that Rob had been any more forthcoming. Madison had gone to dinner a few times with him, when he’d been kind enough to call and see how she was dealing with her divorce. He’d never brought up his split with Erin. It was as if a steel curtain came down. No one knew the details except Erin and Rob.
“As a vet, I’m sympathetic to the cause,” he told her. “But I couldn’t condone criminal activity.”
She could see his point, yet she shared Erin’s concern with the way many animals were treated in labs. “It’s wrong to test cosmetics and hair products on animals.”
“Like Aspen.”
“Dr. Wallace told you?” After finding Erin’s body, Madison had taken the golden retriever to Rob’s veterinary clinic, but she’d been late for the appointment and his associate had treated Aspen. When Madison had told the police Aspen had an eye infection, it had just been a guess fueled by her desire to get away from the crime scene. Rob’s associate had stunned her when he’d informed her Aspen’s runny eyes had probably been deliberately inflicted.
“Wally thinks hair spray or maybe spray deodorant was tested on your dog. Not a surprise. Wally interned in a test lab. He knows the signs.” Rob hesitated a moment, moved a little closer, then slid his arm around Madison’s shoulders again. “Erin called me about midnight the night she died. I hadn’t heard from her in months. She told me she’d found a dog that someone had abused. Something had been sprayed in his eyes. I told her to come in at noon because I had to leave for a meeting. But that’s not why I wanted her there during lunch.”
Something in his expression alarmed Madison. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say.
“I doubted she’d ‘found’ a dog in the middle of the night. The EADL had been at it again. They’d broken into a test facility somewhere and stolen the animals used for experiments. I agreed to treat the dog but I didn’t want it in my records.”
Madison knew Rob could lose his license if the authorities charged him with aiding the illegal activities of the Everglades Animal Defense League. She vaguely remembered something she’d seen on TV the morning she’d found Erin’s body. There had been a suspicious fire at a local laboratory that conducted tests for cosmetics companies. It appeared to have been set to conceal the theft of the lab’s test animals and documents. At the time, it had crossed her mind Erin might have been involved. So much had happened that she’d forgotten about it.
“The television reports never mentioned dogs,” she told him. “They said lab animals had been taken, which made it sound like mice or rats.”
“Animal rights are a hot issue. People cut labs slack when testing is for cancer or some other medical purpose, but testing cosmetics on dogs could trigger a lot of negative publicity the company doesn’t want.”
“I see,” Madison replied. “Why did Erin have papers saying she bought Aspen for twenty-five dollars from some woman?”
Rob hesitated a moment, then said, “The way I understand it, when the league ‘liberates’ animals, they shuttle them as fast as they can and as far from the lab as possible. Erin was probably going to drive north, then hand off the dog to someone else who would in turn drive and meet another person. If questioned about the animal, they would have papers.”
“I see. Erin never mentioned anything about doing these things.”
“That’s because she knew you disapproved.”
“True. After the fire at the Attleborough Laboratory back when we were in college, I told her how reckless I thought the group was being. Someone could get killed or injured in a fire. I reminded her a man in Oregon who’d set fire to a lab that tested on animals received a five-year prison term. I told her to stop.”
“Erin was too stubborn to stop. She just didn’t tell you about it anymore.”
Madison nodded, sighed. Erin had never said she would drop out of the group. Every time Madison heard about an incident at a lab, she would wonder if Erin was involved.
Rob gave her a slight hug. She was a little uncomfortable having his arm around her so much. She knew he was only trying to comfort her, but it somehow made her feel disloyal to Erin. Her friend had been devoted to this man and he’d left her. Not that Madison blamed him exactly, but the situation made her feel guilty.
Their split had happened just days after Aiden had left Madison. She’d been in such turmoil that she’d been of little help to Erin. When Madison had finally pulled herself together, Erin seemed to have recovered, as well. She never said exactly why Rob left except they didn’t agree on life.
“Madison,” called a male voice, and she turned to see Erin’s boss walking her way. Beside the heavyset, balding Mr. Pinder were two women in black suits. She assumed they all worked in the Tropical Shades office where Erin had been a sales rep.
“We’ve got to run,” said one of the women. “You know how it is on the 95.”
She nodded; indeed she did. Take the wrong off-ramp on the trip north and you could be history. A fact that had put a dent in Miami’s tourism when several tourists had been killed after taking the wrong exit and finding themselves in no-man’s-land.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Mr. Pinder told Madison. “Erin was a wonderful person.”
“A treasure,” agreed the other woman with him.
“Thank you for coming,” Madison made herself say. She doubted if any of the three had more than a passing acquaintance with Erin. She wasn’t one to be close to employees in an office she used as a base and visited only when necessary.
Within the next half hour, the others gradually left. Twilight gathered over Biscayne Bay and no one remained except the catering crew, who was busy loading up, and Rob Matthews.
“I’ve told them to pack up some of the food for you,” she said to Rob as they stood by the artful cheese display on the buffet table. “I’m sure the gang in your office can eat it tomorrow.”
One of the cheeses was a little strong; the smell wafted up toward her. Madison suddenly remembered malaria-bearing mosquitoes are drawn the fastest by the scent of strong cheese. Humans exuded sweat—particularly from their feet—that was much like cheese and attracted mosquitoes, especially in the tropics. She never ate cheese with a strong smell.
“Thanks. It’s a shame to waste so much,” Rob replied. “What about your office?”
“There’s plenty for both of us and I’m sure the kids in the cube farm will scarf up every morsel.” She didn’t add that she dreaded going to work tomorrow. She was so angry she was afraid of what she might say. Aiden had known Erin for years. True, the two hadn’t cared for each other, but Aiden should have at least put in an appearance at the funeral.
“Maybe we should walk the dog,” suggested Rob.
“Good idea. I’ll get Aspen.” She rushed off toward the bedroom she was using. She’d put the retriever in the room to keep him from slipping out the front door with one of the guests.
“Here, boy,” she called as she entered the bedroom. Aspen jumped to his feet and headed in her direction. She noticed he was moving more quickly than he had when she’d first gotten him. Rob’s partner hadn’t given her much hope that the quality of Aspen’s
