Although she was tall, she wasn’t slender and was well aware that eating like she had while she was in both countries could have easily added a few unwanted pounds to a body that obviously liked to eat. She breathed a sigh of relief as she looked in the mirror, glad that if some damage had been done, it wasn’t too obvious. She decided she’d eat only healthy food for the next few days to counterbalance the overindulging she’d taken part in while she’d enjoyed the Italian and Cuban food.
The dogs romped from room to room, clearly glad to be home, and ended up in front of the glass patio door, wanting to go out so they could get reacquainted with their own yard. Kelly opened the sliding glass patio door and let them run around in the yard while she brought in the luggage. She spent the next couple of hours unpacking, reading the mail, and deciding what she and Mike could have for dinner, although she knew when a crime had been committed, particularly murder, Mike would probably not make it home until quite late. She was tired from the long trip and had no desire to go to the store.
Mike liked to make a wonderful dish he called “fisherman’s fried rice.” She decided tonight was the perfect night for the dish Mike had learned to make years ago from his friend, Jack Trout, who had been Mike’s fishing guide while they were in Cuba. It only required rice, bacon, eggs, scallions, and a little soy sauce. She had all of the ingredients, and if Mike couldn’t make it home, she could easily prepare it herself. After all of the wonderful food they’d eaten lately, she looked forward to a simpler meal. I’ll start my new healthy regime tomorrow, she thought.
She’d just picked up her cell phone to call Mike and see what he’d been able to find out about Mary’s murder when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number on the screen. “This is Kelly Reynolds.”
“Kelly, this is Noelle Hughes, Mary Barnes’ daughter.”
“Oh, Noelle, I’m so sorry about your mother. I considered her to be one of my best friends, and I simply can’t understand how something like this could happen or who would want to kill Mary. It makes no sense. I don’t think Mary had an enemy in the world, and everyone I knew loved the kennel. It was definitely the best in the area. I’d just picked up the phone to call Mike and see what was happening when you called. Were you able to find the missing dogs?”
“We’ve accounted for almost all of them. We’re missing two, but considering what we started with, that’s pretty good. People are still out looking for them, and I was able to get the local television station to run a story about it. I’m hoping that will help.”
“That’s certainly good news. I was a nervous wreck when I was driving around trying to find Rebel. I wasn’t sure what I’d find, or if I’d even find him at all. Letting the dogs out was one of the most warped things I’ve ever heard of someone doing. I wonder if the killer did it before or after the murder.”
“They don’t know at this point. They thought the coroner’s report might shed some light on it, but it looks like my mom’s murder and letting the dogs out were pretty much done one right after the other. No one knows which came first.”
“So if your mother was murdered first, and then the dogs were let out it’s quite different from them being let out first and then your mother being murdered. If it’s the latter, it could possibly mean she was killed because she saw who let them out. Actually, that makes more sense to me than thinking that someone hated Mary enough to murder her.”
“I think so too, but mom seemed to be really rattled during my last conversation with her. It seems she’d had several things happen lately which frustrated her.”
“Like what?” Kelly asked.
“Well, evidently a pit bull got out and attacked Sandy Reston’s Labrador retriever that she’d brought to Doggie Love for the day. She’s the manager of the kennel. Mom said the pit bull almost severed the Lab’s leg. It required the immediate attention of a vet and surgery, plus there is no guarantee that the dog’s leg will be all right in the future. Mom was so angry, and so was Sandy, that she terminated the lease the Pit Bull Sanctuary had with the kennel. She told the head of it to get his dogs out by the next day. Evidently he did.”
“That must have been really hard for her to do, because I know she had a soft spot in her heart for pit bulls. She told me once that she thought they’d been treated unfairly by the press.”
“Yes, it was a very difficult decision for her to make. The second thing that happened was a client called her and accused her or one of her employees of leaving her pet’s kennel door open and allowing her dog to become impregnated by another dog at the kennel.”
“Well, I assume that’s not the first time something like that has happened at a kennel,” Kelly said.
“Probably not, but this was a little different. The dog who was impregnated is a champion Yorkshire terrier. She also has the most Grand Champion Points in her category. My mother told her it could not have happened at the kennel. The woman was furious and told Mom that her attorney would be calling her. Privately, Mom was a little worried that one of her employees accidently left the dog’s kennel door unlocked and a male dog got out, sensed the Yorkie was in heat, and impregnated her. She was worried she might be held financially responsible.”
“Oh, that’s awful. I feel for the woman, but things like that do happen at kennels.”
“Yes, but Mom had a policy that any female dog over the age of four months who wasn’t spayed had to be kept in a private kennel which costs quite a bit more. Female dogs that have not been spayed aren’t allowed to mingle with the other dogs.”
“Well, I suppose both of those people could be suspects, but it seems pretty far-fetched to me. Anything else?”
“Yes. The third thing is that mom had been trying to buy the land just east of the kennel. The woman who owns it has two acres and mom said it was an eyesore, you know, one of those places that has old rusted appliances sitting around in the front yard, lots of weeds, and is generally really unkempt. Mom wanted to buy the land for two reasons. She wanted to expand the kennel, and she wanted to get rid of what she considered to be an eyesore.”
“What happened?”
“Mom said the woman who owned it complained a lot about the dogs barking and refused to sell it to her. She told mom if she couldn’t stop the dogs from yapping all the time, she was going to go to the county and file a complaint. The woman was so angry about it she said there was no way she’d ever agree to sell her the property.”
“Your poor mother. Her last days certainly don’t seem to have been very pleasant for her.”
“I know. Believe it or not, none of those things are the reason I called you. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop by in an hour or so if you’re going to be home. I need to talk to you about something else, and I’d prefer to do it in person rather than on the phone.”
“Of course. I’ll be here. You certainly have piqued my curiosity. Do you need my address?”
“No, I remember it from the last time I was there. Thanks, Kelly. See you in an hour.”
CHAPTER 6
I hate this job more than ‘bout anything else, Ricky Anderson thought as he cleaned out one of the kennels at the Doggie Love Kennel. The only thing that might come close to takin’ my ol’ first place hate would be the owner of Doggie Love, Mrs. Barnes. I call her Old Snooty because of her stuck up attitude. She’s purty high on my hate list and just might make it to the top real soon.
Only reason I’m stayin’ in this stupid job is ‘cause Dad said if I could hold a job for a year he’d give me five thousand dollars. Said workin’ here was kind of like goin’ into the army. Be good fer me and teach me to be a man. Right. Gave me a choice, and I took this job over goin’ into the army. Don’t think I’d do too good there. Don’t like havin’ to take orders from nobody. Anyway, when I get that money, I can get outta town and mosey right on down to Mexico. Seen pictures of bottles of cold beer in metal buckets and lotsa hot wimmen hangin’ round everywhere. Sounds good to me. Livin’ with Dad ain’t no fun. Said he could proba
bly get me a job here. Told me he and Mrs. Barnes go way back, like they had somethin’ going’ on back in the day when they was young. Right. Can’t see either one of ‘em havin’ anythin’ goin’ on anywhere or with anybody.”
He picked up the bucket of mop water laced with disinfectant, put it in front of an empty kennel, dipped the mop in it, and swabbed out the kennel. He laughed to himself when he remembered how that big pit bull had gotten loose from the fenced-in rescue area and entered the kennel where that little Frenchy lookin’ dog was with her silky hair all combed just so perfect and her little pink bow on the top of her head.
She got religion purty quick. Can’t blame that big boy fer doin’ what comes natcherlly, and boy howdy, did he ever put it to her. That was somethin’ to see. When it was over I put him back in the pit bull area. No one was around so didn’t have no eyes watchin’. Nobody saw me. It was jes’ a guess on Old Snooty’s part when she called me in and asked me if I knew anything about one of the dogs getting’ into that pipsqueak dog’s kennel and doin’ the nasty. Everybody looks down on me. That’s another reason I gotta get outta here. Why didn’t she ask any of the other people who work here? Jes’ me. Tol’ her nah. Didn’t happen. She asked if I’d made sure all the kennel doors were secured and the gate to the pit bull area was locked. Tol’ her sure. First and last things I check every day. Didn’t tell her ‘bout them open doors. Don’ think Old Snooty woulda understood.
He rinsed out the mop and started on the next kennel. Old Snooty had told him they were expecting to be full over the weekend, so she wanted him to clean all of the kennels. She’d told him to work with Anita, the young woman who was in charge of taking the dogs for walks. She said the easiest way to insure that all of the kennels were spotless was for him to stay with Anita, and each time she took a dog for its daily walk, he was to clean that particular kennel. That was in addition to making sure that all of the dogs had water and removing any scum that might be on the lake. She’d also said that the manager of Doggie Love Kennel, Sandy Reston, would be giving him some more things to do as needed.
There was absolutely nothing Ricky liked about his job. If there was anywhere else he could work in Cedar Bay, he definitely would have preferred that job to the one he had, but it was a small town and there weren’t many jobs available. It probably hadn’t helped that he’d been expelled from the Cedar Bay High School almost a year ago when his history teacher thought he looked like he was high on something when he’d come to class. It was unfortunate that the principal had searched his locker and found a block of marijuana in it. The principal figured out he was the one who had been selling it to some of the students. He also developed a little habit of his own. The principal hadn’t wasted any time calling his father and expelling him. Ricky tried to tell them it was an unfortunate misunderstanding, but nobody had believed him. He was gone from good old Cedar Bay High the next day.
His father had been furious when he’d been expelled and had told Ricky that he better get a job or he was going to kick him out of the house. Ricky had applied to the few places in town that had Help Wanted signs in their windows, but Cedar Bay was a small town, and everyone knew that Ricky Anderson had been expelled from high school. None of the business people wanted to take a chance on a kid with a history of selling drugs. The only thing that had come his way was the job at Doggie Love Kennel, and that was only because of his father.
Just a few more months of this, and I’m outta here. Won’t ever have to clean a kennel again the rest of my life or take orders from Old Snooty. Won’t even have to see my Dad no more. It would be kinda fun to pull Old Snooty’s chain, her bein’ so high and mighty and all. Might be interestin’ to see what would happen if all the dogs got out. That might knock her down a notch or two and serve her right for accusin’ me of sumpin, even if I probably was responsible for doin’ it. Jes’ because the school kicked me out doesn’t mean she can accuse me of somethin’ without no proof. And there ain’t no proof I was the one who didn’t double check to make sure a couple of them gates and doors were shut.
Shoot, coulda happened to anyone. I’d give anything to see her chasin’ all them dogs and tryin’ to get ‘em back in their kennels. Man, that would be a sight to see. I could hide and watch, and it’d be kinda like watchin’ a reality TV show. Only thing is, couldn’t share it with no one, but sure think that’s what I’m gonna do. Take that, Old Snooty!
CHAPTER 7
When the doorbell rang an hour later, Kelly looked through the peephole and saw Noelle standing there. She quickly opened the door and hugged the young woman. “Again, Noelle. I am so sorry. I feel like there’s a hole in my heart. I’ve had tears running down my cheeks all day. I can only imagine what you must be going through. Please, come in.”
Noelle walked in and was warmly greeted by Lady and Rebel, both of whom maneuvered to get close to her hoping for an ear scratch. Kelly noticed that she didn’t seem to be a dog person like her mother had been. “Come on, guys, time for you to go outside.” She opened the door and let them out. “Can I get you something to drink, Noelle?” she asked.
“No, thanks,” she said as she nervously twisted her hands.
“Noelle, you seem upset by something other than your mother’s death. Is that why you wanted to see me? Is there something I can help you with?”
“I hope so, Kelly, I really hope so. See, here’s the thing. You know I’m married, actually you were at the wedding.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to the kennel. My husband Tony, you met him at our wedding, is a cat person, and so am I. We have three cats. Tony and I have no desire to take over the kennel. I don’t have any brothers or sisters and dad died several years ago, so I imagine I’ll inherit it, but I don’t want it. You know Tony and I live in Portland, and we love it there. He’s a CPA and really likes the firm he’s with. He specializes in tax work involving real estate companies.”
“That seems pretty specialized,” Kelly said, “and I can understand why you may not want to take over the kennel. I imagine you could sell the land to a developer or maybe someone else would want to buy it and keep it as a kennel. Certainly your mother proved there was a market for a business that caters to dog owners. Plus, hers was a very upscale operation that catered to affluent dog owners that were willing to pay a premium to insure their dog was well cared for. I imagine the kennel was making a nice profit for your mother.”
“I just don’t know what I’ll do. I don’t want to make any hasty decisions that I’ll regret, and besides, I love my work at the hospital. I’m the head pediatric nurse, and I feel like I often make a difference for the babies. Kind of being their spokesperson, if you know what I mean.”
“That’s certainly admirable, but I really don’t know what any of this has to do with me.”
“Did you know my mother used to go to dog shows a lot?”
“No, I don’t think she ever mentioned it.”
“That’s how she met the guy that’s the head of The Pit Bull Sanctuary. They were sitting next to each other at a show. Well, Mom became fascinated by the shows, and at the same time fell in love with the German shepherd breed. Anyway,” Noelle said as she started to speak more rapidly, “she decided she’d buy a German shepherd puppy from a breeder she’d been watching for years. The breeder’s dogs always did well in the shows, usually taking top honors.” Noelle leaned forward onto the edge of her chair and in a nervous rush, blurted out, “I have the puppy in the car, and it needs a home because I can’t take it, and I want you to take it.” She sagged back in her chair, clearly relieved she’d said what she had come to say.
“Noelle, are you telling me you want me to have your mother’s puppy?” Kelly asked incredulously. “When did she get it? She never told me about it.”
“She picked it up last week. It’s a beautiful little female. She told me she was going to surprise you when you got back from Cuba. Please Kelly, I don’t know what else to do with it. I can’t take it to the she
lter. My mom waited for years for this puppy. Please take her,” Noelle said, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
Good grief. This child has been through so much today I don’t know how I can say no to her. Mike was very clear earlier today about only having two dogs, but surely we can take her for a couple of weeks until we find a home for her.
“Let’s go see this little girl. I assume your mother named her.”
“Yes. Her lineage is impeccable. Mom told me her dam was Best of Breed in several shows on both coasts and her sire was Best of Show at the big Madison Square Garden show. The breeder she got her from had a strange requirement that he imposed on anyone who bought one of his puppies. Every dog he sold had to be named for some brand of vodka. How weird is that? Mom told me she stood in front of the vodka display at the liquor store and tried to find one that seemed appropriate. Anyway, mom registered her with the American Kennel Club as Mary’s Skyy. I brought everything you’ll need for her with me. Mom used the vet in town, Dr. Simpson. I’m sure you know him.”
Together they walked out to Noelle’s car. The Volkswagen Passat was clearly not a car meant for dogs. “Yes, I know Dr. Simpson quite well. He comes to Kelly’s Koffee Shop a lot, and Lady and Rebel consider him a friend.”
“Ready, Kelly?” Noelle said as she opened the back door of her car.
Kelly drew in her breath as she stared at the black and tan bundle of fur that looked up at her with soulful looking chocolate brown eyes. She turned to Noelle and said, “She’s absolutely beautiful.” Kelly reached down and picked up the puppy who promptly began to lick Kelly’s face. “Oh sweet girl, you are absolutely adorable,” she said. “No matter how many times I hold a puppy, I’m still a sucker for puppy fur and puppy breath. There is absolutely nothing cuter.”
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