I hesitated. Oh, why not? “Sure,” I said. I didn’t have to dance or drive.
“How was Rio?” he asked when the waiter went off to get our drinks.
“Except for a murder or three it was beautiful,” I said. “Have you ever been there? I forget.”
“My wife and I went there on our honeymoon,” he said. “We stayed at the Copacabana. Gorgeous hotel.”
“That’s where we were,” I said. “And it’s still gorgeous.”
The waiter brought our drinks and asked if we had decided on lunch.
“What’s good here, Mike?” I asked.
“Everything,” he said. “Why don’t you get an omelet or their quiche, which is excellent, or a salad? They have a great lobster salad here.”
“I love lobster,” I said. “That’s what I’ll have.”
Mike raised his glass. “Here’s to lunch with you every day of my life when I’m not delivering a baby,” he said.
I clinked my glass against his and took a sip. It was lovely.
My phone vibrated. I usually don’t answer my phone when I’m with another person. I think it’s rude. But something made me answer this call.
“Mary Louise?” Tina said. “You won’t believe this, but Glenna—you know, the Rockette we met this morning—she’s dead.”
“What do you mean she’s dead?” I said. “What happened to her?”
“They found her under the stage, mangled in the machinery.”
“My God,” I said. “What are we supposed to do now?”
“The woman who called me—remember Marlowe, one of the Rockettes—said we have to return to the theater immediately. The police are there and the captain wants to talk to all of us.”
“How soon?”
“As soon as you can get back here. Where are you?”
“At The Boathouse,” I said.
“With Mike?” she asked. Tina knows everything.
“As a matter of fact—” I started to say.
“Never mind,” she said. “Just get back here as soon as you can.”
“What’s the matter?” Mike asked when I put my phone back in my purse.
“You won’t believe this,” I said. “But one of the Rockettes—the one we met this morning—is dead.”
“You guys have got to stop performing,” he said. “She’d probably still be alive if you hadn’t shown up.”
“It’s not funny, Mike,” I said.
“I know, honey,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make fun of this. Come on, I’ll take you back to the theater.”
He took a sip of the Kir Royale, left money on the table, and led me out to the street where there were cabs waiting.
Acknowledgments
Once again, I want to thank Michaela Hamilton for her superb editing of this book and all the books in the Happy Hoofer series. She has been unfailingly supportive and enthusiastic as I took my dancers through four countries and countless murders. And again, I’m grateful to everyone at Kensington Publishing Corp. for making my books so readable and attractive.
Photo by Susan Hamovitch
Mary McHugh graduated from Wheaton College
English Literature and studied at the Sorbonne
in Paris. She is the author of three previous
books in the Happy Hoofers series: Chorus Lines,
Caviar, and Corpses; Flamenco, Flan, and Fatalities;
and Cancans, Croissants, and Caskets. She has also
written nineteen nonfiction books and two other
novels. She was a contributing editor for Cosmo-
politan, an articles editor at Woman’s World, Travel
Holiday, and Bridal Guide, and has written articles
for the New York Times, Good Housekeeping, and
Family Circle. She loves to tap dance and to
travel—two passions that inspired her to write
the Happy Hoofers series. She lives in the New
York area. Visit her at marymchugh.org.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
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Copyright © 2016 by Mary McHugh
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ISBN: 978-1-4967-0374-3
First Kensington Mass Market Edition: May 2016
eISBN-13: 978-1-4967-0375-0
eISBN-10: 1-4967-0375-8
First Kensington Electronic Edition: May 2016