Bushwhacked: Maple Syrup Mysteries Book 2

by Emily James

  I flipped open the first file folder. I hadn’t had time to actually look through them the way I’d planned, but it seemed like Paul organized them based on animal and color. An efficient system since that’s all they’d know about any animal brought in.

  I handed each person a folder and sat back beside Mark. The couch cushion shifted again, but I was prepared this time and kept myself from sliding into him.

  I gave him one of the remaining folders. “You did say you wanted to help, right?” I whispered.

  He nudged my shoulder with his and I had to grab the arm of the love seat to keep from tumbling into him. I clamped my lips together to keep from sticking my tongue out at him.

  I slid the final folder out for myself and flipped through it. Instead of being arranged by animal and color the way the others were, mine seemed to be all large-breed dogs or breeds with a reputation for aggression. I turned the pages more slowly. Rottweilers, Mastiffs, Dobermans, Pitbulls, German Shepherds…why had these been taken out of the normal files?

  Craig’s accusations of Paul’s prejudice flooded back into my mind. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. Maybe these were simply pets who’d already been found. I turned another page and the heavily-jowled face of Bonnie’s Toby stared back at me. So much for that theory.

  “Bruno’s not in the file,” the young mom with the baby on her knee said. “But I know I took a lost-pet flier to the shelter for them to keep in case he showed up there.”

  Bonnie’s forehead had wrinkled into layers that bore a frightening resemblance to Toby’s folds of skin. She was leaning toward the armchair of the teenage girl and looking at the fliers in the girl’s folder. “Toby’s not in this one, either.” She huffed and her ample bosom bounced rapidly like she might be beginning to hyperventilate. “This is why I kept making Paul take me into the back kennel so I could look for myself. I knew we couldn’t trust him to keep watch for them.”

  I wrapped my fingers around Toby’s page in my file to show her that he had kept Toby on file as a lost pet, but then I flattened my palm over the picture. If I handed this to her, she might ask about my folder. Anyone would quickly notice what I had—for some reason, Paul had isolated these dogs from the rest of the records.

  The couch cushion under me shifted again. I glanced up. Mark’s gaze was focused on the folder in my hands, and a small crinkle formed between his eyes. Beneath where I’d put my hand to cover Toby’s picture, Bonnie’s name and phone number were still clearly visible.

  I snapped the folder closed. “I might have left some records behind without realizing it, or Toby and Bruno might have been accidentally slipped into another file. That’s why I think it’s so important for us to go through all these records.”

  Bonnie nodded her head, and her breathing eased. “Well then, how about we pick the date and time for our next meeting, and then have some snacks.”

  I tucked my folder back into my bag. “I have to get back to the shelter for the evening feeding and cleaning. Could you call me with the details?”

  Bonnie agreed to let me know what they selected, then she bustled into the kitchen. Before we had our shoes on, she returned with a plastic container filled with cookies and squares.

  She pressed the container into my hands. “When I found out you were Stan Dawes’ niece, I whipped up a batch of my maple syrup fudge and my maple syrup cookies in his honor. I couldn’t let you leave without taking a few home with you.”

  Tears pressed at the corners of my eyes. Enough time had passed since Uncle Stan’s death that sometimes I could think about him without wanting to cry. Now wasn’t one of those times.

  “Thank you,” I squeezed out.

  For a second Bonnie looked like she was going to give me another hug, but my arms were full of sweets and my briefcase bag.

  She waved her hands at us instead. “Off with you, then. Go take care of those needy animals.”

  As soon as Mark had us back on the road, heading in the direction of the shelter, I slumped back in his seat. I had more evidence now as to who might have killed Paul and why, but it wasn’t what I’d hoped for.

  I popped the lid on the container of sweets and shoved a cookie into my mouth. It wasn’t overly sweet the way I’d expected. Instead it was like a maple-flavored sugar cookie, soft on the inside and with a tiny crunch from the granulated sugar on the outside.

  Unfortunately, as good as it was, it didn’t solve my problem, not that my propensity to stress eat ever did.

  “Okay,” Mark said. “What’s going on?”

  What I’d seen at the shelter and Craig accusations poured out. “And now it looks like he’d set aside any reports of big dogs who were missing and he wasn’t treating them the same way. He might have even been acting as a vigilante, getting rid of dogs in the city that he saw as potential threats to public safety.”

  Mark reached over and tucked my hair behind my ear. I sucked in a little breath and prayed he didn’t notice. His innocent touches were going to be the death of me.

  “I know you want to protect the dogs Craig might have saved, but you need to tell Erik. And I don’t think you should work with Craig alone again until we know if he was involved or not.”

  I nibbled another cookie. He was right. Spending time alone, even in the daylight, with a man who might be a murderer wasn’t smart. Still, my stomach twisted itself up like a Twizzler at the thought of having to tell Erik that Paul might not have been the good guy he thought he was. “He and Erik were so close…”

  Mark shook his head emphatically. “Erik won’t let that influence him. He’ll investigate the case the same as if he didn’t know the victim.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” I eyed the remainder of the fudge and cookies, but snapped the top in place. I’d already need another day out on snowshoes to burn off what I’d eaten. “It’ll hurt him if Paul was really doing what Craig said.”

  “Oh.” Mark’s hands twitched around the steering wheel and his knuckles turned white the same way they had when he thought I’d been flirting with Jason, the owner of Beaver’s Tail Brewery. “I see.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him there wasn’t anything but friendship between Erik and me, but I snapped my mouth shut instead. I needed distance from Mark, and letting him stew in his weird jealous fit might be the way to get it while avoiding an awkward conversation about my feelings.

  That wasn’t fair to Mark, but I wasn’t sure I had the fortitude to cut off my friendship with him right now, not with my stomach already in a knot over the potential motive for Paul’s murder.

  I got out my phone. “I’ll call him now.” There was an edge to my voice. I winched and ducked my head forward so my hair hid my face.

  Mark stopped the truck in the shelter parking lot.

  Erik answered on the first ring and I repeated the same information that I’d given to Mark, including my theories.

  I could hear Erik breathing, so I knew the call hadn’t dropped, but he didn’t respond at first.

  A chair squeaked like he was shifting positions. “I’ll pay a visit to Craig tonight. Are you scheduled to work at the shelter anytime soon?”

  “I’m in the parking lot now for the night care, and I’m on again tomorrow morning by myself.”

  “I’d rather you weren’t there alone in case Craig shows up unannounced and he did have something to do with Paul’s death. Sit tight. I’ll send someone else to question Craig, and I’ll join you.”

  I glanced in Mark’s direction. He stared out the driver’s side window, hands still in a rock-crushing hold on the steering wheel. After his reaction to my concern for Erik, I wasn’t sure if he still planned to come in and meet the puppy or not. It’d be better overall if Mark left and Erik kept me company, but then Erik wouldn’t be able to take part in the interview with Craig. He should be the one to do it.

  I touched Mark’s arm. He turned just his head.

  Are you still coming in? I mouthed.

  His shoulders came down away from his ea
rs a touch, and he quirked an eyebrow at me. I took that as a yes.

  If I kept my explanation to Erik vague enough, he might think I meant Russ was with me.

  “I’m not alone,” I said to Erik. “And he’s willing to stay while I do what I need to here.”

  When I glanced up at Mark again, he’d let go of the steering wheel, but his lips formed a hard line. No sign of a dimple anywhere. I missed them already.

  “Stay safe,” Erik said.

  “You too.”

  I disconnected the call, and left the baked goods and my briefcase in his truck since he’d have to give me a ride home after anyway. Mark and I walked toward the shelter door, at least two feet of space between us.

  I unlocked the building, dropped Uncle Stan’s coat on one of the waiting room chairs, and scurried away from Mark to the kennel area.

  He caught up to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. My body froze, but my heart kicked up like a regular car running on high-octane gas.

  He turned me around to face him, and his hand slid down to rest on my upper arm. “Why did you avoid telling Erik you were with me?”

  I couldn’t bring my gaze above his chest. My hands shook. I clenched them into fists.

  I’d done everything I could to avoid this conversation, and it’d found me anyway. The truth will set you free, the pastor had said in this morning’s sermon. “Erik has concerns about…our friendship.”

  Mark’s hand clenched and released but didn’t leave my arm. “Why does it matter what Erik thinks?”

  Deep breath in. I could do this. I had to do this.

  I stepped back, breaking the contact. A piece of me seemed to rip away and stay behind. It wasn’t just that I was attracted to him. It was more. Next to Ahanti, Mark was the best friend I’d ever had.

  That was exactly why I had to do this. If I continued to see him, my self-control and resolve would only hold out so long, and if he slipped as well, I’d be a willing adulteress this time.

  My gaze was down to his shoes now, with their perfectly even laces. I was done with married men breaking my heart, intentionally or unintentionally. I wasn’t going to waver now. The blood in my veins turned to steel. “I have concerns as well. I’ve been trying to find a way to tell you all day.”

  “All day.” His voice wavered. The shoes moved back out of my narrow range of sight. “All day today.”

  I nodded.

  “You should have said something sooner.”

  I didn’t look up until I heard the front door chime signaling he was gone. I gasped in air. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath.

  I’d done it. I should feel liberated and proud. All I felt was empty. And now I was here alone, exactly how Erik hadn’t wanted.

  I dialed Russ’ number. “I’m at the shelter, and I don’t think I should be here alone, could you come?” I said in one gulp when he answered.

  “Are you okay?”

  He didn’t need to carry all my burdens and certainly not this one, which would only remind him of the people he’d lost and the consequences that could come with adultery. “Yeah. Erik’s gone to talk to a suspect, and he doesn’t want me here alone.”

  “On my way.”

  I hurried through the clean-up and feeding. By the time the front door chime rang again and Russ called out to let me know it was him, I was done except for the Great Dane puppy. I opened her kennel and she launched herself at me, wriggling.

  It probably broke every rule the shelter had, but I was taking her home with me for the night. I needed comfort, and it was either going to be cute puppy or eating my way through everything even remotely sweet in my cupboards, including spoonfuls of straight brown sugar from the bag.

  I clipped a leash onto her collar.

  Russ came around the corner, carrying my briefcase and the container of goodies from Bonnie. “Mark asked me to give these to you. Did you know he was sitting outside?”

  He hadn’t left me here unprotected, despite what had happened.

  The hairline crack in my heart broke wide open, and I had the uncomfortable feeling that this time it might not heal.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Russ must have noticed my silence on the drive home, but he didn’t push. I brought the puppy to bed with me and cried myself to sleep. She smelled a little musty, but I could fix that with a bath, and the way she rested her head on my arm put a balm on my stinging heart. Even though I knew I’d done the right thing, it didn’t make it hurt any less.

  Russ picked me up the next morning. I had a feeling he noticed my red nose and swollen eyes, but he stayed quiet about it in an Uncle Stan-like waiting-me-out way. Either that or female emotions made him uncomfortable. I didn’t know Russ well enough yet to be sure which it was.

  He dropped me at Quantum Mechanics for my car, and I drove on to the shelter by myself. The sky hunkered low to the ground, a misty grey. Snowflakes wove their way down.

  I parked in front of the shelter next to a maroon SUV.

  Craig’s SUV.

  I thunked my head back against the headrest. Forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to be at the shelter with Craig alone started my day off only marginally better than yesterday ended. There was only one thing I could do.

  I called Erik. The phone rang three times, and I was trying to decide whether to wait in my car until I could reach him or go inside anyway when he picked up.

  “How did it go with Craig last night? I’m sitting outside the shelter, his car’s here, and I’m not sure if I should go in.”

  “I thought you said you were the only one scheduled this morning.”

  He was right. Craig wasn’t supposed to be in until noon. “That’s what I thought, too.” I checked the puppy in my backseat. She whimpered and squirmed against her safety harness. I’d been too upset last night to grab her any food, so she hadn’t had breakfast yet. “What do I do? I have a hungry puppy in my backseat.”

  “I’m not even going to ask why there’s a puppy in your car.” A pause like Erik switched the phone to his other ear. “Go on in, but stay on the line with me. Craig told me the same story he told you. Swore he didn’t have anything to do with Paul’s death, but he didn’t care for him, either.”

  I flinched. That had to be hard for Erik to hear when he was missing his friend. “Do you think he killed Paul?”

  “He’s our best suspect right now.”

  I propped the phone between my ear and shoulder and helped the puppy from the car. “But you don’t think I’m in danger anymore?”

  “Not now that we’ve talked to him. If anything happened to you now, he’d be the obvious suspect.”

  “I appreciate you staying on the phone with me nonetheless since he wasn’t supposed to be here yet.” I tugged the shelter door open. At least Craig left it unlocked for me. “What’ll happen with his job?” I kept my voice low in case Craig was working near the front.

  Only the chairs and empty front desk met me in the lobby.

  “That’s up to the city council,” Erik said. “What he did violates shelter policies, but it isn’t illegal. I doubt they’ll fire him since he’s currently their most experienced shelter employee. It might ruin his chances of becoming manager, though. I heard they’re looking for an outside replacement.”

  That was probably for the best even if Craig turned out to be innocent. “Maybe the new manager will be open to using his channels for reforming the problem dogs.”

  I didn’t mean to imply unlike Paul, but it unintentionally hung in the air between us.

  The puppy bounced along beside me like a mini Tigger. If her owners took much longer getting back to me, I was going to name her so I didn’t have to keep calling her the puppy.

  All the rooms along the hallway were empty. Craig must already be back feeding the animals.

  I shucked Uncle Stan’s coat into the closet and followed the line of kennels, looking down each row. “That’s weird.”

  “What’s weird?”

  I jumped and nearly dropped
the phone. I’d almost forgotten Erik was still on the other end. “Craig’s not in the kennel area. He must be out back with one of the dogs.”

  “I want you to find him and see how he reacts to you before I hang up, so could you check?”

  The puppy wove around my feet, and I scratched the top of her head. Her tail whipped back and forth at hyper-speed. I’d feed her super quick first. I scooped out a bowl of food and set it down.

  A smear of red on the freezer caught my attention. Dark red.

  I inched toward the freezer. It was one of the large chest versions, wider than it was long.

  “Did you find Craig?” Erik asked.

  I rested a palm on the freezer handle. That smear probably wasn’t blood—canned dog and cat food came in a range of sickening shades of brown—and if I called Erik down here for nothing, I’d be pulling him away from important work. Staying on the phone while I hunted for Craig ate up enough of his time already.

  I hauled in a steadying breath and threw open the freezer lid.

  Craig’s lifeless eyes stared back at me, a bullet hole between them.

  Five minutes later, Erik slid into the passenger side of my car. The first squad car arrived in three. By then I was already huddled in my car with the Dane puppy in my lap. I couldn’t quite convince myself to stay inside, knowing Craig’s frozen body was stuffed into the freezer.

  “I’ll have one of my men feed and clean the animals,” Erik said. “We can’t have civilians inside until we’ve released the scene.”

  I pressed two fingers into the space between my eyes. For the first time since I’d decided to move to Fair Haven, I wished I’d chosen to stay in DC. “This has been the crappiest week ever.”

  “I’ll have an officer drive you home as soon as I can spare someone.”

  He didn’t touch me the way he would have before our conversation defining our relationship. In one way, I appreciated him keeping the boundaries clear. In another way, I wanted someone to hug me so I could hide in their arms for a few minutes and block out the world.