Bulldogs & Bullets: A Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery

by Meg Muldoon

  And a funny thing happened that afternoon.

  I’d forgiven Jimmy.

  I wouldn’t forget what he’d done to me.

  But I wasn’t going to hold onto it any longer and feel bitter about it.

  There’d been a reason we didn’t end up together.

  Kathryn was the one he belonged with. And I knew that now.

  And I’d told him as much that afternoon. And I told him that he needed to man up, and be there for his wife and baby. And that he needed to do everything he possibly could to be a good dad and to not turn out like his own father.

  “He loves you, Kathryn,” I said, meeting her glare. “He always did. Jimmy and I should have never been anything more than friends. That was the only thing we were ever good at – listening to each other.”

  The anger in her eyes softened a little bit.

  “How… how can I trust you?” she stammered. “After what happened last time? How can I believe anything you say?”

  “I’m sorry if I did anything to hurt you,” I said sincerely. “But this chapter of our lives is over, Kathryn. And it’s time for you to move on.”

  I gave her a sharp look.

  “Please stop following me.”

  I’d said everything I needed to say to her.

  I backed away, heading for the screen door.

  “Wait.”

  I stopped, turning around, meeting her ice grey eyes again.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said. “I just… I thought something was going on. And I... I lost it.”

  It wasn’t exactly an apology.

  But it would have to do.

  I nodded.

  “I wish your family every happiness in the world, Kathryn. I really mean that.”

  And as I said the words, I realized I was being honest.

  And for the first time in days, I actually felt good.

  Chapter 59

  Humphrey Bogart leaned his head back into my arm and dropped his jaw slightly in dismay. He let out a short growl, letting me know just how lax I’d become in my petting duties, and that he wasn’t going to stand for such behavior from his stand-in pet-giver.

  I let out a sigh, and then gave into the little pooch, scratching behind his ear and then massaging the loose skin on his head.

  He closed his mouth and nearly smiled.

  Bogey the Bulldog was up to his regular tricks again. And I was happy to see that the little pooch had returned to his old self.

  I wouldn’t have wanted him to be any other way.

  I caught the woman at the picnic-style table next to ours staring at us. She chuckled at Bogey’s silly antics.

  “They can be so gosh darn foolish,” she said, nodding to the Pomeranian in her lap. “But they sure add some fun to life, don’t they?”

  I smiled.

  “They sure do,” I said.

  I thought about Mugs, who was sitting at my feet beneath the table, and about Buddy, and what a big part of my life they were. People walked in and out of your life at a whim. But pets were always steadfast and unwavering in their loyalty. And when you needed them, they were always there.

  I understood why some people ended up being crazy cat ladies.

  You could depend on a cat. You could depend on a dog, too.

  An icy cold cider cocktail suddenly appeared on the wooden table in front of me.

  “Sorry it took so long,” Mindy said. “You’d think it was the middle of summer, the way this place is packed. The line was almost out the door.”

  I watched as she took a seat across from me at the table.

  I was in awe of Mindy.

  It was almost as if she had never been kidnapped in the first place.

  It’d been two and a half weeks, and the way she was carrying on just like the old Mindy, you would have never known that she’d been held at gunpoint, tied up in an abandoned building, and interrogated by a murderer.

  I didn’t know how she was doing it.

  If that had happened to me, I wouldn’t have left my house for weeks.

  “Thanks for the drink, Mindy,” I said, raising the martini up to my lips. “Next round’s on me.”

  “Nope, everything tonight’s on me,” she argued. “It’s the least I can do for the person who saved my life.”

  “Aw, I don’t know about that,” I said.

  “Well, I do,” Mindy said, confidently. “If you hadn’t sprayed that bastard with pepper spray when you did, then I would have…”

  She trailed off, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

  Contemplating your near demise had that effect on a person.

  There was no reason to go down that road tonight, I reasoned. The night was supposed to be about relaxing and having fun.

  “It’s probably so crowded here because of all this nice weather we’ve been having,” I said, changing the subject. “You know, I can’t remember a time when it was so warm in late October.”

  After the usual rainy and dreary autumn weather we’d been having, Dog Mountain was hit by a rare high pressure system that had sent temperatures into the mid-70s during the day, and kept temperatures pleasantly mild at night. It was warm enough to sit outside at the Dog Mountain Brew Pub, the way we were now, and sip on some fall-inspired martinis without wearing much more than a light jacket.

  “You’re probably right,” she said. “The weather has been nice.”

  She suddenly let out a frustrated snort.

  “But I really wish people around here would stop looking at me like I was a lunatic fresh out of the insane asylum,” she said. “It’s starting to get old fast.”

  Bogey jumped down from off my lap onto the concrete, nearly landing on Mugs in his less-than-graceful descent. He eventually found his way back to where he belonged – in Mindy’s arms. He let out a little growl of pleasure as Mindy gave him a few good pets.

  He purred nearly as loudly as Buddy did when he’d lie in the sun on a warm day.

  “They’ve just seen your picture on TV so much lately,” I said. “It’s probably a shock for a lot of them to see you in person.”

  She took a sip of her cocktail.

  “I know,” she said. “But it’s all kind of a shock for me, too. And I don’t need gawkers making me feel like a crazy person. I don’t need all these reporters hounding me either, wanting the inside scoop on what it was like to be kidnapped by a murderer.”

  Since Mindy’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue, news outlets from around the country had been hounding her for interviews. The story had plenty of intrigue, drama, and juice to it – and the media was trying to squeeze everything it could out of the story – the way media folks tended to do.

  “I mean, no offense,” she added. “I’m not talking about you, of course.”

  She shook her head and then took another large gulp of her drink.

  “I mean you, Freddie… You’re no regular reporter. You saved my life.”

  I noticed that in the soft lights of the patio, her eyes had turned glassy.

  “Anybody would have done the same thing,” I said, looking down, feeling awkward. “I just happened to be there at the right time.”

  “No, it’s more than that,” Mindy said. “Sam told me about how you wouldn’t quit looking for me. How you couldn’t rest until you found me.”

  She inhaled sharply.

  “I, uh, I just really want you to know how much it means to me what you did.”

  I felt my cheeks flush.

  For some reason, it made me feel uneasy to be thanked like that.

  I forced a smile and took another sip of my martini. It was icy cold and tasted smoky and sweet.

  “I’m just glad that you’re okay, Mindy,” I said. “I’m just glad that bastard didn’t hurt you too bad.”

  She nodded, her deep-set eyes growing wider as she stared past my shoulder.

  “Yeah,” she said. “He must have just snapped. I mean, all that stuff he was saying about being home free and getting away with his wife’s murder?
He would have, you know. If he’d just left me alone, I’m sure nobody would have questioned his story about Diane teaching in China for the year. Not someone as esteemed as Hal. But he was so paranoid that he created this entire conspiracy in his head about me trying to blackmail him with photos.”

  She shook her head.

  “I mean, it’s almost as if his conscience couldn’t handle what he’d done, so it had to create this elaborate series of events to get him caught,” she added, a faraway look in her eyes. “Like he was just looking for a way to tell his story, you know?”

  I nodded.

  I’d had some of those thoughts about Hal, too.

  I was no student of psychology. But Mindy was right – Hal would have never been caught if he hadn’t kidnapped Mindy. He could have finished out his term on the school board and traveled the world if he hadn’t concocted that elaborate blackmail scheme in his head.

  “It’s nice to hear you take such a cerebral look at it,” I said. “I don’t know if I’d be able to if I was in your shoes.”

  She shrugged.

  “I guess it’s my way of working through it. It’s, uh, it’s not easy, but I think I’m doing all right, considering. I’m heading back to work this next week, so that should help take my mind off things some.”

  “So have you talked to Phil at all?” I asked.

  She poked at the apple slice in her drink with the straw and paused before answering.

  “He showed up at the hospital when they were checking out the bruises on my arms and wrists,” Mindy finally said. “And we met for coffee last week. Just to talk about things.”

  She rubbed her forehead and let out a long breath.

  “You know, it’s going to be strange being single again,” she said. “I mean, Phil and I have been together so long. My whole adult life, really. And I just…”

  She shook her head.

  “It’s stupid. But out of all the things that have happened to me in the last few weeks, being alone for the first time in my life is the thing that scares me the most.”

  Her eyes betrayed the fear that she felt, and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

  I stood up then, and reached across the table and hugged her.

  “Mindy, you might feel that way, but you’re not alone,” I said. “You’ve got a good friend right here. And I’ll help you through this. Okay? It’s going to be all right.”

  She nodded as a lone tear slid down her face. Bogey let out a growl, his owner not living up to his petting standards.

  “And you’ve got that little guy there to help, too,” I said, nodding to the bulldog.

  She exhaled.

  “Thank God for that,” she said, wiping at her nose with the sleeve of her 70’s style corduroy jacket.

  She smiled through the tears.

  After a long moment of petting Bogey – much to the dog’s pleasure – Mindy cleared her throat.

  “I always did like my real last name – Menendez – better than Monahan,” she said. “It was my grandfather’s last name, you know.”

  “I always liked it better, too,” I said, smiling back.

  After a while, she shook her head.

  “But I don’t want to talk about any of this anymore,” she said. “I want to talk about something fun. Like Sam. I want to hear all about you and Lt. Sam Sakai, Freddie. Don’t spare a single detail.”

  The dull, persistent ache that had called my chest home for the past few weeks flared up suddenly at the mention of his name.

  She didn’t know that it was over between us.

  I finished off my martini and then stood up abruptly.

  “Could you look after Mugs for a few minutes? I’m going to get us another round,” I said.

  I forced a smile and then headed for the bar. Knowing that I hadn’t fooled anybody by changing the subject so quickly.

  It turned out that Mindy was no longer the only one who needed a girls’ night out these days to talk about her broken heart.

  Chapter 60

  “And that… should… just about… do it.”

  Lou applied one last dab of white makeup to my cheeks and stood back to admire her work. Her face broke into a big, fat, mischievous grin, then she pressed her lips together and whistled.

  “Hot damn, Freddie,” she said. “If you don’t leave this fundraiser with at least three phone numbers, then I’m going to be flat-out stupefied.”

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head at my sister.

  She always had such a distinct way of wildly exaggerating things.

  I checked my looks in the compact mirror, surveying her handiwork.

  I had to admit that in addition to having a talent for baking killer pastries, Lou also had a few skills when it came to putting a look together. The dark, dramatic eyeliner had been applied to perfection. The orange and white makeup followed the contours of my face in all the right ways. And the painted-on whiskers had a particularly artistic quality to them that I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own – if my terrible penmanship was any indication of a steady hand.

  “I don’t know if I’ll get any numbers tonight,” I said, closing the compact and looking up at her. “But you did a hell of a job, Lou.”

  “Well, you’ll get those numbers for sure if you wear those high heels I loaned you tonight,” she said, nodding to the kitchen stool where the treacherous four-inch spikes were sitting. “Those things are going to look smoking with your black tights.”

  I shook my head.

  “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. I’d like to make it out of this party alive.”

  She shrugged.

  “Suit yourself.”

  Maybe being an orange cat for Halloween wasn’t a very original costume idea. But I was new at costumes. And it seemed like a good and easy place to start for someone who hadn’t dressed up for Halloween since she was in grade school.

  “Thanks for all of your help with this, Lou,” I said.

  “Not a problem, Sis,” she said, going back over to the oven and checking on the pumpkin goat cheese puff pastry appetizers. “I’m just glad that you’re moving past your no-fun stage of life and are finally willing to dress up for Halloween. Oh, hey – before I forget, do you think you can whip up another bowl of the salted cream cheese caramel frosting for the cupcakes while I go pull my own costume together?”

  “Sure thing,” I said, getting up and grabbing an apron off the counter.

  I went over to The Barkery’s large industrial-sized fridge, pulling out a few ingredients.

  For all intents and purposes, I was a dunce in the kitchen. But a cream cheese frosting was easy enough for even me to pull off.

  I placed the ingredients on the counter and grabbed a measuring cup and got to work while she started dabbing at her face with a makeup sponge.

  Lou’s Howl-O-Ween Humane Society Fundraiser was set to start in less than two hours. She’d spent the day rushing around like a chicken with her head cut off. I’d helped out where I could, but seeing as I’d only gotten out of the newsroom half an hour earlier, the majority of the work had fallen to her and Pete.

  “So Pete’s getting back soon with more supplies?” I asked.

  “That’s what he said,” she said, applying some dark blue eyeshadow above her eyes. “But you know how he is when he’s under pressure. It’s like he’s underwater and all his movements slow down to a damn crawl.”

  I smiled to myself.

  Pete had had a rough few months – that was for sure. But lately, he seemed to be pulling out of the funk that he’d been wallowing in since Lou started dating Greg. There was a pep in his step, now. And instead of rushing around the kitchen, seeking things to freak out about, he was actually getting his work done without melting down every half-hour.

  “Don’t forget to sift the powdered sugar,” Lou said, getting up and slipping into the adjacent office. “That’s the secret to a nice smooth frosting finish. Sifted powdered sugar, a strong wrist, and a—”

  “Pastr
y bag,” I mumbled quietly, finishing the phrase that I’d heard her say dozens of times.

  I did as she said, sifting the powdery stuff thoroughly, taking care not to get any on my orange costume.

  A second later, I heard the sound of Lou clearing her throat loudly.

  “Welp? What do you think, Freddie?”

  I looked up and immediately lost it.

  “The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook,” Lou said in a high pitched, haughty voice that made it clear who she was supposed to be in case the wig, the whisk, and the old-fashioned flower-print dress didn’t.

  I started laughing uncontrollably. The first real good laugh I’d had all month. And for the first time since that day at the Dog Mountain Dog Park, I forgot for a few moments all about my aching heart.

  “Julia Child?”

  She grinned.

  “I’m glad you got it,” she said. “I was afraid I’d have to go around all night explaining to people why I’m wearing a flower mumu.”

  “Oh, they’ll get it all right,” I said. “What a costume, Lou. I mean… wow.”

  She chuckled, then came over to the counter and began unwrapping the blocks of cream cheese while I continued to sift the powdered sugar.

  For a woman who had recently broken up with her boyfriend and was missing out on an all-expense paid two-week vacation to the Bahamas, Lou was in surprisingly high spirits.

  When she told me a week earlier that she’d broken up with Greg, I’d been stunned. But I couldn’t deny that I’d been relieved at the same time.

  Like I’d thought all along – Lou had a good head on her shoulders. She’d told me that the differences between her and Greg had been too great to fix. And though she hadn’t gone into great detail about any of it, I knew that it must have had something to do with the fact that he didn’t seem to take her occupation or her likes and dislikes seriously, and seemed to put himself and his own schedule ahead of her. Planning the vacation over the Howl-O-Ween Fundraiser was a prime example, and didn’t bode well for any real future for the two of them.