Dial C for Chihuahua by Waverly Curtis Read Free Book Online

kept his eyes trained on Jimmy G.
    It was obvious that Jimmy G.’s gray metal desk was purchased from Boeing Surplus and the credenza against the wall (also heaped with papers) was one of those cheap knockoffs one could buy at any furniture warehouse. The blinds on the window behind the desk were caked with dirt. There was an aquarium in whose cloudy water I could see a few rather large goldfish. The air stank of stale cigar smoke.
    â€œWhat you really need,” I said, looking around, “is one of those desk lamps with a green shade.”
    â€œHey, thanks!” Jimmy G. said. “You’ve got good taste, doll!”
    â€œWhat can I say?” I responded. “I’m a stager.” Jimmy G. looked puzzled.
    I was just about to explain my job, how I prep homes for sale to make them more attractive to prospective customers, when Pepe whispered in my ear, “Ask him why he sent you to the Tyler house!”
    â€œOh, yes,” I said. The purpose for my visit. “Why did you send me to the Tyler house?”
    â€œBecause Rebecca Tyler called Jimmy G. and asked Jimmy G. to find her missing husband.”
    Pepe whispered in my ear again. “Then why did she say she didn’t know you?”
    I repeated his question to Jimmy. “Then why did she say she had never heard of me?”
    Jimmy’s big brown eyes got bigger, and his face turned red. “Why do women act the way they do? It’s a mystery to Jimmy G.”
    Pepe prompted me again. “Ask him how she knew her husband was missing if she was out of town.”
    â€œHow did Rebecca know her husband was missing if she was out of town?”
    Jimmy held out his hands, as if appealing to me to be reasonable. “How would Jimmy G. know?” he asked. I saw a stray thought cross his face. One thing I will say about Jimmy was that you could read emotions in his face more clearly than you could see fish in his aquarium. He would be a lousy poker player. “Ah, the mystery is solved!” he declared. “Jimmy G. wraps up another case.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?”
    â€œDon’t you see? Rebecca went out of town after she called Jimmy G., thus when Jimmy G. called her back to set up the appointment, and left a message on her phone informing her that a certain Miss, uh, Miss . . .”
    â€œSullivan,” I said in as icy a voice as possible.
    â€œMiss Sullivan would be coming to interview her, she didn’t get the message, thus she denied having an appointment with said Miss Sullivan.” His face brightened.
    â€œBut why go out of town if her husband was missing?” I asked.
    â€œGood one, Geri,” said Pepe in my ear.
    Jimmy’s face fell again, then brightened. “Maybe she was already out of town but couldn’t contact him. Thus she contacted Jimmy G. to track him down.”
    Unfortunately that did make sense.
    â€œWhat’s all this about you not actually hiring me?”
    Jimmy’s face fell. He looked like a school boy who was about to be scolded. “That’s what Stewart wants me to say,” he said.
    â€œWhy can Stewart tell you what to do?”
    â€œHe’s my older brother,” Jimmy’s voice lost volume and confidence as he spoke. “He’s the one who actually owns the agency.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œWell, he claims I didn’t have the authority to hire you. He has to be involved in any personnel decisions.”
    â€œWell, let’s go see him,” I said. “I want to get this cleared up right away, before the police call me in for questioning again. Do you realize they consider me a murder suspect?”
    â€œBut if you didn’t do it . . .” Jimmy squinted. “You didn’t do it, did you?”
    â€œDon’t be ridiculous,” I almost shouted. “Why do all of you assume I would murder a complete stranger?”
    â€œTell him the man was killed long before you came on the