Something warm and fuzzy started to grow down deep inside her. “So you really just want to ride around with me today?”
“I thought it would just be a good way for us to talk. If this case does have something to do with Sprinkles—I mean, Mocha—I mean, Nutty Buddy.” He shook his head. “Then I know you’re going to want to find answers sooner rather than later.”
“Something did occur to me last night,” Serena said. “I’m not sure if it means anything, but . . .”
“There are no bad ideas when you’re brainstorming. That’s what my old editor used to always tell me.”
She sucked in a breath. “Okay then. When I was talking to Carl, the dogcatcher, he said that somebody had reported a lot of dogs barking at night in the area where our dead man was found. I’m wondering if that’s somehow related?”
“I suppose it’s worth considering. Where do you think we should start?”
“I want to go back to that street where our victim was found. Whatever is happening, that area is Ground Zero.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” Webster said.
Serena shouldn’t feel as pleased as she did, but she couldn’t stop herself. Maybe she liked approval more than she thought.
However, she couldn’t simply dive into this. She did have other commitments that needed to be met. “First, I need to do at least part of my route. I have patrons counting on me.”
“Of course,” Webster said. “I’m along for the ride, friendly neighborhood ice cream lady. Speaking of which, do you have any chocolate fudge bars?”
“I do. I always say you can judge a person by the kind of ice cream they order.”
His eyebrows shot up. “And what does the fudge pop say about me?”
“That you’re classic, responsible, and you like routine.”
“What if I’d gotten a Bomb Pop?”
“That would mean you like excitement and you’re the life of the party.”
Webster crossed his arms and turned toward Serena. “And what kind of ice cream would you get?”
“Easy. A screwball. I’m sweet and messy, but there’s a gumball as a reward at the end of it all.”
She flashed a smile as Webster’s chuckle filled the truck.
She liked that sound . . . a little more than she should.
Serena felt the anticipation grow in her as she reached the street that she was now calling Ground Zero. As she passed Lawrence’s house, the man stepped outside and flagged them down. The sound of Elsa playing “Polly, Put the Kettle On” was obviously irresistible.
Good. He was just the person she was hoping to run into.
“How’s business going?” He leaned in the window.
Serena shoved Nutty Buddy behind her so nobody would see the dog.
Webster leaned across the seat, his arm blocking the canine from coming up.
“Business as usual.” Serena tried to keep her voice casual. “How’s your vacation going?”
“I can’t complain. Now that all the excitement across the street is over, I’ve been back to surfing every day. Seems a bit like a shame to be having a good time while other people have suffered. But . . .” He shrugged.
“So everything’s been quiet on the street ever since then, huh?” Serena asked.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I’m not complaining.”
Was this man hiding something? He always seemed to be in the middle of everything. But Serena had nothing to prove that he might be involved.
A few minutes later, she served him a chocolate chip ice cream cookie sandwich and continued down to the end of the street.
Just as before, as they reached the patch of woods, Nutty Buddy began to growl.
Serena and Webster glanced at each other. Last time, Serena had written this off as just a coincidence.
But what if it wasn’t? Same place, same reaction.
Besides that, this was the same area that Carl said someone called him about when they’d heard dogs barking.
“What’s through there?” Webster asked, pointing toward a stretch of trees.
“I thought it was just woods.”
He turned toward her, an unrestrained curiosity in his eyes. “What do you think? Maybe we should find out.”
“You think that whatever is back there holds the answers to all of this?”
“I’d say it’s worth a try. But if things turn ugly, we call the police.”
Instead of turning around in the driveway, she kept going toward the dead end. As she reached it, she saw a narrow path there. It was just wide enough for a vehicle to pass through.
She stared hard. “There’s a house back there,” she whispered.
“You didn’t know it was there?” Webster asked, staring at the rundown structure.
“I had no idea. You can’t hardly even see the road back here, and I’ve been this way plenty of times.”
Just then Nutty Buddy growled again.
What did that dog know that they didn’t?
“I think we should leave the ice cream truck here and approach by foot. What do you think?” Serena asked.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Webster said.
Serena had to admit that she felt a touch of hesitation as she climbed from Elsa. She took Nutty Buddy’s leash, just to be safe. But the dog was still on guard. There was something about this property that he didn’t like.
They stayed on the edge of the lane as they approach the house. But as they got closer, she heard the sound of dogs barking. More than one dog barking, for sure. There had to be at least five or six.
Serena and Webster exchanged glances with each other. What was going on here?
They continued through the woods, despite the underbrush. Serena reached down and lifted Nutty Buddy in her arms so he wouldn’t get caught in any of the thistles.
The house in the distance was surrounded by water, with a long dock stretching from the bulkhead. She spotted a decent-sized boat at the end of the wooden walkway and a man hurried toward the watercraft with something in his hands.
Was that a . . . cage? Her breath caught. It was!
A picture started to form in her head, but she didn’t like the images that came together. She needed more information first.
They continued to watch. The man went back and forth on the boat and loaded at least six different cages. As he did, the barking became louder. There were clearly animals in those cages.
“It’s a dog-smuggling ring,” Webster said.
That’s exactly what Serena had been thinking. But she wanted to hear more of his opinion first. She didn’t know much about these types of things and maybe thought they only existed in fiction.
“Tell me more,” she said.
“I covered something like this when I was in New York. People steal high-end dogs and then sell them to families who are willing to pay thousands of dollars for these dogs.”
“Aren’t they microchipped?”
“I’m sure there are ways to either take the microchip out or somehow wipe it clean without removing it.”
“But why would they be doing this on Lantern Beach?”
“My guess is that this is the easiest way to transport these dogs up and down the coast. People probably aren’t going to be paying too much attention to a boat. But if they’re on the highway and they stop to get gas? If people hear dogs barking, they’re going to get suspicious.”
Serena held Nutty Buddy closer. This boy must’ve been a part of this mess, but he’d somehow gotten away. And, for some reason, Paul Witherspoon must’ve died because of all this.
She squinted as she saw the man on the dock walking back toward the house. It was Jason!
She had had no doubt that man was involved in this operation. From the moment she met him, he had given her a bad feeling. And rightfully so.
“We’ve got to do something to stop this,” Serena whispered.
Webster pulled out his phone. “Let’s start by calling Chief Chambers.”
�
�Good idea.”
As he dialed 911, Serena continued to watch the boat. Jason hadn’t come back out with any more cages. That might mean that he was finished. If that was the case, he might be leaving soon.
She hoped that Cassidy could get here in time.
But if she didn’t? What were they going to do? Serena had to think of some way to stop this guy.
“She’s on her way,” Webster said. “She said she’ll be here in ten minutes and don’t make any moves.”
“But he’s about to leave,” Serena said.
Webster pushed his glasses up as he stared at the boat at the end of the dock. A little bit of that Superman vibe returned to him. “You’re right. That is what it looks like.”
“I have an idea,” Serena said, explaining it to him. “It’s the only thing I can think of.”
“Let’s give it a try.”
They rushed back to the ice cream truck and climbed inside. A moment later, Serena took off down the lane, her music blaring. As she arrived at the house, she pressed on her brakes, put the truck into Park, and stepped out.
She waved her hand. “Isn’t it a lovely day here on Lantern Beach? I got a special you’re not going to want to miss. One ice cream sandwich for a dollar or five for five dollars.”
Webster remained in the truck with Nutty Buddy down on the floor beside him so no one could see him.
Jason narrowed his gaze and stormed over to her. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m selling ice cream. That’s what I do.”
“But we don’t want any. Get out of here.”
Serena wasn’t done with this yet. “Looks like you’re about to take a trip.” She nodded toward the boat.
His gaze darkened. “It’s none of your business. Like I said, get out of here.”
“You know, I feel bad about what happened yesterday. I’d like to offer you any type of ice cream you want. You just name it.”
“I’m lactose intolerant and trying to cut out sugar. Now, scram.”
Serena couldn’t help but think that this man was talking to her like someone might talk to a stray dog. Her bad feeling about the man continued to grow.
“I’m thinking about getting a boat. Can I take a look at yours?”
Jason stormed closer, his face turning as red as a cherry popsicle. “What part of get out of here don’t you understand?”
“Maybe she’ll understand this,” a new voice said.
Serena slowly turned and saw someone standing by her ice cream truck, gun in hand. She let out a soft gasp.
That was the woman Serena had talked to when she’d been looking for Nutty Buddy’s owner that very first day she’d found him—the grandmotherly lady who’d helped with the crab fest and who lived by herself at the end of the lane and who’d called Nutty Buddy a rat.
The problem was she looked anything but sweet right now. Instead, she looked like the matriarch of a crime family.
Webster stepped out of the van with one hand raised and the other clutching Nutty Buddy as Grandma pointed the gun at them.
He mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
It was okay. Neither of them had been able to anticipate this. Serena tried to tell him that with her gaze.
“So let’s cut to the chase,” Webster said. “You guys appear to be running a dog-smuggling ring.”
“It’s harmless. Nobody gets hurt.” Grandma gave them all a cold stare. “Unless they do. You should’ve stayed out of this.”
“Just like Paul Witherspoon did,” Serena said.
She glared. “He was different. He was one of us until he suddenly started getting soft. It really was a crying shame.”
“He wanted out, so you killed him?” Serena asked. The explanation sounded so heartless.
“It’s a long story,” Jason said. “We don’t have time to talk about it. Now, get the dog. He should go for at least two thousand in the black market.”
Serena’s eyes went to Nutty Buddy. She couldn’t bear the thought of that dog being taken away. She had to do something.
“Paul was the one who called the dogcatcher, wasn’t he?” she blurted.
Jason and Grandma looked at her.
“How do you know about that?” Grandma asked, her eyes narrowed.
“I’m just putting the pieces together now, but it makes sense. He needed a way to get out of this without you guys realizing that he was the one who pulled the plug on the operation. That’s why he called the dogcatcher.”
“That’s right,” Grandma said, her gun still pointed at Webster. “But when the dogcatcher came, he had nothing to hold us on. As far as he could tell, we weren’t doing anything illegal.”
“But if that’s your dog,” Serena pointed to Nutty Buddy. “Why didn’t you claim him when I walked up to your house?”
“I couldn’t let anybody have any indication I was behind this. I want my hands to be clean.”
“So you let your grandson take the fall for you?” Serena nodded to Jason. Now that she thought about it, the two showed some resemblance.
“He’s not my grandson. He’s my nephew. And Paul Witherspoon was nothing but a namby-pamby whimpering girly-girl of a man. As soon as he saw that one girl on the news crying over her stolen dog, he went all soft on us. He wanted to stop all of this. But we couldn’t let him do that. So Jason did the only thing we could do.”
“So he stabbed him?” Serena asked.
“We had no other choice. If that dog hadn’t gotten away when it did, the police may have never found Paul in time. We would’ve had a chance to clean things up,” Grandma said. “Now, enough talking. We need to take care of business. All of you, in the boat.”
Serena exchanged a glance with Webster. She knew if they got in that boat, they’d never be seen around here again.
She looked back at Grandma. Grandma had a gun. There was very little they could do when that was pointed at them.
Think, Serena. Think.
But she came up with nothing.
Cassidy should be here any minute. That was her only chance.
But did Cassidy even know that this house was back here?
They started walking toward the dock, Serena feeling like they had no choice. Her heart pounded in her chest. She only hoped that Nutty Buddy would be okay. And Webster. Especially since she had gotten him into this.
Right before they stepped on the dock, when Serena felt like all hope was lost, a new sound cut through the air.
It wasn’t a police siren either.
It was Elsa. Playing “The More We Get Together.”
The sound threw them off just enough that Webster was able to kick the gun from Grandma’s hand. It fired as it flew through the air.
“Run!” Webster shouted.
Serena didn’t have to be told twice. She started toward the ice cream truck, knowing she could use it to take cover, if nothing else.
Just as they arrived there, Cassidy pulled up with another police car.
“Freeze!” she shouted. “Put your hands in the air!”
Serena and Webster glanced at each other. Maybe this was really over.
But Serena felt her legs going weak, like ice cream melting on a hot day.
That evening, Serena and Webster sat on the deck outside her camper as the stars began to twinkle overhead. She was waiting for Cassidy to arrive. But her heart felt heavy. She knew that when Cassidy came, she was going to need to turn Nutty Buddy over to her.
She didn’t want to let the dog go.
Though Serena knew she’d bonded with the canine, she hadn’t realized how deeply that bond already went.
“You did a good job here tonight,” Webster said. “All those dogs will go back to their owners. That’s something you can be proud of.”
“I wish I felt excited.” She ran her hand over Nutty Buddy’s back. “But all I can think about is sending this boy away.”
“Instead of thinking about your loss, think about how happy his owner will be. He’s a great dog. I’m sure somebody
has really missed him.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” That should make her feel better, but it didn’t. Not really.
The rest of the scene at the house at the end of the lane had been crazy. Jason and Grandma had been arrested. Carl from animal control had come to take charge of the dogs. From what Serena was able to overhear, Jason and Grandma had been doing this for a few years now. Serena could only imagine how many dogs had passed between their hands during that time.
Everything seemed surreal.
Just then, Cassidy pulled up and parked her SUV in front of Serena’s lot. There was a grim look on her face as she walked up to the deck. She sat on the edge and looked up at Serena for a moment before saying anything.
“I’m glad you called me tonight,” she started. “It could’ve been an ugly situation.”
“I’m glad you showed up when you did.”
“It’s important that you let me do the policework,” Cassidy continued. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I just wanted to stop Jason before he left with those dogs.”
“I understand,” Cassidy said, no judgment in her voice. It was mostly just worry.
“Did all the dogs get returned to their owners?” Webster asked.
“All the owners are on their way to get their dogs,” Cassidy said. “They’re going to come here to Lantern Beach. It was the easiest way to coordinate things.”
Serena rubbed the pup’s head again, feeling the burn in her throat as she tried to fight back tears. “And when is Nutty Buddy’s owner coming?”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Serena held her breath, unsure what Cassidy was about to say.
“It turns out that Nutty Buddy’s owner was an elderly woman. She passed away after living a long, full life. This woman’s daughter was supposed to come and pick up the dog. But, when she arrived, the dog was no longer there. I’m not sure how Jason heard about everything, but he somehow managed to grab Nutty Buddy before the authorities arrived.”
“Do you think he killed the woman?”
“No, I think he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. These guys were opportunists. They heard about dogs they wanted, and then waited for opportunities to grab them.”
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