One Bark And Stormy Prom Night (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 3)

by Stella St. Claire

  “Why not? You adored your prom!” Olivia hefted a couple of the boxes and hurried to follow Janelle. “I remember listening to you go on and on and on about it for weeks before and weeks after. You saved up for months for that dress, you practically worshipped your date, and you made Mom take, like, a million photos.” They climbed the stairs again.

  “That’s ridiculous. I barely remember it.” Janelle set her bag down and suddenly backed away. “I think I hear my oven dinging. I’ve got to get back to work. Bye!”

  “I didn’t hear anything!” Her mouth dropping open at the blatant lie, Olivia watched as her sister scurried away. “Janelle! Seriously?”

  Hurrying down the steps, she was about to follow her sister into the kitchen when the alert on her phone sounded. She had three clients dropping off their dogs for daycare in ten minutes, which meant that the rest of her load would have to wait. Pulling her car back into the parking garage at the end of the street, she jogged back to the store just as the first client was rolling up.

  Lily was a small wiener dog who was big on attitude and short on manners. Her owners had been clients of Olivia’s ever since she’d started walking dogs, and she gave them a huge discount on daycare because the dachshund and Goodwin were becoming such good friends.

  Soon the room was filled with excited dogs. Olivia sat back at her desk and watched them with a smile. The best thing about dogs was that they were constant. Their personalities differed, but they were loyal and loving to the very end.

  Too bad men weren’t the same way.

  Olivia wrinkled her nose at the thought. The fact was that she couldn’t blame Andrew for walking away. Before the engagement, she’d been iffy about the relationship, and after the engagement, she’d ignored every single one of Andrew’s pleas to slow down. She deserved to lose him.

  But that was then, and this was now. She was turning over a new leaf. She would embrace her commitments.

  And maybe, just maybe, she could win Andrew back.

  3

  After seven hours of doggie daycare and three hours of dog walking, Olivia finally pulled her Wrangler back to the front of the shop and finished unloading the dog food. Her whole body ached, but she needed to finish putting everything away. She might be a little messy at home, but things were different in her professional life.

  She kept one bag of dry food on the Rich Eats display. Slitting open one of the boxes, she started to pull out cans of food—and frowned. She always ordered the variety pack, but they had given her just chicken. “Crap,” she grumbled. It wasn’t that she had to return the order but rather that she had to haul some of those boxes back down the steps and load them back into the back of the car.

  Sitting back on her heels, she glanced at the clock. All she wanted to do was go home, take a bath, and relax on the couch, but she’d be doing it alone. Not exactly appealing despite her protesting muscles. Heading back to Rich Eats meant that she could put that off for a little bit longer. With a sigh, she started dragging the food back down to the jeep. Poor Fender followed her down, his long belly dragging against the steps as he went. He was clearly exhausted from playing with dogs all day, but he was a trooper.

  Even Goodwin was moving more slowly than usual.

  Olivia’s arms quivered in protest as she slid the last box in, and she slammed the back hatch. The dogs were already sprawled over the back seat. “We’re a sorry sight,” she muttered, started the Wrangler, and pulled out. As she left Main Street, her phone rang. Potential clients were calling all the time with questions, and she didn’t even hesitate as she answered.

  “Olivia Rickard, Wagging Tails dog services.”

  “Olivia! It’s Elspeth. I know I was a little out of it this morning when you offered to help out with prom, and I could use you now.”

  Perking up, Olivia put her phone on speaker and set it on her lap. She knew she should get a radio with Bluetooth installed, but it never seemed to be a priority. It would certainly make listening to her audiobooks easier. “I’d love to help! What do you need?”

  “I haven’t been able to get a hold of Kimberly all day, so I’ve taken over her duties. I need someone to help with decorations. We still need to decide on a theme as well. Do you think you could help with that?”

  Decorations? That wasn’t exactly in Olivia’s repertoire, but she knew that Janelle and Jackie would be great at that. “Sure! I’ll give it some thought and get back in touch with you in a few days?”

  “That would be perfect. I’ll send you an email with some theme ideas and budget details. Olivia, you’re seriously saving me a ton of work. I can’t thank you enough. I have to say, I was surprised by your offer to help. Your name has never come up for school activities before.”

  Olivia cringed. “I know, and I’m sorry about that. But I’m just trying new things.” That sounded terrible. “I mean, I’m trying to be more active in the town. I look forward to working with you!”

  Hanging up, she turned into the Rich Eats parking lot and groaned when she saw the Closed sign. If Kimberly had never shown up to work, then Lydia must have closed early. Hoping that there would still be some people at the warehouse, Olivia drove to the loading dock and got out.

  It bothered her that Elspeth hadn’t been able to get in touch with Kimberly. If there was someone married to her work, it was Kimberly. Olivia liked the woman. She had started buying Rich Eats food when Kimberly’s business was just getting off the ground, and the two had become friends. Kimberly had been thrilled when Olivia offered to sell her food from Wagging Tails.

  “Hello?” Olivia tried the loading entrance, but the door was locked. Walking around the corner, she froze when she saw the official cars parked along the side of the building, blue lights flashing.

  Forensics. Medical Examiner. Caution tape. “Oh, God.” Pressing her hand to her stomach, Olivia raced to the small side door that she knew would be unlocked. “Nick? Nick!”

  It looked as if the whole sheriff’s department was inside. A couple of deputies whipped their heads around as she rushed by, but no one stopped her until she was near the warehouse office. Sheriff Nicholas Limperos stepped out from one side and stared at her. “Olivia? Damn it, what are you doing here? I thought you were Ballard. Whoa!” He caught her as she tried to fly past him. “You can’t be in here It’s an active crime scene.”

  “Is it Kimberly?” Her chest clenched. “Nick, please tell me that it’s not Kimberly.”

  He pulled her into a tight hug and stroked her hair. “Easy,” he said gruffly. “Were you and Kimberly friends?”

  That was the only answer that she needed, and she slumped against the older man. “Yes,” she whispered. “What happened?”

  “First things first. How did you get in? All the entrances are locked.”

  Pushing herself away, she struggled to get hold of herself. “The lock is broken on the side door. It always has been. Kimberly always said that she meant to fix it, but she was always just too busy.”

  Nick frowned. “Do you know if anyone else knew that the door was unlocked?”

  “I don’t know.” She watched in horror as they lifted a body bag onto the gurney and wheeled it past her. “Why are you asking? Was Kimberly murdered?”

  The sheriff looked torn. It was obvious that he didn’t want to give her any information, but Olivia wasn’t leaving without it. “I know what you’re thinking,” she said, and crossed her arms. “I’m not trying to get involved, but everyone in this town is going to know sooner or later, so you might as well tell me.”

  “She’s got a pretty deep wound on her head. I won’t know anything for sure until we do an autopsy, but it’s a pretty good bet that it’s the cause of death,” he muttered gruffly. “Now can you explain what you’re doing here?”

  “I picked up my order this morning and got the wrong thing. I was here to exchange it.” A thought occurred to her, and she pressed her hand to her mouth. She felt sick. “She wasn’t there. Lydia said she had no idea where she was. She�
�s been dead all this time?”

  “It looks like she was killed around five o’clock this morning. Can you think of anyone who would want her dead?”

  Olivia racked her brains, but she couldn’t think of a single person who hated Kimberly. “We had a few drinks at End Game from time to time, but Kimberly was all about work. She put her heart and soul into the business, and believe me, she didn’t go around making enemies. She’s a good person. Are you sure that this wasn’t just a robbery?”

  The sheriff must have seen her pain. His expression softened, and he smiled gently. “There’s no money in the warehouse, and the employees all said that the doors were locked when they came in this morning. That sounds like someone knew about the broken lock. This was intentional.”

  “I don’t understand. How are you just getting here now? Didn’t one of the employees find her?”

  Nick opened his notebook and flipped through a few of his notes. “I asked that very question. Apparently, she was found behind a stack of boxes in the storage room. It could be the killer was trying to hide her.”

  “Hide her? In a warehouse? That doesn’t make any sense. Kimberly would have been alone that early in the morning, and there’s a pretty dense stretch of woods right behind the warehouse. If they wanted to hide her body, they could have just taken her out there!”

  “Olivia, this is not your case. I understand that you’re mourning a friend, but you need to do just that. Mourn. Leave the investigation to me. Now, do you want me to have one of the deputies take you home? Or call Andrew?” Immediately, Nick sighed and racked his hand through his greying hair. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s okay.” Nodding her head, she took a shuddering breath. “I have the dogs with me in the car. I’m okay to drive home. Thanks for the offer, though.”

  Olivia felt Nick’s eyes on her as she slowly dragged herself back to the car. She overheard the faint conversation of the officers as they put out an ABP on Ballard Chain, Kimberly’s ex-husband.

  By force of habit, she acknowledged the wagging tails and questing noses thrust her way as she slid into the driver’s seat, thankful that the dogs were tired enough to lie down again almost immediately as she turned the key in the ignition. She drove away in a dream—no, more a nightmare—chanting to herself the mantra that she was “okay, Nick.” Okay to drive. Okay. Lights blended together, and her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Her hands shook as she drove, but she made it all the way home without falling apart. Herding the two dogs into the house, she fed them and, even as they were plunging their noses into their bowls for that first rapturous gulp, went from kitchen to bathroom and turned on the shower, setting the water as hot as it would go. Forget the bath. She needed to feel the steam around her and the water hitting her skin.

  Kimberly’s death had her mind reeling. It was impossible to imagine anyone wanting the poor woman dead.

  Olivia wasn’t new to death. First there had been Yvette. Olivia had been shaken at the food truck owner’s death, but Yvette was just a provider of caffeine. The woman had a ten-foot wall around her that made it impossible to really get to know her. It didn’t make her loss any less sad, but it didn’t feel personal.

  It had certainly felt more personal when Olivia’s wedding planner, Lacy, was murdered, but Olivia had learned that Lacy wasn’t exactly the sweet woman that she portrayed. Any sadness she felt was overshadowed by the effect the murder had on her relationship.

  It was different with Kimberly. They’d grown up in the same town and knew the same people. Although Kimberly was much older than Olivia, they still had a lot in common. Kimberly always had treats and love for the dogs. She’d helped Olivia get started as a dog walker, and Olivia was only too happy to return the favor by advertising her dog food.

  Olivia was usually more stoic in situations like this, but it had been a rough couple of weeks. She scrubbed the lavender-scented soap on her skin, but it did nothing to soothe her. Finally, when she thought she might drop from exhaustion, she turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. Wiping the steam away from the mirror, she stared at herself.

  She might have gotten all prettied up today, but tonight she looked the same as when she’d started this morning.

  Her friend was gone.

  Tears welled up in her eyes, and she reached for her phone. Several words in, she realized who she was texting.

  Andrew.

  Tears started to fall, and she lost it. She trudged out to the living room, curled up on the couch, and sobbed. Her wet hair soaked the beige fabric, but she couldn’t care. She cried for the loss of her friend. She cried for the loss of her love. She cried until Goodwin and even Fender, pushing his short and stubby legs to the limit to jump up, curled up next to her.

  For the first time since Andrew had left, she was happy that she was alone. Olivia was not a pretty crier. She was a snot-nose, puffy-cheeks, red-eyes kind of crier who woke up the next morning looking like she’d been stung by a hundred bees. It would have been enough to make Andrew run for the hills.

  Stroking the dogs’ heads, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “We’re okay,” she whispered. “I’m okay.”

  The real question was how long she would have to keep telling herself that until she believed it.

  4

  It didn’t take long for news to spread around town. At least this time, the news didn’t link directly to her. Olivia kept her head down as the workday dragged on. Even the dogs seemed to sense her mood and kept their antics to a minimum. Goodwin was reluctant to leave her side, and for that, Olivia was grateful. He was her dog, but he’d grown extremely loyal to Andrew over the past year. He had pouted the first few days after their loss, but he was proving that he was her dog, through and through.

  She managed to avoid her sister, but when the day was over, she found herself craving some companionship. Letting Goodwin and Fender out to play in the brownstone’s back enclosure, she snuck into the bakery kitchen and snagged a cookie from the cooling rack.

  “I would like it if we could hire someone with some baking experience so they could cross-train if we need them.” Janelle’s voice drifted around the corner, and Olivia realized that she was about to be caught. Shoving the cookie in her mouth, her eyes watered as the hot cookie stung against her tongue and the insides of her cheeks.

  Crap. Crap. Crap. She couldn’t just spit it out, so she chewed as quickly as she could. She’d barely managed to swallow the last of it, molten chocolate chips sliding like hot lava down her throat, when her sister walked around the corner with her phone tucked between her chin and shoulder. “No, that sounds perfect. Thanks for letting me know, Marie.” Janelle, seeing Olivia wiping her eyes, stared at her in confusion. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Olivia desperately needed some water or milk, but Janelle kept looking at her with suspicion as she hung up. Then, suddenly, the older sister’s features softened. “Sweetheart, what happened? Did Andrew call you?”

  Andrew? Janelle obviously thought Olivia was crying tears of sorrow rather than pain. She didn’t want to lie, so she said nothing, but it didn’t matter.

  Janelle glanced at the cooling rack, and her eyes narrowed. “Or maybe you shoved a cookie—fresh out of the oven—into your mouth?”

  “That doesn’t sound like me,” Olivia managed to croak.

  “I was going to offer you some milk, but I guess you don’t need it.”

  Olivia wanted to play along, but the burning in her mouth was too much to bear. “Okay, I ate the cookie. I’ve just been in such a gloomy mood today. Kimberly is dead, and I almost texted Andrew last night, and the cookies just looked so good and comforting.”

  “Kimberly is dead?” Janelle’s jaw dropped open. “What? When?”

  “You didn’t know?” Olivia opened the first fridge to grab a gallon of milk. Snagging one of the plastic cups from above, she poured the milk and chugged it down quickly. The cold liquid coated her mouth and throat and provided instant rel
ief. “Everywhere I went with the dogs, people were talking about it.”

  Her sister frowned as she grabbed a spatula and started moving the cookies from the rack to a display tray. “I’ve been on the phone all day. The website is up, but I’m not confident enough in the online ordering, especially since we’re short-handed. Then I was trying to get the help-wanted ad published. Never mind. None of that is important. What happened?”

  Quickly, Olivia filled her sister in.

  Janelle stopped what she was doing and stared. “Did you tell Nick that Deedee was acting like a raving lunatic?”

  “I didn’t even think about it at the time,” Olivia admitted. “I did almost call him today and tell him, but Kimberly was already dead at that point. Why would Deedee be throwing a fit if she’d already killed Kimberly?”

  Tapping the spatula on the counter, Janelle bit her lower lip. “Maybe it was all for show? I think she knew that she was going to be a suspect, so she staged a public display to throw people off the trail.”

  “Interesting theory,” Olivia mused. “It’s even more interesting that you’re theorizing. You don’t usually get caught up in things like this.”

  Janelle huffed and went back to the cookies. “I helped you solve the last two cases!”

  Olivia could have argued the point, but when she’d needed Janelle’s help, her sister had been there, even if what they’d been doing wasn’t entirely legal. “You did help, but you hated every second of it.”

  “But you didn’t. Maybe you should tell Nick that you want to help. Kimberly was your friend, and you want to help seek justice for her.”

  “Oh, no.” Olivia shook her head emphatically. “I’m not getting involved.”

  “Why?”

  The question was so simple, but the answer was too complicated and embarrassing. Solving the first two murders had nothing to do with the thrill of the mystery and everything to do with Andrew. First, she’d been ducking his proposal, and after that, she was trying to get her wedding back on track. Both times Andrew had been upset when she’d gotten involved. It was strange that she didn’t want to upset him, now that he was gone, but it was true.