Mimi Lee Gets a Clue

by Jennifer J. Chow

  Pure and simple greed could be a clear motive to kill off the breeder. Who would have known about the cash stash? At least Indira. Or one of the other recent buyers.

  Indira, Nicola, and Tammy. Any of them could have done it, and two of those ladies sat by my side at this very moment. Nicola and Indira could have used the extra inflow of cash to ease their money struggles. Tammy was married to Mr. Moneybags, but she might’ve done the deed out of a sense of justice for her injured dog.

  I turned to Tammy, who sat staring at the floor. She seemed a million miles away. “Excuse me, Tammy?”

  She continued to look down. Using her right hand, she traced the pale space on her left ring finger. The wedding band she had worn left a tan line there.

  Kale inched closer to Tammy, perhaps feeling her sorrow. I needed to secure Tammy’s attention and assess how much anger she’d harbored toward Russ Nolan.

  Stroking Kale’s ears, I asked, “Whatever happened to your lawsuit?”

  Tammy whipped her head up. “How’d you hear about my divorce?”

  Josh had told me about her separation, but . . . “I meant the one you filed against Russ Nolan.”

  “Oh that.” She flopped her hand in the air. “It got dismissed.”

  But of course. After all, the man had died. The lawsuit couldn’t go through after a death.

  What would Tammy gain if she killed Russ Nolan? She’d have lost any chance of a legal battle and getting justice served.

  Tammy seemed to gaze past me. “Why would he do this to me? I gave up the entire last year to take care of his child. And we even had another baby together.” She pointed at Kale.

  I sensed that neither being a devoted stepmother nor forced bonding over a fur baby could have kept her marriage intact. I really felt for Tammy, who’d taken caregiving duties to the extreme and dropped everything to head up the PTA to fulfill a supermom role. “I’m sorry,” I told her.

  Tammy dropped her head in her hands. I couldn’t help but think of an ostrich, one who hid in the sand to avoid the dangerous world beyond it.

  Since Tammy seemed indisposed at the moment, I focused on Indira. She’d created a pyramid of fanny packs on one chair. On another, she draped a colorful display of her puppy pouches.

  “All the bags look beautiful,” I said. “How’s business?”

  “Booming.” She indicated the new carriers. “These are a big hit for me. Customers want multiple designs to match their varying moods—and extras, in case little Fido has an accident in one of them.”

  “Good for you, Indira.” I rubbed my own golden puppy pouch. “This has been great for carrying a dog that can’t walk. Speaking of which, how is Ash feeling these days? When’s the surgery?”

  She hemmed and hawed. Then she rearranged the pile of carriers, repositioning a silver bag with sparkling glitter to make it the centerpiece. “I’m still debating the pros and cons of each surgeon.”

  “Don’t you want to help her as soon as possible?” The people at the surgical center seemed to think Kale needed an operation pronto. Wouldn’t time be a major factor for Indira’s dog as well?

  “Ash is doing fine being carried around everywhere. I can hold off a little longer. Besides, it makes natural marketing sense and piques customer interest to see a puppy enjoying my carrier.”

  Indira always paid attention to the bottom line. As a result, she did seem to be enjoying a lot of success with her new pooch pouches, a line first inspired by Ash’s medical condition.

  I wondered how exactly Indira had obtained the capital to launch a new product when earlier she’d needed money to secure a surgery for Ash. Could it be from a dubious source like Russ Nolan’s loose cash? Maybe I could weasel an answer out of her, but I’d need to do it in a more private setting.

  I pretended to admire the gleaming silver carrier at the center of the pile she’d reorganized. “Can we set up another time to talk, Indira? I think I need your expertise to sell more of your pouches at my store.”

  “Sure, I can do that.” Then she focused on the instructor, who’d started bowing to her students. “Finally. Class is over, and a shopping spree is about to begin.” Indira rubbed her hands together with glee.

  Soon, a swarm of women surrounded her. A few ladies also greeted Tammy, forcing her to come out of her depressed state. She spoke to them in a robotic manner.

  Meanwhile, I snuck off to chat with Lauren at the other end of the room. While I was getting information about the acupuncturist, maybe I could also get a few leads on Nicola.

  I found Lauren rolling her shoulders. “Give me a moment,” she said. “I’m still recovering from class.”

  “Take your time.” Despite Lauren’s exercise attire, Nicola had been the one to take the brunt of the workouts in past sessions.

  I snuck a glance at Sterling to see how he had fared. He seemed in the prime of health and even wagged his tail at me.

  Lauren finished stretching and pulled out her phone. She fired off a text and said, “Sent a message to her. Sometimes the acupuncturist gets busy with clients and takes a while to respond.”

  “While I have you here, Lauren, I’m curious about your experience with Nicola.”

  “Why do you need to know about my ex-assistant?”

  I could feed Lauren half of the truth. “She asked me to give her a job.”

  “Well, Nicola was okay taking care of Sterling. She’s young and capable, I’ll give her that. It’s why I hired her in the first place.” She looked straight into my eyes. “But I have to warn you . . . Are you dating?”

  “Yes, but I don’t see the connect—”

  “Make sure she stays away from your man. That’s the real problem with her. She started small by wearing my jewelry. The next thing I know, she would’ve tried taking over my marriage.”

  I thought about the decidedly unhandsome Mr. Dalton. And also about Nicola’s prior avid interest in Russ Nolan. “Are you sure about that?”

  “She was always trying to chat up my husband. Once, I even caught her giving him a photo of herself. Maybe she wanted to lure him with her youthful looks.”

  “A photo?” Why would Nicola do that? I snapped my fingers. “Actually, I think I know what she was trying to do. She wanted to work with your husband, not anything more sinister.”

  “Come again?”

  “Nicola told me she’s an aspiring actress. The assistant position with you wasn’t meant to be for the long term.”

  “Can that be? Let me check something.” Lauren tapped away at her phone. “I found Nicola listed on IMDb. Maybe I did sack her without real cause.”

  “Do you think you might rehire her?”

  “It’s too late. I already put out feelers and have interviews lined up. Anyway, I would want someone permanent. And maybe a lot older—and uglier—just to be on the safe side.”

  “One more question, Lauren. It’s about Nicola’s personality.” If Nicola had gotten rid of Russ Nolan, it might have been for money, but a crime of passion seemed likelier. “Did she have a dark side? Maybe some sort of instability?”

  “I don’t think so. In fact, she seemed particularly cheery after Sterling arrived in our lives . . . although her happy attitude plummeted recently.”

  “When?”

  Lauren opened up her calendar app. “Around this date. I remember because Nicola called in sick, but she sounded depressed more than anything else. I had to scramble to get a substitute.”

  I looked at the date and did a quick intake of breath. She’d called in sick the day after Russ Nolan had died. Why? Had she felt sad about their date going awry—or remorse over taking his life?

  Lauren’s phone pinged, and she read the new text. “My acupuncturist’s blocked out a time for us to come by tomorrow morning. And don’t worry. I’ll pay for their first acupuncture session. Those poor darlings . . .”

&n
bsp; “You’re too kind,” I said.

  Her eyes flashed to the sleeping Sparky. “Those puppies deserve better. It’s not their fault they were born with bad genes.”

  “Should I meet you at the acupuncturist’s office, then? Just provide me with her location.”

  “I have a better idea, Mimi. We can caravan. And since you’ll be at my place bright and early anyway, you can make my morning shake.”

  Fair enough. I agreed to her condition. One smoothie for a pack of pain-free dogs? I’d take that deal any day.

  CHAPTER

  thirty-four

  REMEMBERING THE GREEN smoothie routine after my previous time spent assisting Nicola, I re-created Lauren’s early morning wake-up shake. I made sure to put in extra green apples to suit Lauren’s palate.

  She seemed satisfied with the drink and was complimenting my use of stem-free kale leaves when the doorbell rang.

  Magnus with the dogs, I bet. I’d confirmed his availability with Zel right after the yoga class.

  When Lauren opened up, Magnus stood framed in her massive doorway. With his large build, the huge double doors seemed appropriately proportioned for his girth. I introduced them to each other.

  After making small talk, Lauren checked the time. She filled up a travel container with her smoothie and said, “Time to go.”

  We headed out to the acupuncturist’s office using two cars. Lauren led the way in her sleek white Benz, and I sat with Magnus in his enormous van. The dogs were in the back, secured in crates. I could smell the sachets of lavender Magnus had strewn all around the vehicle.

  I envied Marshmallow, who’d opted to stay home. Transporting a bunch of dogs in the very early morning hadn’t appealed to him. Riding in the car now, I realized the front seat wouldn’t have had enough space for Marshmallow anyway, and he’d have hated getting jostled around in the back with the pups.

  The trip proved short, and our destination turned out to be a bland strip mall. Most of the shops remained closed at this hour, but a light shone in the storefront at the end. The banner above its door read, “Dr. Silvia Li, Veterinary Acupuncturist.”

  Between the two of us, Magnus and I brought the dogs into the acupuncture center. Walking inside the store felt like entering a serene spa. Dim recessed lighting set in the ceiling shone down in gentle beams. Soft pan flute music piped in from hidden speakers.

  A carved teakwood table near the front held a slim computer next to a small potted bamboo. The plant’s flexible stalks twisted up in an elaborate weaving of green.

  The rest of the business space appeared sectioned off into smaller private areas divided by the placement of shoji screens. I couldn’t see anything through the tall, opaque rice sheets.

  A woman wearing a crisp white smock walked toward us with gliding steps. Her glossy black hair was piled on top of her head in a sleek bun. She’d secured the hairstyle with bejeweled chopsticks.

  “Hello.” Her voice rang out in the air like a tinkling bell. “I’m Dr. Li.”

  Magnus and I shook hands with the acupuncturist, while Lauren gave her a tight hug.

  Dr. Li counted the dogs in the room. “You brought in six.”

  Magnus nodded. “These are the ones showing signs of the most pain right now, but I have more dogs at my place.”

  Dr. Li pursed her lips. “I can do a session for each of them today. However, be forewarned. They’ll need ongoing treatment in the future, but at least I can start realigning their energy flow right now.”

  She led the way to one of the screened-off areas I’d noticed before. Instead of a massage bed behind the folding panels, I discovered a padded table. Blue Chux plastic liners covered its soft surface. In the corner, a pedestal table held a tiny fountain, which bubbled with soothing water sounds.

  “I’ll need you to place a hand on the dog to keep it still,” Dr. Li said to Magnus.

  He nodded, and placed his large palm over Sparky, the first pup getting worked on. From a nearby drawer, Dr. Li retrieved a case of needles.

  I looked closely at the metal points. Thankfully, they appeared smaller than I’d feared, more of a filament width than the size of a sewing needle.

  Dr. Li placed the needles into Sparky using a gentle but firm hand. The puppy didn’t make a single sound. In fact, he acted as though he hadn’t felt the pinpricks.

  She repeated acupuncture on each of the other puppies, using the different sectioned-off spaces. We then waited the requisite amount of time before she could remove the needles from the dogs.

  Afterward, I couldn’t believe the frolicking behavior of the puppies as they scampered around the front room. “That’s absolutely amazing.”

  “Acupuncture works with the central nervous system,” Dr. Li said. “It takes away their pain. But if I see patients after things have gotten really bad, I need to go beyond the plain needles and use electroacupuncture.”

  “They’re really energetic,” Magnus piped up, watching one of the dogs jump in the air.

  Lauren beamed from near the teakwood table. “What did I tell you?”

  “You’re like their fairy godmother,” I said. “You’ve granted their deepest wish.”

  “If only I could give them homes, too . . .”

  Magnus sighed, a heavy groan coming from the depths of his diaphragm. “I would help, but I’ve got no contacts. The folks who come to me want perfect specimens, purebreds.”

  “How about organizing a pet adoption fair?” Lauren said.

  “I don’t know.” Magnus shook his head. “Wouldn’t it take time to put together an event? How long will the acupuncture last?”

  Dr. Li said, “Depends on the dog, but I usually recommend weekly treatments.”

  Seven days or less before the next acupuncture session? Lauren would only pay for their first session, so the word would have to spread fast to help get the puppies rescued while they still felt well. We’d need assistance that moved at the speed of technology.

  “I might know a way,” I said.

  * * *

  • • •

  It took a short call to Pixie for me to arrange the meeting at PetTwin headquarters. I decided to bring Marshmallow along on my field trip.

  At the sprawling campus, we looked around in awe. PetTwin’s sleek mirrored building lay next to a field of luxurious grass. Even I wanted to roll over in the fresh-cut turf.

  Mock fire hydrants stood at various points so dogs could do their business in designated areas. Near the front entrance, we discovered a pet drinking fountain. Bowls could be positioned under the low spout for refreshing, clean water.

  As we approached the mirrored building, the automatic doors opened with a smooth whish. Right away, a woman with braided purple hair marched toward us wielding a clipboard. “Mimi Lee?” she said.

  I nodded, and she continued, “This way, please, for your appointment with Stacy.”

  She led Marshmallow and me into an all-glass elevator. As it rose to the second floor, I felt like I was levitating.

  The doors opened, and she walked us over to an intimidating conference room. “Our founder is already waiting for you.”

  The meeting area housed a large reclaimed wood table with swivel chairs. All the furniture nestled against the back wall, and the rest of the space held a tall object that looked like nothing short of a glowing telephone booth.

  “Have a seat,” Stacy said, her trademark red mermaid hair curling down to her waist.

  I sat in the office chair with its ergonomic molding, while Marshmallow took a spot on the polished floor below the table.

  “Thanks for meeting with me,” I said. “Here are pics of a few of the puppies.” I showed Stacy the photos I’d taken of the dogs after their treatment at the acupuncturist’s office.

  “What a bunch of cutie-pies.”

  “I hope a lot of people think the same wa
y. They need good homes. And I hope your app will match them with great owners.”

  “PetTwin is excited to help out. Do you have information on their background?”

  “Not really. The puppies were left all alone when their breeder, uh, suddenly died.” My description sounded a lot better than murder, and I’d managed to omit the fact that I still had a cloud of suspicion hanging over me.

  “Sounds tragic,” she murmured.

  I wanted to put the puppies in the best possible light, but . . . I took a deep breath and said, “The puppies do suffer from a genetic problem.”

  “Rescue dogs all have issues. I believe people will trip over themselves wanting to adopt these poor dogs.”

  “Thanks again for partnering with me.”

  A glint entered Stacy’s eyes. “Of course, I’m meeting with you as a favor to Pixie. She’s a generous donor to PetTwin. I must tell you, though, that we usually deal with organizations and shelters, not individuals. We also charge those companies a fee to use our app.”

  I swallowed hard. Of course there would be a catch.

  “However, I’m willing to waive the cost—if your puppies will showcase our new technology.”

  “Which is?”

  She pointed to the telephone booth–looking object. “Our 4-D simulator. This is one of our prototypes. It comes preloaded with a sensory experience. Go ahead and try it.”

  Maybe Marshmallow would go inside the booth with me? I peeked down at him and implored him with wide eyes.

  “No way,” he said. “You’re on your own with that Area Fifty-One souvenir.”

  I stood up and walked with glacial steps over to the booth. Gripping the metal door, I slid it open—to reveal a cushioned bench opposite a mounted screen. The interior looked a lot like a fancy photo booth.

  This didn’t seem so bad. I sat down, and the door closed on me.

  Due to either a weight or a motion sensor, the screen flickered on. Words scrolled past my eyes: “Please adopt me.”

  A video of a cute tan bunny with floppy ears filled the monitor. Statistics about the male bunny appeared in the lower-right-hand corner.