . . . well, without Rachel’s services, I wasn’t