by V. M. Burns
“Oh my, get this woman some more coffee.” Monica Jill laughed.
B.J. pointed a finger and said, “You are entirely too perky.”
Stephanie giggled from the sofa. Addy sat cross-legged on the floor covered in dogs of all shapes and sizes. Two standard poodles, two toy poodles, a German shepherd, a golden, a Westie and Jac, the border collie mix vied for the opportunity to lick her face.
B.J. sipped her coffee and glanced around. “Granite counters, stainless steel appliances and leather furniture. This is the nicest RV I’ve ever seen.”
Monica Jill nodded. “I agree. This is bigger than some houses I’ve been in.”
Dixie smiled. “When I was competing, I travelled all over. I spent a lot of time on the road and many of the really nice hotels don’t take dogs. I wanted something that felt like home.” She smiled at her husband. “Beau gave me this for our wedding anniversary one year.”
Dixie’s RV was massive. It had three extensions that made it wide and spacious. I knew there was a queen-sized bed in the back and eight people could sleep in here if push came to shove. Even with seven adults and eight dogs, Dixie’s RV still felt luxuriously spacious.
“At one point, I thought it would be nice to have a mobile pet hotel or daycare,” Dixie said.
Monica Jill smiled. “My goodness gracious, that would be so nice. You could send the RV to pick up the dogs and take them to the dog park.”
“I always thought it would be great to have a doggie daycare downtown. People who worked there could drop off their pets on their way to the office and pick them up afterward.” Dixie sighed.
Monica Jill smacked the table top with her hand. “I know the perfect location. There’s a vacant building downtown near the Choo Choo.”
The Choo Choo was named after the song “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” but was now a hotel and shopping area rather than a railway station.
“That hotel doesn’t take dogs, but if there was a daycare close by, people could bring their dogs with them on vacation and board them right across the street.” Monica Jill looked excited. “I’m going to look up the listing.”
Dixie held up a hand. “Hold up. That was only a dream.”
Monica Jill swiped her phone. “Well, sister, this might just be the time to dust off that dream.”
Dr. Morgan quietly drank coffee and listened.
Beau stood near the front and smiled. “Maybe I should set up the pen outside for the dogs.”
“NO!” we all shouted.
Dixie turned to her startled husband. “Given what happened yesterday, we’re all a bit reluctant about leaving the dogs unattended.”
“They won’t be unattended.” He glanced pointedly at Addison. “Addy and I are on dog detail.” He winked and reached for leashes. “Plus, this time I’ll be ready for anyone who tries any funny business.” He lifted his jacket exposing the gun he wore at his waist.
Stephanie and Addison stood up and each took several leashes. Addison was the most eager. “Maybe I should take them for a run around the park to help them burn off some energy.”
Monica Jill smiled. “That would be great. I need Jac to burn a whole lot of energy.”
Stephanie stretched. “I can help too, Uncle Beau.”
Addison, Beau, Stephanie and the eight dogs left. The room suddenly felt quiet and somewhat lonely.
Dixie must have noticed the look of panic on my face. She patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Beau is an excellent shot.”
“I’m not worried about that, but is he allowed to have a weapon?” I whispered.
“Honey, this is Tennessee. Everybody has a weapon.” She laughed. “More importantly, he has a permit to carry.”
I tried to relax. I knew Beau and Stephanie would be on high alert for any strangers. I also knew they would do whatever it took to see that Addison and the dogs were safe. I took a deep breath, held it for a few moments and then slowly released it.
“Now, I think you’re all ready for the demonstration.” Dixie looked at each of us and we nodded in response. “Just try to remember to have fun. This is only a demonstration. It’s not a real trial so there’s no reason to be nervous. Just do what you’ve done so well the last few months in training.”
“Training? What training? I don’t remember no training,” B.J. joked.
I waited until the laughter died down. “After our demonstration, I think we need to start asking a few questions.”
“It’s about time.” Monica Jill smacked her hand on the table, causing a small quake and spilling some of the coffee out of our cups. She hurried to the counter and picked up a stack of napkins to clean up.
“What you got in mind?” B.J. asked.
“I don’t know if there are a lot of people here who knew Archibald Lowry personally, but I was hoping we could ask around.” I looked at Dixie.
“I know more of the people here than any of you.” She looked around and we all nodded agreement. “Today there’s going to be a small dedication and ceremony in Archibald Lowry’s honor.” She pulled out her cell phone and started scrolling. “I reached out to Lowry’s butler to see if some of the people who knew him wanted to come.” She looked up. “We’ll have a small lunch and a brief memorial. I bought some flowers and have a little token of appreciation for each one of them.”
“Great.” I was always amazed at Dixie’s thoughtfulness.
“Who’s coming?” B.J. sipped her coffee.
Dixie scrolled and then stopped. “His lawyer, a Mr. Eli Goldstein; his butler and security guard, a man named Ivan Bradington; his housekeeper, Mrs. Catherine Huntington; and his chauffeur, Paul Carpenter.”
“My goodness, how many people worked for this man?” B.J. stopped drinking coffee to stare.
Dixie sighed. “No idea, but I know he also had a gamekeeper.” She scrolled. “No name is listed but I’ll find out. Oh, and there are Fergus and Mary Kilpatrick.” She glanced up. “They are apparently distant cousins who had come from Scotland for a visit.”
“How sad.” Monica Jill shook her head. “They came all this way to visit their cousin only to have him brutally murdered.”
We all agreed the situation was sad, but then quickly moved on.
“Now, how are we going to do this?” B.J. asked.
Everyone turned and looked at me.
I hadn’t thought through all of the details, so I reverted to the technique that had worked well for us in the past. “Well, I thought maybe we could divide and conquer.”
“Good idea.” Dixie nodded. “We can make sure that Stephanie sits next to the lawyer.” She glanced around. “She can ask him questions and it might seem more natural coming from one lawyer to another.”
We all nodded.
“Why don’t I tackle the chauffeur?” B.J. asked.
We nodded again.
“Maybe, I can sell him an insurance policy if nothing else.”
Monica Jill raised her hand. “I’d like to take Mary and Fergus Kilpatrick.” She looked around. “Unless you or Dixie would rather?”
We shook our heads.
I turned to Dixie. “I know you’re going to be really busy with the trial, but I was hoping you could ask around, maybe start with the housekeeper and see if she has any useful information.”
She nodded.
“The housekeeper and any of the poodle lovers out there.” I looked at her. “I mean, the man was a poodle fanatic, surely someone in the poodle community knows something that might be useful.”
“Great.” A thought formed in the back of my mind, and I turned to Dr. Morgan. “Dixie said Archibald Lowry became the Scottish Laird and had poodles and sheep and a host of other animals.”
Dr. Morgan narrowed his gaze and raised an eyebrow, not liking the direction my thoughts were going.
“Do you think you could find out who the gamekeepe
r was and have a talk with him?”
“I’m a doctor, not a veterinarian.”
“Uh huh, hold on there, big boy.” B.J. gave the doctor a hard stare. “I’m an insurance agent, not a chauffeur, but I’m helping.”
“And Dixie isn’t a housekeeper, but she’s going to talk to his housekeeper,” Monica Jill added.
He held up both hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any offense.” He sighed. “I’ll do it, but I don’t see how it can help. I mean even if he is willing to talk to me, what kind of information will he be able to provide that could possibly help us find out who killed Archibald Lowry.”
“Well, whoever killed Archibald Lowry had to be someone who knew him.” I paused and glanced around. “From what I’ve heard, his circle of friends is pretty small, so it would need to be someone close to him.”
Everyone nodded.
“Besides, I can’t believe it’s a coincidence that the day after Archibald Lowry was killed someone tries to steal his dog and then someone breaks into my yard.”
“You think all of this is connected?” Dixie asked.
I shrugged. “It has to be. Those are just too many coincidences for me.”
She nodded. “You’re right. The poodle community is a small, tight-knit community. Recluse or not, someone out there has to know something helpful.”
“What are you going to do?” Dixie asked me.
“I’m going to see what I can get out of the butler.”
“Plus, I think the biggest question I want answered is what was he protecting Archibald Lowry from? People don’t hire bodyguards unless they feel threatened.” I glanced around. “And I want to know who was threatening him.”
Chapter 8
The obedience demonstrations went surprisingly well, despite a few glitches. Dr. Morgan accidentally tripped on his German shepherd’s foot while demonstrating how to heel and fell flat on his backside, which garnered a great deal of laughter once the crowd realized he was uninjured.
Dixie wasn’t just the judge during our demonstration. She held a microphone and provided color commentary, which kept the audience engaged even during our mistakes.
My only error came when I had a moment of absentmindedness and loosened the slack on Aggie’s leash. Overcome with joy, she took off running, pulling the leash from my hands. She got what we all called the zoomies. She took several laps around the ring, her mouth open and tongue hanging out with a look of pure glee on her little face. She ran at top speed in circles, with me frantically chasing her. Just when I got close and bent down to get her leash, she would make a sharp turn and head in a different direction, her leash trailing behind.
Dixie chuckled for a few moments and then sent one of her poodles into the ring, knowing Aggie wouldn’t be able to resist playing with her friends. When Chyna got close to Aggie, Dixie gave her a command to lay down, which the well-behaved standard poodle obeyed immediately. Aggie dropped into her play bow, with front paws down and butt in the air long enough for me to get a foot on her leash. I quickly scooped Aggie up and carried her away.
I didn’t need a mirror to know that my face was red. I looked for a giant hole to slink into but forced myself to stand by and listen to the laughter from the crowd.
Dixie used the opportunity to explain that Aggie was a young poodle with lots of energy, but that one day she would be as well-behaved as her adopted cousins, Chyna and Leia, with a little more guidance and direction. Dixie finished the event by demonstrating some of the more advanced obedience skills that her dogs knew.
The demonstration took less than thirty minutes, but it felt like hours. Monica Jill and B.J. hugged me when it was over which made me feel worse than if they had just ignored me. Dr. Morgan gave me a sympathetic nod, before he and Max headed out in the general direction of the main house. Stephanie walked over, cuddling Rex. “You look like you could use a hug.” Instead of hugging me, she handed over Rex and took Aggie’s leash from my hands.
Rex cuddled me for a few seconds and then proceeded to give my face a thorough tongue washing which made me smile.
“It wasn’t as bad as you think,” Dixie said as she came up beside me.
“Yeah, right.”
“Trust me, after showing dogs for well over twenty years, I have stories that would make your experience feel like a walk in the park.”
I stared at her. “Try me.”
“During my first conformation show, I showed a beautiful white standard poodle, Candy. She was the most gorgeous dog I’d ever seen and I knew she would win. She just had to. She was incredible.” She paused for a moment as she reminisced about the dog. Then she shook her head and continued. “My mentor told me to make sure I always took my dogs out to potty at least twice before a show. Well, I was rushing, and she’d peed and pooped less than thirty minutes earlier, so I figured it was safe to skip the second potty run.” She tilted her head and gave me a hard stare. “That was a mistake. I got in the ring and all was going well. The judge examined her and she showed beautifully. She was groomed to perfection and I knew it. Then he sent us around the ring so he could check the gait.” She shook her head and sighed. “We started trotting around the ring and that’s when that stinker stopped right there and pooped. I wasn’t paying attention and kept going until I felt the pull on the leash. When I turned to look to see what the holdup was, I was mortified. Unfortunately, I wasn’t watching where I was going, and tripped and fell.” She looked at me.
“Oh no. You didn’t fall into—”
She nodded. “Face first.”
“Oh My God, Dixie.”
“To make matters worse, I was wearing a white suit.”
The mental image of my beautiful, well dressed friend falling into dog poop shouldn’t have incited laughter, but I couldn’t help it. “Oh, Dixie. I’m sorry.” I laughed. “What did you do?”
“I got up, wiped the poop off as best as I could, and kept going.” She shook her head. “You know what the really remarkable thing was?” She stared at me.
I shook my head.
“We won our first major and Best in Show.”
I laughed. “Dixie, I can’t imagine you wearing a poop covered suit all day.”
“Well, I couldn’t wear the suit all day. I smelled horrible.” She shook her head. “I ended up borrowing a suit from a friend.”
I bowed. “You win. That is a lot worse.”
She nodded. “After that show I told Beau we needed an RV with a shower.” She shuddered at the memory. “I keep at least three suits and several pairs of shoes in the RV at all times in case of emergency.” She smiled. “If there’s one thing you learn about showing dogs, you better leave your pride at home.”
I gave my friend a warm hug. “Thank you. I honestly, didn’t think anyone could pull me out of the dumps, but you did.”
She squeezed me. “Sadly, that’s not the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened.”
I pulled away and stared. “You have got to be kidding.”
“Not even close.”
“I can’t wait to hear what could be worse than falling in dog poop.”
“Nope.” She shook her head. “I’m saving those stories for later, when you and Aggie are actually competing for real and not just doing a demonstration.” She laughed.
B.J. tapped me on the shoulder. “I think I see my mark.”
I followed her glance which was directed toward a long black limousine that had pulled into the grounds. A short man dressed in an all-black chauffeur’s uniform, complete with cap, hurried to open the rear door. A couple climbed out and glanced around.
B.J. handed Stephanie her West Highland Terrier’s leash and hurried to the limo.
“I think I just saw mine, too.” Monica Jill smiled big, handed Stephanie Jac’s leash, and hurried over to the couple.
Stephanie deftly juggled leashes for Lucky, Snoba
ll and Jac. After adjusting the dogs, she looked up and gasped.
I turned to see what had caught her attention. That’s when I looked up into the deepest blue eyes I’d ever seen. Standing a few feet away stood six feet and two hundred pounds of pure muscle wrapped in dark jeans and a crisp white shirt which contrasted well with his tanned arms. He had dark, wavy hair and a neatly trimmed moustache and beard.
He smiled at Dixie. “Excuse me, are you Scarlet Jefferson?”
We all stared for several seconds before Dixie collected herself.
“Call me Dixie.” She extended her hand.
He shook her hand. “I’m Eli Goldstein, Archibald Lowry’s lawyer.”
Eli Goldstein waited for an awkward few seconds.
I gave Dixie a gentle push which worked to jar her out of her stupor. “Oh, pardon my manners. This is my friend, Lilly Ann Echosby.”
I shook.
She turned to Stephanie. “And this is Lilly’s daughter, Stephanie.”
The air crackled with static electricity.
Stephanie and the bronzed Adonis shook hands and gazed into each other’s eyes.
There’s no telling how long we would have stayed there staring if Lucky, Snoball, Jac, and Aggie hadn’t broken the spell.
For whatever reason, the golden lunged forward and the other dogs managed to get around Stephanie’s legs. She would have fallen forward if Eli hadn’t reached out to grab her and broken her fall.
Righted, but still wrapped up in the dog leashes, Stephanie worked to extricate herself. Finally, free, she looked down at Lucky who was still lunging at the handsome stranger.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s usually so friendly.”
Eli smiled and flashed the whitest, most perfectly straight teeth I’ve seen in quite some time. “It’s just a bit of male possessiveness. He doesn’t like another male admiring his beautiful owner.”
Stephanie blushed and looked around for help. “Where’s Addison?”
Just at that moment we saw Addy coming toward us eating a donut. When she got to us, the dogs got a whiff of the sugar and immediately started pawing at the teen for a bite of the donut.
