Free Death Runs in the Family by Heather Haven Page A

rom. You couldn’t put that into an animal under the size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex on steroids. Why are you bothering me with this? You can come up with more idiotic ideas—”
    “Will you shut up and let me talk? Besides, the chip is not in the final stages. It’s just a rough prototype.”
    “Get to it, Richard, before I hang up.”
    “I tinkered with Tugger’s carrier.”
    “What?”
    “I put the chip in Tugger’s carrier.”
    “You put a chip in Tugger’s carrier?”
    “Are you going deaf? Yes, tracking device. Tugger’s carrier. About a month ago. Don’t you remember when Tío took Tugger to the vet for his checkup? You were out of town or something. Tío said I could,” Richard added defensively before I said anything. “He said you wouldn’t mind. I think we both forgot about it. I’ve got so much going on these days I only remembered when Tío said Kelli took the carrier and litter pan. Anyway, I tracked the carrier to the vets and back.”
    “Don’t tell me it worked.”
    “Well, it did for an under six-mile radius. I don’t know—”
    “Does that mean you can find Tugger?” I practically screamed out. Nearby passengers looked up from newspapers, magazines, laptops, or conversations and stared at me. I shrank down into my chair. “Richard, can you?” I asked, containing the volume of my voice.
    “First, I have to transfer information to a tracking system within a program then to a satellite. Then with a certain booster, maybe I can—”
    “Never mind the yada yada. Can you do it or not?”
    “Always the black and white,” my brother said with a sigh. “Lee, I’ll know in fifteen minutes. The satellite comes back in range, so I can test the theory.”
    “Jesus, Richard. If you could save Tugger—” I broke off because I heard a noise. “What’s that?”
    “Victoria is back. She’s been doing this mega-sale at the Obsessive Chapeau. Speaking of Victoria, we’ve got some news…”
    Whatever Richard said got lost in the boarding call for the flight to Las Vegas. I interrupted him, even though I couldn’t hear a word.
    “Richard, the flight is boarding in about five minutes. Should I go or not? I don’t want to go to Vegas if Tugger and Baba are still in the Bay Area.”
    “It’s not scheduled to be within range for fourteen minutes, thirty-seven seconds. There’s nothing I can do before then, Lee.”
    I chewed this over. “Okay, we’re not scheduled to take off for twenty-five minutes. I’ll get on, but if you find something here, and I should not be heading for Vegas, I’ll get off, if I have to knock down the crew to do it.”
    I sat on the plane, listening to everyone board and watching the time. Late comers were still boarding when Richard called back.
    “Lee! I’ve got it! It works. I’ve got to fine tune it, so I can get a more detailed scope. I—”
    “You’ve found Tugger? And little Baba?” I broke in, so elated, my voice registered about an octave above a birdcall. “Where are they?”
    “I found the carrier,” he clarified. “Somewhere between here and Fresno, probably on I-5, heading south. As I said, I’ve got to fine tune the system.”
    “So we know she’s heading for Vegas for sure.” The steward came on over the loudspeaker telling us to buckle up and turn off all electrical apparatus.
    “Seems so. I alerted Frank to look for a yellow Mercedes. If they find it, do you want them to apprehend her?”
    I thought about this, weighing my options. “No. Let’s not do anything yet. I’ll stay on the plane. Richard, can you keep tabs on the carrier all the way to Vegas?” The plane began to taxi on the tarmac.
    “I can but try. Gotta go. Victoria needs me. But call back when you land. When is that? About an hour and twenty-five minutes?”
    “Yes. Thanks, Richard. Let’s hope this is one step closer to finding Tugger.”
    I turned the cellphone off and tried to close my eyes during the short flight for what lay ahead of me. I must have