Free Murder in a Basket (An India Hayes Mystery) by Amanda Flower Page A

the countryside like manicured weeds.” He shook another cigarette out of the pack. “And to make matters worse, Tess’s husband, Jerry Ross, insists Zach should go to him since he helped care for the dog. Tess’s son is also a possible heir. If they can’t all come to some kind of agreement, this is going to go on for years.”
    I made a sympathetic noise. “Who has the best claim to the trust?”
    He took a drag on his cigarette. “Both Debra and Sam have an equal claim, although they are both petitioning for sole custody of the dog and, of course, the dog’s money. As if it will help them, they’re both saying they’ll use some of the money for charities. They can’t do anything with it until Zach dies because it’s for his care, but after the dog passes away the caretaker gets everything to use as he or she wants.”
    “ What charities?”
    “ Sam claims Victor would have wanted him to have the money in order to support programs at Martin College. On the other hand, Debra claims Victor would have wanted her to have the money because she was Victor’s caretaker during the last few years of his life. He suffered from Parkinson’s. He was lucky though. He died before he lost the ability to speak or walk.”
    I didn’t know if I would consider anyone with Parkinson’s lucky.
    I held up a hand. “Back up. If Debra was the caretaker, why didn’t Victor leave the dog’s trust in her hands in the first place?”
    Lew shrugged. “He never said, and I try not to pry when my clients ask me to draw up their wills. I think the more obvious question was why he left his fortune to a dog, but I didn’t ask that one, either. I wish I had.”
    I wished he had , too.
    “ Victor has the remarkable ability to be an even bigger pain in the rear in death than he was in life. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
    “ I’ll do anything I can to help,” I said.
    A glint sparkled in his eye, and I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Actually, I do have a way you can help me. My wife is terribly afraid of dogs. She was bitten as a child by a neighbor’s pooch.”
    “Was she okay?” I asked.
    “Oh, yeah, she was fine. It was just a nip, really.” He pointed at Zach. “However, if I bring him home, divorce is imminent. I don’t have time to go through a messy divorce.”
    “ What are you saying?” My stomach churned.
    “ Why don’t you dog-sit Zacchaeus for me while this legal battle is going on?”
    “ I have no legal right to the dog.”
    He waved my concern away. “And that’s why you should have him instead of one of those yahoos. It’s only temporary. You’ll be serving in the capacity of a doggie foster care.”
    “ You said this could go on for months. I can’t keep a dog for months.”
    “ Fine, fine, can you just keep him for the next couple of days until I find a good kennel for him? Lord knows, he can afford the best.”
    I looked down at Zach, who was still fast asleep on my tennis shoes.
    “ I . . . I don’t know. Ina might not be happy if I had a dog in my apartment.”
    “ Please, you know as well as I do Ina will be thrilled.”
    “ I have a cat.”
    “ They’ll be best buds in no time.”
    Yeah , right, I thought. I still had scars from the last time I’d tried to introduce a new animal into Templeton’s domain.
    He scribbled on a piece of computer paper. “Here. I have written a permission slip for you with the date and my signature in case you run into any naysayers.” He signed the page with a flourish and handed it to me. Dumbly, I took it.
    The note read, “India Hayes will be caring for Zacchaeus Lepcheck, dog of the late Victor Lepcheck, while Victor Lepcheck’s estate is under dispute. Sincerely, Lewis S. Clive, Esq.”
    I doubted the legality of the note, but Lew knew better than I.
    Lew straightened stacks of files on his desk and rose from his chair with a tired groan. “Well, you’d better be going if you want to get Zacchaeus’s walk in before