Free Cruise to Murder (Z & C Mysteries, #2) by Zoey Kane, Claire Kane Page A

pitch, Zo tried to master the answer “Noooo” through a laugh.
    “Okay, okay. We have to pull ourselves together and try to figure out what to do here,” Zo continued, wiping her eyes with her wrists from tears.
    “Are we going to call the cops on this dog explosion?”
    “I’m thinking, daughter, they aren’t going to accept that the dog had a bad case of gas and blew up in a fart.”
    The two began to laugh again.
    “You know I don’t like that word, Mom. Heh heh.”
    Zo continued, “They are going to begin to add up that we are at every violent occurrence and we might be hauled off; but , yes, call the police. Just tell them the truth about how we came up here. Don’t tell them anything about the broach and this house and well. We want to do a little surveillance ourselves.”
    “Surveillance?”
    “We’ll just follow along behind them. I know they will try to find someone at home here to ask questions. We will just happen to be standing in the corner. Tee hee.”
    “Tee hee,” Claire agreed.
     
    A police officer came and took information, bagged the ashes and bits of a collar. He asked Zo and Claire for a description of what had happened and the two began to do a little giggling again.
    A few minutes later, Zo exclaimed to Claire in a whisper, “Well, that made us look like a couple of ghouls!” That started up more giggles.
    The house was a cottage with paned windows and hewn stone going halfway up its exterior. The women watched from a respectful distance as the police officer knocked on the estate’s heavy wood door. There was no answer. He talked on his shoulder radio to the local dispatch, asking for information on the house. A woman’s voice broke through a sound of interference, saying, “That is the residence of a Mr. Felix Lee Belmont.”
    “Whoa…, Mr. Belmont?” Claire said.
    “Thanks, Lucy. Do you have a phone number with that address?”
    Zo elbowed Claire in excitement. Claire snatched h er cell phone from her pocket, opened her Contacts file and typed every number carefully.
    “If he’s dead, who do we plan on talking to?” Claire said in a hushed tone.
    “The man is rich. Maybe he has people taking care of the estate while he is away. That dog had to be fed by somebody.”
    “Good point, good point. I think maybe they shoulda laid off the salsa on the kibbles.”
    “Ya think?” Zo raised her brows.
    They watched further as the officer pulled out a phone from his pocket and made a call.
    Zo and Claire squished together, shoulder to shoulder, ear to ear, in excitement. The officer soon put his phone away and turned to walk back to his car. “Oh, you two ladies are still here.”
    “Yes, we are wanting to make sure there are no more hotdogs on the premises,” Zo joked.
    “Well, ladies, I think your job is done. You notified the police. You can go home now.”
    “Okay, okay.” Zo motioned Claire forward. They looked at each other knowingly. As they rounded a corner of the lot, they hid behind a bush, waiting for the cop car to zoom away. “We are not leaving here without seeing the inside of this place.”
    “For what? Why?” Claire asked.
    “I’ve already trespassed into Belmont’s stateroom aboard ship. I guess you can say, I don’t want to stop there. Come have fun with me.”
    “How do you suggest we get inside?”
    “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
    The police car took off down the road. Just as they were about to come out from hiding, another car came up the road and parked in front of the cottage—a black sedan with tinted windows.
    A man with black hair, wearing a suit, got out of the driver’s seat and started walking up the stone walkway.
    “Do you recognize that man , Mom?”
    “I think I do recognize him… Mike! The man that said hi to Butch at lunch.”
    Mike turned a key and went inside.
    Zo left her tropical blind and snuck up to peer into a window. Claire stayed put, but panicked for her mother’s sake. Zo opened the door quietly