Read Online Murder Has Nine Lives by Laura Levine - Free Book Online

Well, you can tell your side of the story to the authorities. Because I’m going to report you to the D.A.’s office the first thing tomorrow morning.”
    Deedee gulped in dismay.
    And I must say, I was a bit shaken myself.
    Was it possible that Dean was right, and that all along Deedee had been planning to cheat me out of my five grand?
    By now the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a weed wacker.
    Nikki and Zeke were huddled together, along with Big and Bigger, waiting for Dean to spew his anger on them, but by this point, he seemed to have run out of steam. He just stood there, fists clenched, his face still that unbecoming shade of puce.
    It was then that mousy little Linda stepped up and saved the day.
    â€œWhy don’t we all take a break, hon?” she said to Dean, smiling that serene smile of hers. “It’s almost time for lunch anyway. When we come back up, we can shoot the last scene in the commercial, the one where you eat the cat food. In the meanwhile, we can send out for another crystal bowl, and Jaine can work with Prozac. I’ll help her. I’m sure, between the two of us, we can get Prozac to gobble up the Skinny Kitty.”
    Like magic, her words seemed to calm him down.
    There was something about her voice, so soft, so reassuring that even I, who had given up all hope of ever seeing a paycheck, was beginning to believe that maybe things would work out, after all.
    â€œOkay, Linda,” Dean said, at last unclenching his fists. “We’ll give it a try. Now I think I’ll go rest in my dressing room.”
    â€œGood idea, sweetheart.”
    â€œI’ll go with him,” the Panther piped up, not exactly happy at this loving exchange between husband and wife. “There are some more details we need to go over for the ad campaign.”
    Linda watched them trot off together, her smile frozen on her lips. Surely, she must have suspected something was going on between the two of them.
    â€œZeke!” Dean called out as he was leaving. “Clean up the cat food mess.”
    Zeke nodded, gritting his teeth.
    As soon as Dean and the Panther were gone, Zeke got to work cleaning up the cat food, muttering curses under his breath. Meanwhile, Nikki left to buy a new crystal bowl, and Big and Bigger ambled off to set up the next shot.
    Ian and Deedee, still shaken from Dean’s threats, went out to the parking lot for a breath of fresh air.
    â€œTime for us to get to work with Prozac,” Linda said, turning to me, her comforting smile back in place again. “Let’s try to get her to exercise, so she can work up an appetite.”
    We headed over to the chaise longue where Prozac had shot her napping scene.
    â€œDean’s just got the patent on his latest invention—a catnip-infused ball of yarn.” She reached into her purse and took out what looked like a simple ball of yarn. “The catnip scent is infused into the yarn and sealed in there so it stays fresh indefinitely. It’s really a breakthrough in the world of cat toys. “Let’s see if Prozac likes it,” she said, tossing the yarn onto the chaise.
    I plopped Prozac down next to it, but she just stared at it disdainfully.
    Puh-leese. If you think I’m about to play with a silly ball of—Oh, Mama! What’s that I smell? Yummity yum yum yum!
    By now her little pink nose was sniffing in overdrive, and she was rolling around on the chaise with that ball of yarn like a stripper wrestling in a vat of Jell-O.
    â€œI’ve never seen her so excited about a toy,” I marveled.
    Linda beamed with pride.
    â€œWe call it Yarn-Nip. Dean and I think it’s going to be a top seller.”
    â€œThanks so much for coming to our rescue,” I said as we watched Prozac prance around with the Yarn-Nip. “If you hadn’t stepped in, I’m sure Dean would have kicked us out the door.”
    â€œIt was nothing, honey,” she shrugged.