Exceptional Meet the Baker family Stalker : A New Client by Showboat More dog detectives

The sun began to dip into the ocean, throwing shards of red and gold light into the sky and piercing the billowing clouds like lightning. The restaurant lights flashed on and the neon sign buzzed to life just as Terry entered the parking lot of ELLA'S Restaurant. She pulled to a stop at the back door and hopped out of her car. The classic '94 red Jaguar XJS, top down on this warm summer evening and presently crammed with brown parcels, glowed in the setting sun. Terry picked up as many bags as she could carry and entered the doorway. "Ella, Chef? Anyone?" Chef popped his head around the kitchen door and grinned. "You come bearing gifts, I see. Whoa, Echo Gardens and Seafood Paradise. I was a good boy, huh?" He chortled as he headed toward the dining room. "Let me get a busboy to help with that and then we'll sack the sacks." He returned shortly with Brian in tow. "There are a bunch of bags in the back seat." Terry handed him her keys. "When you get it unloaded, can you park it in the back? I hate to take up a prime spot. Just be sure to raise the windows and hit the alarm button, okay?" The grin on Brian's face spread from ear to ear. "Where, exactly, do you want me to park it, Terry?" "Like always. Somewhere in the lot where it won't get dinged with somebody else's door." "You got it." Brian left the kitchen twirling the key and humming. "Stay in the lot, Brian." Terry chuckled at his retreating back then turned to Chef, watching him prowl through the bags. "You won't believe these shrimp. I got three dozen and the Ahi is so gorgeous, I bought five pounds of it; I could not resist. Just wait until you see." She slit the white butcher's paper open, flipped it and exposed the deep red tuna which contrasted with the next package of huge, dark green prawns. She handed both plastic bags to Chef with a wide grin and a pat on the shoulder. "Do I know how to make you happy or what?" "Girl, you have the eye of the tiger when it comes to food, I'm telling you. Pan seared Ahi suddenly became the catch of the day. And those prawns? I think I'll stuff them with prosciutto and brie cheese and that great pepper sauce reduction you love. Top with a little creme fraiche and a sprinkle of caviar; $45 a plate. How's that sound? Make you a bet I'm sold out within the first hour of opening." "Me?" she said with a smile. "You think I'd take a bet like that? You couldn't give me good enough odds." She beetled her brows then turned to the newly arrived bags. "All the fruits and veggies are outstanding, but the tomatoes and avocados are perfectly ripe, ready to go and so fragrant." She picked up a tomato and sniffed the stem. "I can't remember anything as good as this season's crop. The fruit is beautiful, too, and the melons and peaches, man, you'll be impressed." Terry headed for the dining room. "Have fun, Chef." Outside in the parking lot, she heard the growl of a familiar engine; tires screeched across the blacktop as Brian parked the Jag. * * * Lenny and Jim stopped at the light on W. Sunset Blvd, waiting in the right turn lane behind a seemingly endless line of drivers wanting to make the same turn onto N. Beverly Glen toward Bel Air. "I'm not sure about this one," Jim said, inching the Suburban toward the approaching street. "It could end up being one of those endless deals, an extremely lucrative fulltime job. I've never done a stalker before and I'm not sure we even want this one. I just wish I could talk Baker into buying a guard dog and leaving it at that. Rudy has two that'd be just right, and Baker's fine with that, but his wife's scared of big dogs." Lenny snickered. "Maybe we can develop an athletic Chihuahua just for her. Ferocious little buggers. Pound for pound, they'd rival a Dobie in a minute." The traffic stopped again. Only three cars ahead of them now. All drivers on alert, they jockeyed for position, eyes flitting from rearview mirror to side mirrors and back again, vigilant and ready to duke it out with the inevitable red light runners. "You'd think he'd just get a bodyguard and be done with it. That's what he really needs, don't you think?" Nodding, Jim snickered as he muscled his way ahead of a determined Ferrari now caught in the middle of the intersection, turning left against the light. "Just sit there," he shouted out the window. "Idiot!" The Ferrari, not about to take that standing still, cut sharply to the left and charged down Beverly Glen on the wrong side, sliding in front of a little lady in a BMW who was not about to argue, although she flipped him the bird. The driver of the Ferrari stuck his arm out his window and sent everyone the American salute which was promptly returned with vigor by the dozen or so closest drivers, along with two irate horn honks. "Ah, don't ya love the City of Angels? Can't beat it for good will, that's for sure." Lenny stared out the window a moment, checked a street address and peered back down at his map. "Three miles up to Via Verde. Turn left and follow it to the end." The winding road continued to climb, passing the gated entrances of one huge equestrian estate after another. Trees towered above them, shading the entire road; only dapples of late afternoon sun penetrated the heavy cover. "It should be coming up pretty soon," Lenny said, once again checking the addresses." "Man, it's gorgeous here, isn't it? High up like this there's no smog and the view. Look over there." Jim pointed to the right and the top of the Los Angeles skyline. "Man, we are definitely in the multi-millionaire neighborhood." "Here it is, Jim." They stopped at the wide wrought iron gates and Jim pushed the button on the call box. Shortly, a voice said, "Baker residence. May I have your name, please?" "Jim Sessions here to see Mr. Baker." The gates began to open before Jim finished speaking. Tall California oaks lined the red brick driveway, which forked in the middle. On the right, expansive emerald-green lawns rolled down to a lovely white barn and white paneled arena shaded by more huge trees. To the left, a huge multi-windowed, ultramodern house soared two stories into the air, rising out of the lush foliage like an alabaster phoenix. The ground level consisted of floor to ceiling windows with an incredible view of the Los Angeles skyline. A shaded patio nestled amidst flamboyant tropical gardens while the upper story reached for the clouds. Jim parked in front of the flagstone steps, glanced at Lenny and shrugged. They got out of the Suburban, and clutching their attache cases close to their sides, wove their way along the flagstone path, flanked on both sides by ponds full of colorful Koi, hiding behind the lily pads or nibbling the sides of the pool. "What do you figure is behind door number one," Jim said as it swung slowly open. *** Recognized

© Copyright 2024. Showboat All rights reserved. Showboat has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.