Till Death Do Us Bark (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 2)

by Stella St. Claire

  "Whoa, calm down." He put up his hands in surrender. "You have to admit that things haven't been going well lately."

  Narrowing her eyes, Olivia glared at him. Soon the whole town would be calling her a cursed bride, and she could handle that, but listening to Andrew's negativity? She wasn't going to have it. Tugging on the leashes, she resumed walking. "You want to know how my day went, Andrew? Lace and Silk has lost my wedding dress. Lost it! And then, I went to Fannie's Fairytale Weddings for help, and she rudely kicked me out of her shop. I thought that maybe it was because she was upset that I chose Lacy over her, but it wasn't. You want to know how I know that?"

  "How?" Andrew eyed her warily.

  "Because then I went to the only other wedding planner in town. Candlelight. She was so excited to help me until she heard about Lacy's death, and then, just like Fannie, she also kicked me out of her shop."

  "We could always leave a bad review on Yelp," he said with a small smile.

  "This isn't a laughing matter, Andrew. They're not upset over Lacy's death. They specifically don't want to work with me. When I was with Lady Celeste, she told me that I have the Bride's Curse."

  He blinked. "I'm sorry. I don't think I'm familiar with that kind of curse."

  "Apparently, a hundred years ago, some gold-digging bride pissed off her magic-wielding wealthy fiancé, and when he realized she didn't love him, he cursed her and any bride who wasn't marrying for love to have destruction and doom follow them during the wedding process."

  "I find it hard to imagine Lady Celeste talking about a gold-digging bride," Andrew murmured.

  "That's not the point," Olivia snapped. "Soon, if it hasn't already started, everyone in town will think that I'm some cursed bride and I don't love you. The wedding planners won't work with me because they're afraid that they'll die if they go anywhere near my wedding."

  Suddenly, Andrew started to laugh. His whole body shook, and Olivia stopped and stared at him as he tried to compose himself. "I'm sorry," he wheezed. "The whole thing is preposterous. I knew that Lexingburg could be a little quirky, but this is just a little over-the-top."

  "This is a disaster! How can you be so amused?"

  "Sweetheart, I know that you're not marrying me for my money. I know that you love me."

  Relief swept through her, but she shook her head. "I don't want the beginning of our marriage to be shadowed by this rumor. I do have a plan."

  "I have a feeling that this is going to be bad."

  "Just hear me out before you make any snap decisions, okay? I'm going to plan the wedding on my own."

  "Oh, Olivia."

  "I know you think that I'm not capable of it, but how hard can it be? I'll just use what I learned from Lacy. The problem is that if other people are superstitious, I might have trouble procuring different vendors, but I have a plan for that as well."

  "I'm sure the people of Lexingburg will value money over some superstition."

  "Don't be so sure." Olivia took a deep breath and gestured to the house they were passing. It was a pale yellow, old-style Victorian mansion with navy blue shutters. Lacy was a modern woman, so it surprised Olivia to see that the woman had owned such a quaint house, but there was no mistaking the address. A white van stood out front, emblazoned with the As You Wish logo. "This is Lacy's house."

  "Really?" Andrew frowned. "I kind of figured the woman would have a luxury condo in Lowell."

  "Andrew, we need to solve Lacy's murder."

  Groaning, he closed his eyes and let his chin fall to his chest. "Olivia."

  "I'm just saying that we give Nick a hand. If we can prove that Lacy was killed for personal reasons and didn't die because of some silly curse, then it'll be so much easier to plan the wedding. The vendors will return, and we can set a different date. One that you'll be happy with."

  "Eight months from now?"

  "Eight months!"

  "That's a year-long engagement, Olivia. That's not unusual."

  Narrowing her eyes, she opened her mouth to demand an explanation when Goodwin barked. A light went on in the upstairs window, and Andrew grabbed Olivia's arm and pulled her up the driveway. Next thing she knew, they were crouching behind the van.

  "What are you doing?" she hissed.

  "Someone broke into Lacy's home."

  "What makes you think she doesn't have a roommate?"

  Andrew gestured to the driveway. "Do you see another car here? Would you just keep your head down? What if it's Lacy's killer? I'd prefer it if someone else didn't try to run you over before I have the chance to get you down the aisle."

  "Your chances would be much higher if you'd just marry me in July like I'd planned," Olivia grumbled, but she ducked her head.

  "You really want to fight about this now? Shh, the light went out. Wait here."

  He left her side, and her eyes widened. Where was he going? She was just about to ask when she heard the sound of a screen door shutting. "Andrew!" she whispered loudly. At first, there was nothing.

  "You! Stop!" Andrew suddenly bellowed.

  Olivia shrieked when a shadow jumped over the fence and came barreling toward her. Goodwin pulled free from her grasp and ran toward the burglar. The man tripped over Goodwin and stumbled just as Andrew caught up to him. He tackled the thief and pulled the intruder’s arms behind his back as he straddled him. "Olivia, are you okay?"

  "Me? I'm fine. Are you okay?" she hurried toward him and pulled Goodwin back.

  "Call Nick."

  "Let me go!" the burglar bellowed. "I live here!"

  "If you live here, then why did you kick in the back door?" Andrew demanded.

  "Because she changed the locks!" the man growled. "She thinks she can just walk away from me and lock me out? She thinks she can steal from me?"

  "You're Matthew," Olivia muttered. "Lacy talked about you once. She said that you were very angry after she broke up with you." It was probably the only personal detail that Olivia knew about Lacy. The woman had seemed distracted one day, and when Olivia asked her if everything was okay, the wedding planner had lost her temper. She’d said that her boyfriend was turning into a psychotic stalker. At the time, Olivia hadn't thought anything of it. After all, she'd called her exes a few nasty things a time or two. It was just blowing off steam.

  "Olivia, don't talk to him," Andrew ordered. "Call Nick. Now."

  "Right. Sorry." She hastily pulled out her phone and took a few steps away from them. Matthew was still spitting angry and fighting Andrew's hold. The dogs strained against their leashes and whined. Part of her wanted to release them, but she just shushed them as she dialed the phone.

  "Nick, I'm so sorry to bother you this late. Again." She took a deep breath. "Andrew and I caught Lacy's ex-boyfriend breaking into Lacy's house."

  "Olivia," Nick sighed. "Please tell me that you're not doing what I think you're doing."

  She ignored him. "Andrew has him pinned down. Can you just send a deputy to pick him up?"

  "Right away. But then you have some explaining to do."

  Olivia hung up and hurried back to Matthew. Andrew seemed to be struggling, so Olivia knelt down. "You see this huge dog by my side?" she said in a low voice. "His name is Goodwin, and he's trained to attack on my command. I suggest that you quit fighting and wait for the police to get here, because I assure you, you can go to jail in good health, or you can go to jail with a few chunks missing."

  Andrew snorted, and Olivia glared at him.

  Matthew seemed to buy the lie and immediately stilled. Olivia said sweetly, "Now then, why don't you explain what you're doing here?"

  "I just wanted to take back what was mine," Matthew hissed. "That b—"

  "Watch your language," Andrew interrupted mildly.

  "She broke up with me in a text message when I was out of town. She threw my things out on the lawn and changed the locks before I even got home. You know what she told me? She said that I wasn't man enough to handle a successful woman like her."

  "That doesn't expl
ain what you're doing here."

  "She stole my baseball cards!" Matthew bellowed. He tried to twist out from under Andrew, but Goodwin leaned down to sniff him, and he stilled. "Get that beast away from me."

  Stifling a laugh, Olivia gently tugged Goodwin away. "You broke into her house to steal baseball cards?"

  "I've been collecting those cards since I was a kid. Not only are they worth a fortune, but they also mean a great deal to me. I didn't break in to hurt her. I still have her passwords. I checked her calendar. She's supposed to be having dinner with a client tonight."

  "Dinner with a client?" Olivia frowned. Jealousy reared its ugly head. "She never took me to dinner."

  "Really? Now?" Andrew asked.

  Crossing her arms, she glared at him. "Yes, now. We have time, Andrew. He's not going anywhere, and it might still be a few minutes before the police get here. You don't want me to talk to Matthew, so what should we talk about? I know. Let's discuss why you think we should wait eight months before getting married."

  "I already explained that we need time to save money."

  "We're not exactly poor!"

  "No, but you're about to buy the brownstone. I don't want you to stress about money. You'll have a new address for your business, and you still haven't settled on a business plan. You have so much space to work with. You could open a doggie daycare and install some sinks for grooming. You'll need to add an upstairs back entrance because you probably can’t take the dogs through the bakery. I feel like you're completely ignoring that in favor of this wedding."

  "This wedding? Andrew, it's our wedding."

  "I don't want to hear about your blasted wedding!" Matthew suddenly bellowed. "That's all Lacy would talk about! Cakes and flowers and food. And it's all a front. Lacy thought weddings were ridiculous. She viewed it all as nothing more than a cash cow!"

  Hurt, Olivia looked away. She didn't want to hear anything bad about Lacy. She practically worshipped the woman.

  "She'll never get married," the ex-boyfriend said hoarsely. "No man will have her. I loved her, though. I loved her."

  No man will have her? Olivia exchanged a surprised look with Andrew. Matthew had apparently taken great pains to break in when he thought Lacy was gone. It sounded as if Matthew had no idea that Lacy was dead.

  The blue lights of the squad car lit up the darkness as it pulled up in front of the yard. Andrew got up to allow the deputy take Matthew away. The man was still raving about baseball cards.

  "Well, maybe we just caught Lacy's killer, and you can tell everyone in town that you're not cursed," Andrew said lightly.

  "You think he did it? It sounds like he didn't even know that Lacy was dead."

  He shrugged. "Maybe, but it could just be an act."

  "Maybe." Privately, she didn't think so. Matthew seemed like a man ruled by emotions. If he really had killed Lacy, she didn't think he'd be able to hide it for long.

  8

  The next morning, Olivia woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of the shower. Blinking blearily, she pushed herself up and yawned as she ran her fingers through her tangled dark hair. As she got up to dress, she heard the water shut off. A few minutes later, Andrew walked back into the bedroom.

  "Good morning," he said with a big smile.

  "You're in a good mood," she croaked. He’d clearly already had his dose of caffeine.

  "Coffee is ready," he said as he finished toweling off. "And I'm feeling hopeful that Lacy's ex-boyfriend killed her because then I can tell you to drop the investigation without starting an argument."

  "That's good, considering that we have so many other things to argue about," Olivia grumbled as she shuffled her feet along the cream-colored carpet. She really was in a horrible mood if she was already gearing up for a fight. She looked down at the dog hair stuck to her black pants and sighed. No matter how many times she brushed Fender, he was a shedding machine.

  Andrew caught her elbow as she tried to walk past him and bent down to kiss her cheek. "We're not going to argue about the wedding anymore, either."

  "We're not?"

  "Nope." He gave her a cheeky grin. "You're cursed, remember? No one is going to agree to cater our wedding until the curse is lifted. I imagine that might take some time."

  "I'll show you cursed," she growled as she whirled around to punch him lightly in the shoulder. Despite his reluctance to budge on the subject, at least he was making light of the situation rather than yelling.

  That didn't solve all the problems. Just because Andrew didn't believe in the curse didn't mean the rest of the town would be as sensible. Although it had never mattered to her before, she cared about what other people thought of her wedding. She wouldn't allow anything to blacken her day.

  Trudging downstairs, she poured two mugs of coffee and fixed Andrew's the way he liked it. A creature of habit, in about five minutes, he'd be dressed and downstairs. He liked to drink his coffee fast, so if she prepared it now, it would be cool enough.

  She, on the other hand, liked to sip her coffee slowly and relish it. After adding just the right amount of hazelnut creamer, she leaned against the counter, closed her eyes, and took her first sip.

  "Olivia!"

  Choking on the scalding liquid, she almost dropped the mug. Andrew understood and respected her quiet morning coffee ritual. Why was he yelling?

  "Olivia, is my wallet down there?"

  "I don't know. I'll look," she mumbled sleepily. Gripping her mug in one hand, rather like a lifeline, she used the other (awkward as it was, one-handed) to open his backpack on the kitchen table, and she peered in. There were papers, an empty water bottle, and a protein bar, but no wallet. Next, because Goodwin sometimes liked to steal things, she checked the dog beds. It wasn't there—or on the coffee table. She raised her voice to call back. "I don't see it!"

  Still knotting his tie, Andrew hurried down the stairs. Olivia tried not to get annoyed when he checked the exact same places that she had just looked. As he flipped through the pile of papers on the kitchen table, the wedding folder slid out, and her eyes widened.

  Don't open it. Don't open it. Don't open it.

  The force of her mental chant wasn't enough. Andrew narrowed his eyes and flipped the folder open. "What’s this?"

  Setting her coffee down, she picked his mug up and hurried across the kitchen. She thrust the hot liquid at him, intending to grab the folder out of his hands. "That's nothing. Just some extras that Lacy wanted me to look over. You should head to work. I don't want you to be late. I'll give you some cash for lunch."

  "I'm not late yet," he said, looking down at the folder. With a low whistle, he pulled out the pamphlets. "Ice sculptures? Champagne fountain? Professional dancers? Fireworks!"

  "Extras," Olivia muttered as she finally snagged the folder with its treacherous brochures from his hand.

  "Really? Because it looks like you starred fireworks—and a horse-drawn carriage." With the desperation of a drowning man, Andrew took a gulp from his mug.

  Heat flooded her face, and she avoided his gaze. "It was just an idea. I would have talked it over with you first."

  "Like you've discussed everything else with me?"

  "You told me that I could do whatever I wanted."

  "That was when I assumed you still wanted a small wedding, like we'd discussed." Andrew sighed and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I don't want to fight this morning."

  She was ready to talk about anything other than the wedding. “Did you collect anything when you were a kid?"

  Startled by the change in subject, he pulled back and frowned. "What?"

  "Matthew was raving like a lunatic about his baseball cards. They seemed to mean a big deal to him. Maybe he killed Lacy not because his heart was broken, but maybe it was over the baseball cards. How valuable could they have been?"

  "Depends on the cards,” Andrew said, and took another swallow of coffee. “Some from the early- to mid-twentieth century go for hundreds of thousands of dollars. A few even go for
millions."

  Olivia gulped. "Money is always a good motive for murder," she murmured. Tilting her head, she watched him closely. "Was there anything that you collected as a kid?"

  "Nothing that I'd kill over."

  "That wasn't my question."

  A puzzled look crossed his face. "I collected all kinds of things as a kid, but it was mostly a passing fancy. I think, at one time, I had a pretty impressive rock collection, but they were mostly from driveways.” A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I was a huge Matchbox cars fan." He shrugged. "Nothing that followed me into adulthood. You?"

  "Same. Passing fancies." Olivia tried to hide her disappointment. She'd hoped the conversation would yield some ideas for a fabulous wedding present. "You probably lost your wallet in the struggle with Matthew yesterday. I'll go back to the house tomorrow and see if I can't find it."

  "And that's all you'll do? Just look for my wallet?"

  "Matthew has two different motives. He's a pretty strong suspect, so you have nothing to worry about. I almost feel bad for him. Lacy didn't really talk much about him. I didn't even realize that she had a boyfriend until she mentioned that they’d broken up."

  "Lacy was your wedding planner, Olivia," Andrew reminded. "It's not like she was your friend."

  "Of course she was my friend!"

  "No," he said more forcefully. "She wasn't. You were a client, and she probably did whatever she could to secure your trust so you'd buy more from her. You need to admit that you don't know much about Lacy."

  Shocked, Olivia stared at him. "Are you insinuating that she was taking advantage of me?"

  "That's her job, Olivia. When we talked about a wedding, we agreed on early fall with immediate family, close friends, and a few people from town. No more than fifty people. You were perfectly happy about getting married in the town square. One week with Lacy McBride, and suddenly we're paying for an expensive venue with three times the guest list, and ridiculous extras for a wedding—and in early spring. If you were a guest at the type of wedding that you're planning, you'd do nothing but talk about what a waste of money it was. Lacy talked you into the very thing that you hate, and you're too stubborn to admit it."