Read Online Chihuahua of the Baskervilles by Esri Allbritten - Free Book Online Page B

sounded like ‘Thomas.’”
    “Try making it faster,” Michael suggested.
    Their lips moved as they tried to make sense of the syllables.
    “That last word kind of sounds like tiburón, ” Suki said.
    “It does,” Bob agreed. “ Tiburón means shark in Spanish. Maybe it’s a warning.”
    Angus gave him a wry look. “I think we’re pretty safe from sharks, here in the center of the country.”
    Woourtuhvohsss … Tuhvortahmahhhhhzzz … Duhvohhhhzzzz … Tihbohrahnowwww …
    “Tuhvor, duhvohz…,” Michael muttered.
    Cheri squinted at the speakers. “I don’t think that first word starts with T. I think they all began with D. ”
    “Maybe.” Michael frowned in concentration. “Duhvohz, duhvor—”
    “Divorce,” Charlotte whispered, hands clutching her upper arms.
    They stared at her.
    “Divorce Thomas,” she said.

 
    Seven
    Half an hour later, Angus paced the floor of the upstairs parlor as Suki put her equipment away. “I don’t like the idea of Charlotte being here alone except for that girl,” he grumbled.
    “Charlotte said she wasn’t going to tell Thomas tonight,” Suki said. “And Ellen is here, although she’s not in the house.”
    “Apparently she sometimes spends half the night in that hut. She wouldn’t hear a thing if Thomas decided to throw his wife out a window.” Angus sat on the settee and drummed his fingers on his knees.
    Michael came in and closed the door softly behind him. “Jay’s gone home. I talked to Cheri and she says this is one of Ivan’s evenings to go to the casinos in Silver City. He has dinner there and then gambles. There’s no telling when he’ll be back.”
    “That’s it.” Angus pushed himself to his feet. “I’m going to ask Charlotte if I can stay the night.” He went into the hall.
    Michael sighed and sat down in a chair. “So much for the distance between a reporter and his subject.”
    Suki looked up. “That’s exactly what they said at National Geographic. ”
    *   *   *
    The room at the Manitou Arms had two double beds and a small table with two chairs. Michael, wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, sat on the bed, studying back issues of Tripping . As far as he could tell, Angus had written every article. The style was florid and the layout needed a lot of work.
    He tossed aside the issue featuring mystery cats, pulled his laptop onto his thighs, and typed some possible headlines for the Baskerville story. Faithful Unto Death, and Beyond? Phantom Pup Stalks Manitou Springs. The Curious Incident of the Chihuahua in the Nighttime. He smiled and shook his head at the last one but kept typing. When he had twenty possible titles, he stopped and considered a first line. Charlotte Baskerville’s dog refuses to leave her side, even though he’s dead . That was a grabber, and short enough that even the most ADD reader shouldn’t lose interest halfway through.
    Michael spent the next couple of hours transcribing notes from his recorder and writing. Finally he backed up his work and closed the document before opening the file for his own book—his baby.
    Sonia knelt and rested her hot forehead against Don Juan Conejo’s cooler silken one, until his ruby eyes blurred into the surrounding white fur, like blood on melting snow.
    “You shore do love that rabbit, don’t you?” Earl drawled.
    Michael studied the screen. Then he added li’l before rabbit . Then he took it out. Don Juan Conejo weighed seven pounds, after all. Some rabbits were much smaller. But would Earl Buckhalter know that? He chewed his lip.
    An hour later, he put the computer away and lay on his back, arms crossed behind his head. Was Earl’s accent too thick? Would Sonia, a woman who had grown up listening to Bizet’s Carmen over and over, seriously consider marrying a man who said shore ? Wouldn’t pride keep her from loving him?
    Pride had certainly destroyed the Baskervilles’ relationship. Charlotte and Thomas had raised a son, weathered financial