Home is Where the Bark Is

by Stella St. Claire

  She saw the librarian who she had talked to the other day in the crowd and waved at her.

  Then, the finish line came into view. Willow picked up her pace, causing the other two to do the same.

  Smiling, she crossed the finish line at the same time as her friends and high fived them as they began to cool down.

  “Great job!” she said.

  “I thought I was in pretty good shape, but I don’t do much running,” Griffin said.

  “No,” Willow said. “You just do a lot of heavy lifting.”

  “I think I’m going to get one of those little cups of water,” he said. “I’ll bring you both some too.”

  He headed off, seeming to use the walk as a cool down period.

  “I’m going to abandon you too,” Wednesday said. “But only for a minute. I want to touch up my make up, so I can take some pictures of the event.”

  “Fine,” Willow said.

  Her sister walked off, and Willow scoffed. She knew that they would both be back shortly, but she didn’t like that they left her as soon as they had finished the race. They had accomplished something. Maybe not something that would solve the case or start her business, but they had still done something. She felt like celebrating.

  She decided to stay by the finish area and cheer for others until Griffin and her sister came back. A young woman with red hair and a round face, crossed the finish line, looking exuberant.

  She high fived Willow, and they congratulated each other on finishing the race. Then the two looked at each other. Willow thought she looked familiar and sensed that the other woman was thinking the same thing about her.

  Willow wasn’t sure where she would have known her from. She was fairly certain it wasn’t since she arrived back in town, not on her street or at the yoga studio. It had to be from when she was growing up, but she couldn’t quite place her. She didn’t remember the redhead being in any of her school classes or clubs. She didn’t remember her being involved with any cases that her father had told her about either.

  As the moments ticked by, she realized that they had been staring at each other for a little too long.

  “Do we know each other?” Willow asked finally.

  “I was trying to figure that out too,” the woman said with a smile.

  They went through the list of usual ways that they could have met. They had gone to the same high school but graduated different years.

  Wednesday joined them, looking radiant despite the run. Willow decided not to imagine what she looked like at that moment. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone with her looks right now, especially after running a 5K, so it didn’t matter.

  “Hi, Nadia,” Wednesday said.

  “You know each other?” Willow asked. “We were trying to place how we knew each other.”

  “We had a class together at school,” Wednesday said to the woman. “Photography. But I think you were a senior when I was a freshman.”

  “Right. It’s Wednesday, isn’t it?”

  She nodded. “It’s hard to forget a name like mine, isn’t it?”

  “You were right between us in years at high school,” Willow said to Nadia. “We must have been in the building at the same time but didn’t have any classes together.”

  “Do you still live around here?” Nadia asked, making small talk as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Or did you come back for the race?”

  “I just moved back here,” Willow explained. “I’m opening a dog gym.”

  “What about you?” asked Wednesday.

  “I’m in town helping my dad,” Nadia explained. “He’s having a rough time with my mom’s passing.”

  “Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that,” Willow said. She didn’t think she knew this woman well enough to give her a hug, and she was conscious of how sweaty she was after the race. She wasn’t sure what else to do that was comforting. Wednesday was better with people and put an arm around her.

  Willow marveled at how easily her sister could make someone feel happier. Willow was more at ease with dogs than with humans.

  “Thank you,” Nadia said, accepting their condolences. “But I’m handling it much better than my father. He’s having a really rough time. He keeps raving that my mom was murdered.”

  “Murdered?” Willow asked, her eyes widening.

  There had already been one murder in town. Was it possible that there had been a second? Were they related or were there now two killers on the loose?

  Willow exchanged a look with her sister who was also frowning. She must have been thinking the same thing. They were having enough trouble solving one murder. How could they possibly solve two?

  Nadia waved her hand, pushing the worries away with the motion. “She wasn’t murdered. It’s all in his head. I wish he would just accept what happened so he could move on.”

  They walked a little away to get further from the cheering as they talked about the more serious matter.

  “It can be hard for people to move on,” Willow said.

  “Yeah,” Wednesday agreed. “Our dad still has trouble talking about our mom, and she died when I was born. It’s still hard for him.”

  “My trouble isn’t that he’s not talking about it,” Nadia said, kicking at the ground. “It’s that he talks about it constantly. He’s become a real conspiracy theorist, describing how she could have been murdered.”

  “You’re sure there’s no merit to it?” Wednesday asked.

  “I’m sure,” Nadia said. “My mom died from illness. Not because someone killed her.”

  “I’m really sorry that you’re going through all this,” Willow said, patting her arm. She didn’t think she was as comforting as Wednesday, but she was trying. “And it’s a really kind thing that you’re doing by being there for him.”

  “I do want to be there for my dad, but I’m also afraid that he’s trying to trap me in his conspiracy theories too. He wanted to stop me from moving into this really great luxury apartment. He actually tore up the papers I had.”

  “That’s a bit dramatic,” Wednesday said.

  “I guess he really didn’t want you to leave him,” Willow said, frowning.

  “It’s not that. It’s his conspiracy theories,” Nadia said, sighing. “But, you know what? I signed the papers anyway. I got new ones and put my X right on the line. Nadia Danielson.”

  Griffin joined the group and handed out cups of water to everyone. Willow gratefully accepted. She was getting thirsty and was glad that Griffin had tracked them down.

  “Well, I should get going,” Nadia said.

  “It was nice catching up,” Willow said, realizing that she now knew more about this woman than she ever did when they were in school together.

  “Wait,” Wednesday said, pulling out her cell phone. “Before you go. Post-race selfie.”

  They all gathered close to Wednesday to fit into the frame. Willow was inadvertently jostled by the taller people and ended up spilling the remainder of her water on herself. She guessed she wasn’t smiling in the photo.

  “See you around,” Nadia said. She jogged off, and Willow wondered how she had the energy to keep running.

  Wednesday looked at the picture and giggled.

  “Is it terrible? Willow asked.

  “It looks like you’re miserable after running a marathon,” her sister teased. “Not a 5K.”

  Griffin took a turn looking at the picture and laughing too. Willow wanted to focus on something else and realized that she did have a question.

  “Did Nadia say that her last name was Danielson?” Willow asked them, taking their focus off of the selfie. “Is she related to Thomas Danielson?”

  “I think she must be his daughter,” Wednesday said, after thinking about it. “I knew her father was in real estate. She took a lot of pictures of houses in our photography class.”

  Willow nodded. Now that she made the connection, she could see a family resemblance between Nadia and Thomas Danielson. They had the same hair color and face shape.
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  She was about to ask if Willow had heard the detectives mention Thomas Danielson’s conspiracy theories after they finished speaking to him, but she got distracted by a commotion at the end of the race route.

  She looked at her companions and then they all ran to the source of the noise. Willow realized that she did have some “sprint” left in her after the race.

  Ronald Bray was blocking the finish line. He was specifically blocking Tiffany from crossing it, but he was annoying other runners trying to pass him.

  “Tiffany, what are you doing here?” Ronald asked.

  “Trying to cross the finish line. Will you get out of my way?” she yelled as she tried to move around him, but he countered her position.

  “Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

  “Who are you?” she asked as she continued to try and pass him.

  “You don’t remember me?” he asked. “I thought we had a good time. You gave me your number at the bar.”

  Tiffany stopped running and froze in place. She covered her face with her hands.

  Another runner came to the end of the race and was not happy about Ronald blocking the way. “Move!” the large runner bellowed.

  Ronald jumped to the side. Tiffany crossed the finish line but was no longer happy about it. She stormed across it, still trying to get away from Ronald who was trailing her.

  Willow followed, along with her friends. She said quietly to Griffin, “The bartender said that he had been rough with her that night. If he puts a finger on her now, I’m going to have to ask you to intervene. But otherwise, I think we should let them talk and see what they have to say.”

  “Maybe Tiffany will be upset enough to confess to the murder,” Wednesday said.

  They kept a safe distance where they could overhear what was being said and rush in if necessary, but not so close that the squabbling duo would realize that they were there.

  “You’re Donald?” Tiffany asked.

  “It’s Ronald,” he said affronted.

  “It says Donald in my phone.”

  “I think I know my own name,” he retorted.

  “Look, Donald/Ronald—”

  “It’s Ronald. I just told you that. And I think you coming here is a sign. We should get together.”

  Tiffany stomped her foot. “Maybe you didn’t take my not answering your calls as a sign, but it was. I’m not interested. Okay? I was really upset with my boyfriend Lee that night and needed to blow off some steam, and I drank more than I should have. But I do really regret it now. If you must know, my boyfriend died, and I hate that I was out when it happened.”

  Ronald stopped chasing her and stood in one place. “What did you say your boyfriend’s name was?”

  “Lee Hunter.”

  “You’re Lee Hunter’s mistress?”

  “Girlfriend,” Tiffany said, correcting him with attitude. “And what’s it to you? Did you know him?”

  “I was his business partner.”

  “Business partner?” Tiffany said, scoffing. “The only partner he had was a silent partner named… Ronald Bray.”

  “That’s me,” Ronald said. He threw his arms up in the air. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “You can’t believe it?” Tiffany asked, before running off close to tears.

  Ronald stalked away in the opposite direction. Willow stayed where she was to discuss this development with her cohorts.

  “I can’t believe that happened either,” Wednesday said. “Awkward!”

  “But what does it mean?” Griffin asked.

  “It means we might have a new prime suspect,” said Willow. “Remember what Ronald said in the bar? About how he had come to town to end things with his partner. How he needed to get rid of him.”

  “His partner was the victim,” Wednesday said.

  Willow nodded, keeping an eye on Ronald as he walked away.

  “It’s possible that Ronald Bray decided to get rid of his partner permanently.”

  18

  Telescope wagged his tail when Griffin arrived at their house the next morning. Willow wasn’t jumping around with glee to see him like her dog was, but she was pleased to see him too.

  “Thanks for agreeing to come later today,” she said. “I feel like a real person after finally getting enough sleep.”

  “It’s no problem,” Griffin said when he finished greeting the dog and shuffled inside. “We’re approaching the point where there’s not much more I can do before we get the proper supplies in.”

  “I’m actually glad you said that,” Willow said lightly as she led him into her living room.

  “You’re glad that my accounts are still frozen and that we’re about to reach a standstill with the renovation projects?” Griffin asked wryly.

  “No,” Willow said, only just refraining from sticking her tongue out at him. “But I’m glad that means you’ll have more free time today. I have a project for you. To help solve the case.”

  “Please tell me that this project doesn’t involve pregnancy,” he pleaded.

  Telescope made a funny noise and Willow could swear that he was laughing at them. She had relayed the whole story of Griffin’s awkward encounter with Tiffany to her dog as she talked out loud about the case. Sadly, her discussions with her dog didn’t bring her any closer to an answer. However, she had some plans on how to get the ball rolling on the case.

  “I hope it doesn’t involve any pregnancy,” Willow said. “I want you to talk to Thomas Danielson.”

  “I certainly won’t be asking him if he’s pregnant,” Griffin asked. “What should I ask him?”

  “First, see if there were any other potential investors for the building that you and Lee were interested in.”

  “I’ll ask him,” Griffin said, sitting down and leaning his arms on his knees. “But I don’t think there were. The other money being put into the project was from a corporation, not a person who could hold a grudge again Lee Hunter.”

  “Okay,” Willow said, trying not to let this deter her enthusiasm for her plan. Thomas might still be able to provide them with some new suspects. She sat across from him and continued. “Thomas Danielson is also involved with real estate. He might know some of the properties that Lee controlled. See if Thomas knows anyone who might have been angry with Lee.”

  “An angry tenant?”

  “It’s a possibility,” Willow said. “Maybe a tenant was upset about damage to property or started a wrongful death suit. Landlords can be accused of a lot of things. See if Thomas knows of anything that could have led to Lee’s murder.”

  “Based on what I know about Lee Hunter’s work from the first project I was on with him, I’m sure there will be complaints,” Griffin said.

  He took a notebook out from his pocket. He flipped it open, and it appeared to be full of measurements. Now he wrote down what he was supposed to bring up in his conversation with Thomas. Willow was duly impressed. She liked having Griffin on her side, helping with the investigation.

  “What are you smiling about?” Griffin asked, looking up at her.

  Honestly, it had been about him writing down interrogation questions, but Willow didn’t want to say that. Instead, she said, “I’m just optimistic that this will yield results.”

  “Is there anything else I should ask him?”

  “Yes. See if he knows how Ronald Bray fits into the picture. We know that he was Lee’s silent partner now. We should find out as much as we can about him to see if his wanting to end the partnership would be worthy of murder.”

  Griffin tapped his pencil on his leg. Telescope watched it with interest.

  “Could Ronald have committed the murder?”

  “The bartender said that Ronald left the bar much earlier than Tiffany. He would have had time to get back here and murder Lee,” Willow said with a nod.

  “And just what are you doing this afternoon while I’m questioning a suspect?” Griffin asked suspiciously.

  “Wednesday and I are going apartment
hunting,” she answered with a smile.

  She jumped to her feet, and Griffin rose as well.

  “Is this something that you should tell your contractor?”

  She laughed. “I’m not really moving. But we’re going to visit some of Lee’s buildings and talk with the people who live there. See what they really thought of Lee.”

  “Pineview is not a huge town,” Griffin said. “What if they don’t buy your story?”

  “I’ll honestly tell them that it doesn’t look like my house is going to be finished its renovation anytime soon,” Willow said. “So, I’m looking at other places.”

  “Touché,” Griffin said.

  Telescope started barking and wagging his tail, alerting Willow that Wednesday had arrived. She wished Griffin good luck with his questioning and went off to join her sister so she could do her own.

  Willow was getting tired of pretending to look at Lee Hunter’s buildings as possible places to live. The more she looked around them, the more she decided that she didn’t want to live at any of them. It wasn’t that the residents were complaining. Quite the contrary. Everyone there seemed to love Lee Hunter and everything that he did for the community. They all encouraged her to move in. Many empathized with her plight of having problems with her contractor. At each of the buildings they visited, Willow was assured that she would be happy living there.

  If she were an average renter, she would have been taken in. Many of the apartments actually did look very nice as a few people invited the ladies inside to look around.

  However, she was the daughter of a detective and had a keen eye for details. Willow could tell that there were certain repairs that were waiting to be completed. Because they were investigating a murder, Willow asked more probing questions than she would if she were searching for a place to live. However, she was glad that she did ask the questions.

  A certain pattern was emerging. Even though the tenants loved Lee, he was taking his time making repairs around the buildings. They didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, but Willow and Wednesday were concerned by it. It seemed that anything from replacing a burnt out lightbulb in common areas to black mold could take months to fully fix.