Home is Where the Bark Is

by Stella St. Claire

  “This is a serious problem,” Willow said as she and Wednesday took a break in the lobby of one of Lee’s apartment buildings. “The people here don’t seem to care but taking too long with repairs is reckless.”

  Wednesday agreed. “If left alone, some of those little fixes could become big problems.”

  “There’s no excuse not to replace a lightbulb,” Willow said, huffily. “It’s quick and inexpensive and means that people won’t trip in the dark on what they can’t see. Especially in a stairwell. If he didn’t want to take care of his buildings, then he shouldn’t have rented them out.”

  “Agreed.” Wednesday joked, “Do you think we should start a revolution in the hallway?”

  Willow sighed and leaned against the wall. “I think everyone is twisted around Lee Hunter’s finger. Was he really that nice a guy?”

  Wednesday shrugged.

  “Well,” Willow said, adjusting her suit jacket that she had worn to look like a prospective renter. “I’m just glad I’m not really looking for a place to live.”

  “If your house does remain a crime scene, you and Tele could always move in with me.”

  Willow knew that her sister was teasing, but she also knew that the offer did really stand if she needed it. She wasn’t sure how Telescope would like living with Rover though. He seemed to prefer cat-thinking-she-was-a-dog in small doses.

  She leaned against her sister affectionately and then got back to business.

  “Let’s visit one more person,” Willow suggested.

  Wednesday agreed, and they chose an apartment that had a big welcome mat by the door. Their knock was greeted by a little old lady in a knitted sweater.

  “May I help you?” she asked.

  Willow explained that they were visiting the building because she was looking to rent and how she had been told that she could ask the residents a few questions about the building.

  “Oh, I’d be happy to, dears. Please come inside. My name is Rosie.”

  Rosie showed them in, and they took a seat on her plastic-covered couch. Her apartment was quite cozy and didn’t look to be in need of repair at first glance.

  “So, what would you like to know about the place?” Rosie asked. “I like it here a good deal.”

  “Everyone we’ve spoken to has been very complimentary,” Willow said.

  “Too much so,” Wednesday joked. “Are they paying you all to say nice things?”

  “Not at all,” Rosie said, laughing. “We just love it.”

  It was then that Willow noticed the dripping sink in the apartment. She could hear the plop of water droplets falling down into the basin.

  “What do you like best about living here?” Wednesday said.

  “Well, of course, they are lovely apartments,” Rosie said, gesturing to the surrounding room. “But living here you also get such a fine sense of community. That was so important to the previous owner.”

  “Previous?” Willow asked, pretending not to know what she meant.

  “Now, I don’t want you to think that this has anything to do with the apartments here,” Rosie protested. “It has nothing to do with them at all. But I’m sorry to say that the owner was murdered. It was all over the local news.”

  Willow and Wednesday pretended to be shocked.

  “But why would someone kill him?” Willow asked, trying to focus on getting information on Lee instead of on the dripping sink.

  “That I just don’t know,” Rosie said. “He was the nicest man that could be. Cared about every single one of us living in his place. And he was so involved in the community too.”

  “You don’t know anyone who would have wanted to hurt him?” Willow pressed.

  “No,” said Rosie. “I know all the other residents feel the same. We just loved Lee. I can’t imagine anyone disliking that man.”

  Willow tried not to frown as she thought about the one person who she knew did dislike the victim.

  “Whoever killed him was a truly evil man,” Rosie proclaimed.

  Willow and Wednesday nodded. They asked a few more questions about the building to look like they were serious. The only interesting thing they learned was when Willow mentioned the sink.

  “Oh, yes. I suppose it is dripping,” Rosie said with a chuckle. “That started about a month ago. I’m just used to it by now.”

  “It hasn’t been fixed in a month?” Willow asked.

  Rosie shrugged. “My hearing’s not what it used to be anymore, anyway. It doesn’t bother me.”

  It bothered Willow, but she decided not to say anything to upset the kind, old woman. They thanked her for her help and left the apartment building, hoping that Griffin was more successful with his questions.

  Willow was looking forward to accepting some cuddles from Telescope when she got home. It had been a frustrating day. She had hoped to get a long list of tenants with complaints about Lee’s homes that she could turn into a suspect list. However, she hadn’t even gotten one name of a person with a complaint.

  She said goodbye to her sister and headed towards her house. She planned on calling Griffin to see if he had uncovered anything on his end but was surprised to see that Griffin’s car was still in her driveway. There was another car there too that she didn’t recognize.

  Willow entered, wondering what was going on. Telescope barked a greeting to her but didn’t come to meet her at the door like he usually did. He was keeping an eye on what was going on in the living room.

  She entered and saw Griffin in roughly the same position that she had left him in that afternoon. He was seated on the sofa but was now joined by Thomas Danielson.

  They rose to their feet when they saw her.

  “When Tele barked, I figured you were home,” Griffin said.

  Willow kept her comments to herself about how it made sense for her to come back to her house, but not much sense for them to be there without her. Instead, she said, “He’s a smart dog.”

  The real estate investor extended a hand towards her. “You must be Willow Wells. I’m Thomas Danielson.”

  “I know,” Willow began before realizing that she had never actually met Thomas before. She had just spied on him from a jail cell. She shook his hand and tried to cover. “I know your daughter Nadia. We went to high school together and got to talking at the 5K.”

  “She’s the light of my life,” Thomas said. Then he added, “I hope she wasn’t complaining about me. I know I can seem overprotective at times.”

  “No,” Willow said, shaking her head and choosing not to share everything that Nadia had told them.

  He looked back at Griffin. “Well, I think that’s everything that I can tell you that’s helpful. I wish I had more tenant complaints to give you.”

  Willow bit her lip. This wasn’t sounding promising.

  “I hope that everything works out for you,” Thomas said. He shook Griffin’s hand and waved to Willow as he left.

  Griffin and Willow followed him to the door and closed it after him. Once the guest was gone, Telescope was eager to get some attention from his owner. Willow felt like he was tense and gave him a good rubdown to make him feel better. He must not have liked having a new friend and a stranger in the house when Willow wasn’t home.

  After showering Telescope with attention on his level, she picked him up. She thought he might like to be closer to eye level as she and Griffin recapped what they had learned.

  “I’ll go first to tell you about my investigation because it will be short,” Willow said. “I basically learned nada.”

  “Nothing?” Griffin asked, disappointed.

  “That is what nada means,” Willow said, leading them back to the living room where they could sit. She told him about how repairs in Lee’s buildings were slow to be fixed, backing up what Griffin had already told her. She told him how she and Willow had talked to many residents, but no one had any complaints. “I couldn’t find a single person with a problem with him.”

  “The same case with me,” Griffin said.
“Thomas said that he knew that Lee didn’t always repair things, but he didn’t know of a single official complaint. He didn’t know any specifics that could point us in the right direction either.”

  “That’s disappointing,” Willow said, slumping into the couch. Telescope continued to stay at her side and act as if he were part of the conversation.

  “And I was right about the building,” Griffin said, slumping into his own seat. “There were no other investors who might have killed Lee Hunter to get him out of the way.”

  Telescope barked, which Willow took to mean that he realized this was also disappointing news.

  “Oh, I have a question,” Willow said, raising her head slightly. “Did Thomas Danielson seem to be full of conspiracy theories to you?”

  Griffin shook his head. “He seemed sane to me. He didn’t talk about Area 51 or anything like that.”

  “He didn’t mention a murder?”

  “He said that Lee’s negligence could lead to murder, but no real murders,” said Griffin.

  Willow slumped back down in her seat. “He just must be overprotective towards his daughter.”

  Telescope barked again.

  “That’s right,” Griffin said. “Thomas did tell me a little more about Ronald Bray.”

  Willow nodded. Her ears might not be as large as Telescope’s, but she was “all ears” when it came to this topic.

  “Ronald was Lee’s silent business partner,” Griffin explained. “He mostly gave cash backing to projects. However, after he got a string of notifications about Lee’s failure to make repairs in the buildings, he came to town to stop being so silent and take a more active role.”

  “He told us that he wanted to get rid of his business partner,” Willow said. “Maybe he decided it would be easier to kill Lee and make the repairs himself instead of having anyone find out that Lee wasn’t fulfilling his responsibility. And he left the bar before Tiffany. He had plenty of time to commit the crime.”

  It sounded promising until Griffin held up a hand.

  “Unfortunately, Thomas also gave Ronald an alibi for the time of the murder.”

  “Why was Ronald meeting with Thomas?” Willow asked, confused.

  “He wasn’t,” Griffin said. “Apparently, Ronald wasn’t done partying after hitting on Tiffany at the one bar. He went to another bar that night too. And the girl that he hit on just happened to be Thomas’s daughter, Nadia. It was definitely him. He gave her a business card.”

  “Did it say silent partner on it?” Willow asked, trying to make a joke but still sounding grumpy.

  “Especially after I mentioned that he had done a similar thing at another bar that night, Thomas thought Ronald was a creep. He said that he should be watched.”

  “Maybe,” Willow agreed. “He might be a creep. But if he was at the bar that night, then he couldn’t be the killer.”

  19

  The next morning Willow sat in her bedroom, brooding. She was at a loss. After searching and searching, Griffin seemed to be the only viable suspect. Everyone else either had an alibi or loved Lee. No wonder the police still considered him to be the prime suspect. If she hadn’t come to know him so well, she might have thought the same thing.

  She was restless. She felt like she needed to do something, but she didn’t know what. She didn’t have any other plans for how to find more suspects, and it was frustrating. Despite everything she had tried, she didn’t feel any closer to clearing Griffin’s name than when she started. She used to be good at solving puzzles. Had she lost that skill? Had she gotten too busy helping dogs through obstacle courses that she forgot what to do while problem-solving?

  She almost laughed when she thought about it. Investigating this case was like an obstacle course. They had to jump through hoops to get answers and were sometimes running in circles.

  Telescope found her sitting in her bedroom, and she was struck by how much she wanted to run an obstacle course with him again. Of course, right now the one in her backyard was a crime scene, and she didn’t know when she would be able to open her business.

  Telescope made a noise. Willow took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to focus on the negative. She might not have her gym where she and Telescope could work out, but she could take him on a walk. She asked him what he thought of the idea, and he seemed eager.

  She had him leashed and was getting into her car to take him to the park when Wednesday called. She announced the caller to Telescope. He didn’t seem bothered by the interruption.

  “The cells are empty again, so I thought I might take my picture for the campaign,” Wednesday said, launching right into it after they said hello. “Do you want to help me?”

  “I’m sorry. I really don’t think I’m up for it right now,” Willow said. “I feel so frenzied about the case, and I was just about to walk Tele to try and relieve the tension with some exercise. I do want to help you, but do you think we could do it tomorrow?”

  There was a pause, and she could tell that Wednesday was deciding what to do. “I think I’ll try and take some pictures on my own today, but if they don’t go well, then I’m calling you in tomorrow to help me out.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Willow agreed. “And, to help make it up to you today, I’ll bring Rover with me on our walk.”

  “She’ll love that,” Wednesday said.

  They said their goodbyes and hung up. Telescope was staring at Willow like she had betrayed him. He must have understood the word “Rover.”

  “Be nice. She’s your cousin,” Willow said.

  Telescope sprawled on the passenger seat, looking resigned. However, after they had picked Rover up and were at the park, he did seem happy to see her. They were both frolicking on their leashes and enjoying their time in the fresh air.

  Willow was still thinking about the case but was glad for the change of scenery. Pineview really was picturesque with its tall trees and winding walkways. How could a murderer be living here?

  And who could that murderer be? The only people who had said anything negative about Lee were Griffin and Thomas. Was it possible that there was someone holding a silent grudge? Were there tenants that had been angry with him that weren’t speaking out?

  Or maybe there had been another “other” woman? If Lee had cheated on one woman, why couldn’t he have cheated on another? If Tiffany was withholding sex from him until she got a ring, it might have encouraged him to be unfaithful. There was also the matter of the ring that was found at the crime scene. That pointed to a female killer, didn’t it? Maybe this other “other” woman had sought revenge.

  Willow was glad that she decided to take a walk, so she could process these meandering thoughts in a calming environment. She was already starting to feel better as she breathed in the air and enjoyed the time with her animals.

  At least, she was enjoying herself until she saw Cassy walking an excitable labradoodle. Willow hoped she could escape without being seen, but the labradoodle decided to run right up to them and sniff Rover. Telescope bravely inserted himself between the larger dog and his “cousin.”

  “Hi,” Cassy said, reining her dog in. “Sorry about Dude here. He loves chasing cats. It’s kind of weird that you’re walking one like a dog, isn’t it?”

  Willow shrugged. “She thinks she’s a dog.”

  “Well, anyway,” Cassy said. “I’m glad we ran into each other because I really want to apologize about the vendor space. I feel horrible about it. I’ll never forgive myself.”

  “It’s all right. I know there were a lot of vendors, and I was asking last minute,” Willow said.

  Before she could say anything else, Cassy said. “By the way, have you heard anything new about the murder case? Is Tiffany going to be arrested? It was her, wasn’t it? Or was it not her because she’s the most obvious suspect?”

  “Well,” Willow said, trying to think of a way out of the conversation.

  She was saved by a squirrel. Dude barked loudly and sprinted off towards it, jerking Cassy along
with him.

  “We’ll talk soon!” Cassy called as she was dragged away.

  Willow shook her head. The park didn’t seem quite so peaceful now. She sighed and hoped she wouldn’t have to make small talk with any other neighbors.

  But she did. This time it was a former friend’s parents. She had to update them on her divorce and justify her job to them. When she finally broke away, she muttered to herself, “This is why I need a dog gym, so the dogs and I can exercise without being interrupted.”

  Her cell phone buzzed, and she groaned. Interrupted again. However, she stopped feeling annoyed when she saw who it was. Wednesday was texting her and asking for help. She had accidentally locked herself in a jail cell while trying to take a picture and needed Willow to come and spring her loose before anyone found out.

  Willow knew that when Wednesday said “anyone,” she really meant their father. Willow didn’t want to imagine that scene and told the animals that they had to hurry away. She needed to break her sister out of jail.

  Willow didn’t have time to drop the animals off at home if she wanted to get Wednesday out before their father found her, so she slipped into the police station with Telescope and Rover at her heels. No officers stopped her on her way in. She didn’t know if this was because they didn’t see the animals, or if they decided to let her bring her pets in because she was the chief’s daughter. Either way, they all made it inside.

  She headed to the cell where Wednesday had locked herself in. Wednesday did look beautiful in the smoky makeup, and the black and white striped dress she was wearing would make for quite an effect in the picture, but her expression was nervous.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Wednesday said. “I thought I heard Dad’s voice.”

  “Well, what’s the worst that he could do now?” Willow joked. “Throw you in jail?”