“The plan, if there was one, has a downside,” I pointed out. “They got Abra, too. And that bitch is no bargain.”
Kori asked Deely and Dr. David if the person who opened the door was a man or a woman. Neither could say, so they consulted their team of Fleggers. No one had actually seen the whole human.
Kori spat her gum on the ground. I assumed that meant she was annoyed, so I changed the subject.
“Hey, I’m next door to you. In room 17.”
“No shit. Your puking kept me up half the night.”
I was about to apologize because that’s what Midwesterners with low self- esteem do. There was no time, however. At that moment every head in the vicinity-including those on the Fleggers’ stage and those inside the RV park dog crates-turned toward the roar in the sky.
The sound stirred memories; I’d once ridden in a helicopter and endured the deafening whine of the engine, plus the whup-whup of the blades. As the craft drew closer, everyone who could covered his ears. The dogs had to settle for howling.
At first I thought it was a cop helicopter, zooming in to investigate Ramona’s shooting. After all, this was the third round of gunfire at the Barnyard Inn-and the second round aimed at Ramona-in less than twenty-four hours. Somebody was obliged to check it out.
It wasn’t the police, however. After the craft landed neatly in the parking lot, the second person out the door was Odette Mutombo. She followed a man who jumped athletically from the helicopter and then offered his hand to help her down. Wearing what I recognized as her favorite Armani suit, Odette gracefully disembarked.
The man wore a flack jacket, jeans, and boots; his still-thick hair was an equal blend of brown and silver. I couldn’t help but notice he stood so close to Odette that their shoulders touched. She threw back her ebony head and laughed. Then he slid an arm around her waist, and they started toward us.
I was about to meet Liam Davies. At last.
Perry simply couldn’t have been right about Liam and Odette. I’d known Odette for years, and I refused to believe she would betray her husband. Not even for the biggest commission check of her life.
And yet… watching her with Liam stirred an old, happy memory. The only man who’d ever made me laugh like that while doing business was my late husband Leo. And when we weren’t working, we were having great sex.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We were en route to Chicago to meet with Liam’s architect. The pilot got a radio message from Jenx that Ramona had been shot, so Liam decided to swing by the dog show to make sure Susan was all right.”
That was Odette’s story, and I had no doubt she would stick to it. My star salesperson had just introduced me to the man who might make both of us considerably richer. Provided that his plans for Big and Little Houses on the Prairie got off the ground as smoothly as his chopper.
Liam Davies was not a tall man. Nor was he what I could call handsome. But he had a quality worth way more than good looks alone: charisma. I suspected that Liam had started out in sales and worked up to much bigger things. Like convincing investors to loan him scads of cash with the promise of delivering office buildings, shopping malls, and subdivisions.
Now Odette stood on his right side, and Kori stood on his left. Neither acknowledged the other, but both seemed pleased to have at least some of the Great Man’s attention. And to have one of his arms around each of their waists.
“How’s my favorite niece?” Liam asked Kori.
“I won my round, but I lost the dog.”
I had to admire how succinctly she summed that up.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you another,” Uncle Liam said.
“It was Susan’s dog,” Kori said.
For just an instant I thought he was going to pat her on the head. Instead Liam turned to me.
“Your sales agent is brilliant! She has a contact list that could rival Donald Trump’s!”
Everybody in west Michigan knew that Odette was the best schmoozer on this side of the Lake. So I merely nodded.
“I’m going to introduce O. to my Chicago contacts,” the developer said.
“’O.’?” I repeated. “Odette lets you call her ‘O.’?”
“Doesn’t everyone call her that?”
“Not if they want to keep their teeth.”
“Whiskey is funny,” Odette told Liam. “You’ll get used to it.”
“She’s not that funny,” Kori said.
I stared at O.’s perfectly marcelled waves. How the hell had they remained unruffled by the chopper’s tornadic blades? Come to think of it, shouldn’t Liam’s short hair also be mussed? I was pretty sure mine was a mare’s nest, and I hadn’t been that close to the copter. Maybe O. and L. were already sharing hair gel.
“And now if you’ll excuse me,” Liam said, “I need to find my wife. Could you direct me-?”
The eavesdropping members of Team Fleggers pointed as one to the exhibit hall.
“Thank you,” Liam said, acknowledging the group onstage. “I like your shirts. Never been a dog-show enthusiast myself.”
“Me, neither,” Kori announced. “Susan made me do it.”
We all watched as she and her uncle jogged together toward the arena. Then I arched my eyebrows at “O.” and waited for the rest of her story. She arched hers back at me but said nothing. We went on like that for a minute or so. I could feel the Fleggers’ collectively curious gaze.
“Can we step away from the nut jobs?” Odette asked. “Or did Dr. David draft you, too?”
“Nope. I’m still a free agent.”
I gestured toward the motel, thinking we might adjourn to my room.
“Definitely not,” Odette said. “I refuse to set foot in any establishment known as the Barnyard Inn. Isn’t there a Starbucks around here?”
“We’re in Amish Country,” I said. “The best we can hope for is a cheese bar.”
“Where are the Amish?” Odette asked. “I didn’t see any as we flew in.”
“I’ve been wondering that, too, ever since I got here! The closest I’ve been to anything Amish is holding one of their brochures.”
“It’s a scam,” Odette intoned. “There are no real Amish anymore. Only actors.”
“I don’t think that’s true…”
But suddenly I wondered if it might be.
“We could take my car,” I suggested. “Drive around a little. See if we can find us some Amish. Some real Amish.”
“What about Abra? Did you lose her again?”
“Only for a few minutes this time. She’s in room 18 with her new boyfriend. Don’t ask.”
Odette declined my Amish search invitation. She expected to be airborne again soon.
Trying to sound neutral, I said, “What’s up with you two?”
“We’re getting the word out on Big and Little Houses. Working night and day.”
“Mostly nights?”
“Whatever it takes to get the job done,” Odette replied blandly. “Liam is tireless.”
Before I could insert my foot all the way into my mouth, my cell phone rang. The tune of the ring told me it was my ex-husband. Odette knew it, too.
“Tell Jeb I said hello. Also, tell him to take better care of you. You don’t look good.”
“Always nice to be jacked down.” I fumbled for my phone.
“Whiskey, I’m going to sell every last home in that subdivision,” Odette said. “Don’t ask me how. Don’t ask me when. And for god’s sake don’t accuse me of anything. Just because you can’t trust your man doesn’t mean you can’t trust other men. Now go get sleep or food or sex. Whatever it takes to make you human again!”
She stalked off, and I opened my phone in time to catch Jeb.
“Hey,” I said.
He wanted to know about the latest shooting. Both Jenx and MacArthur had already called him.
“What I really want to know is why you didn’t call me,” he said.
Jeb didn’t sound like his laid-back self. He sounded either hurt or annoyed. Maybe both. I tried to explain that there was too much going on, what with Abra departing and Fleggers arriving.