The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels Read Free Book Online Page B

before.
    “C’mon, Coop, let’s go. Time to go home.”
    “You’re too late. They’ve gone to ground. Coop wants to stay with Sadie. Right now, I can guarantee they are both under my bed. They won’t come out either. It’s okay, he can stay the night,” Lucy said generously. Suddenly she realized she liked this new neighbor of hers. And she really liked his dog, too.
    “What about tomorrow?”
    “I’m not going anywhere, so it’s okay if he stays. I have one more pound of hamburger meat, but after that you’ll have to take him home. By the way, you better pick up something for me so you can take it to the party tomorrow night. I’ll call Nellie and explain what happened. Press the button on the lock, and the door will lock itself on your way out.”
    Wylie looked dubious. “Are you sure?”
    “I’m sure. He really isn’t any trouble. I kind of like him. It’s obvious he likes Sadie, and if Sadie is happy, I’m happy.”
    “You are a nice lady, Lucy Baker.” He pronounced her last name, Bay-cur. “Did I tell you I was available? My hairline is not receding like most men’s my age. I work out, know how to cook and clean house. I come from sturdy stock, and my cholesterol is normal.”
    Lucy blinked. In one breath she knew more about Wylie than she knew about Jonathan. “I will store all that other information aside for a time when I might need it.” In spite of herself, Lucy burst out laughing. Bay-cur. “How did you know my last name?”
    “Rachel at Number 12 told me who you were when you moved in. Seems she knows the Realtor who sold you your house. She said your name was Lucy Bay-cur, and I remembered it.”
    Lucy didn’t bother to correct the way he pronounced her last name once she realized seventy-five-year-old Rachel Muller with her German accent was the one who’d told him her name. That was another reason why Wylie didn’t connect her to the ace criminal defense attorney she’d once been.
    “ ’Night, Lucy.”
    “ ’Night, Wylie.”
    The moment the door closed and locked behind Wylie, both dogs thundered down the hall and leapt onto the couch. Lucy laughed again.
    A fitting end to an awful day.

3
    Two things happened simultaneously the next morning when Lucy woke up on the couch with the two dogs. The phone rang, and the doorbell rang. She struggled to a sitting position and reached for the phone. She said hello as she hobbled to the front door, thinking it was Wylie who’d come to walk the dogs. It wasn’t Wylie, but he was walking up the driveway. Frick and Frack stood in front of her. She sighed, then her heart took an extra beat when she recognized Jonathan’s voice coming from the phone that was pressed to her ear. “Can you possibly call me back in a few minutes? I sprained my ankle, and my neighbor is here to walk the dogs, Sadie and his own. Yes, ten minutes is fine,” Lucy said as she ushered the men into the foyer and watched as Wylie loped up the driveway and into the house. Both dogs barked a boisterous greeting.
    Lucy swiveled on one foot to reach for the dog leads hanging on the coatrack by the front door. Wylie’s eyes were full of questions as he gazed at the two men, who stepped aside to permit the dogs to take center stage. His expression clearly said most people don’t get visitors at six o’clock in the morning. When he realized Lucy wasn’t going to introduce him, he fastened the leashes onto the dogs’ collars so he could lead the pair down the driveway.
    “Looks like a nice guy,” one of the agents said.
    Lucy eyed the two gray suits, hoping the fear she was experiencing didn’t show on her face. “He’s my neighbor. I sprained my ankle yesterday. As you can see, he came over to walk the dogs. Isn’t it a little early for a visit from the FBI? What do you want?”
    “We stopped by the tennis court and track, but you weren’t there. We thought something might have happened to you.”
    “Something did happen to me. I slipped on a patch of ice