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

by Stella St. Claire

  Everything was right in her world once more.

  In fact, she was in such a good mood that when she left the dress shop, she went straight to Lady Celeste’s psychic shop and decided to help with the mayor’s matchmaking scheme.

  The woman was seated at her table, dressed in a brilliant blue dress with patterned swirls of gold and purple. She stared deeply into a bowl of water, and even the bell jingling to announce Olivia’s presence did not make her lift her head.

  There had been a time when Olivia had assumed that Lady Celeste was just a fraud, a nice old lady with great showmanship but no real power. After all, magic didn’t exist. However, after Celeste had seemed to communicate with Goodwin and had said things that she should never have known, Olivia had started to feel as though there might be something to this psychic thing.

  Then, Celeste had painted her as the Cursed Bride, and Olivia’s life had never been the same.

  “Have a seat, my dear,” Lady Celeste said without looking up, her supposedly Romanian accent thicker than usual. “I’m just finished up with my conversation.”

  With a bowl of water?

  Olivia held her tongue as she sat down at the table. While she waited, she looked around the shop to see if there was anything new. Celeste sold things of a metaphysical nature. Beautifully formed crystals in gorgeous colors. Dark and antique-looking scrying mirrors. Herbs from all over the world, tied in velvet drawstring bags. Candles of every color, and enough incense to overpower the room.

  Today, there seemed to be sage burning in a bowl.

  “So,” Celeste said as she looked up sharply. “You think you’ve figured it all out, have you? You’re wrong, you know.”

  Olivia blinked. “What?”

  “You need to learn that what you see is not the whole story. Your life might depend on it.”

  Excellent. Apparently, Lady Celeste had decided to talk in riddles the whole time. Olivia nodded her head. “I’ll keep that in mind. I was actually here on a different matter.”

  “You’re wondering what the future holds for you and Andrew?”

  Worst psychic ever. “No.” Olivia frowned. “Wait, you can see that?”

  Celeste chuckled. “There are many paths that you and your beloved can take. They each lead to their own destination.”

  “Right. I should have known.” She wanted to ask if Celeste had thought of that when she’d first cast a shadow over their wedding, but deep down, she knew that Celeste wasn’t the cause of her relationship problems. The old woman had simply been the catalyst to bring them to light. “I’m actually not here about Andrew, at all.”

  Lady Celeste wrinkled her nose. “You’re not?”

  Olivia couldn’t help but smirk. “No. I came because Mayor Henderson suggested that you attend the prom.”

  She stressed the man’s name in hopes that Celeste would eventually figure out that the mayor had a crush on her. The man had originally bought Fender just to have a chance to talk to her during her pet psychic segment! Olivia would have thought that Celeste might have figured things out by now, but apparently the psychic was just as bad at seeing things right in front of her as she assumed Olivia was.

  Celeste cocked her head. “Why on earth would he suggest that?”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Celeste the truth, but in the end, she couldn’t do it. If Mayor Henderson wanted to dance around his feelings, who was she to mess that up for him? For all she knew, he enjoyed the chase. “He thought that you might be able to get a sense if the kids were about to cause some trouble and step in.”

  A brilliant smile lit up the woman’s face. “Oh, yes! I would be very helpful with that. I have just the dress to wear.”

  Inwardly groaning, Olivia stood. Maybe, just maybe, the romance in the air would finally have an effect on them. “Great. I’ll make sure to add you to the list.”

  Mentally checking it off her list, she left the shop feeling in even better spirits. Change was coming. She could feel it.

  15

  The streets were alive with romance, and for the first time in weeks, Olivia didn’t mind. Prom was tomorrow, and she was probably more excited to chaperone it than she had been to actually attend the gala occasion as a teen.

  Humming to herself, she hauled up the cans of paint from her car to the third-floor apartments. Goodwin and Fender hurried up the stairs behind her. Janelle had been too busy to select the colors herself, so Olivia had chosen something that she liked. A warm beige with several accent colors to pop. Ideally, the residents would pick the colors themselves before they moved in, but Olivia couldn’t resist painting at least one wall just to see how it would look.

  She chose a soothing grey for the bedroom and a gorgeous sea green for the bathroom. All in all, she was excited to paint. The last coat of plaster had finally done the trick, although she wasn’t sure how. The last time she remembered trying to cover the seams, it had still looked like a disaster. She’d use the paint primer, and maybe on Sunday she and the girls could finally start painting.

  After dropping off the last of the cans, she hurried to the office and let the dogs in. Goodwin immediately went for the box of toys while Fender flopped his long body down on the bed. He gave her those droopy eyes as if to ask what had taken so long for her to finish up.

  “Keep eyeing me like that, and I’ll make you do some painting,” she retorted. Fender just snorted and closed his eyes.

  “It’s nice that you talk to the dogs. I guess it helps you to feel not so alone,” a voice said from the doorway. Olivia shrieked in alarm and whirled around. Elspeth put a hand over her heart and gasped. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. The door was open.”

  “No, it’s fine,’ Olivia said when she finally got her breath back. “I just didn’t hear you come up. Is there something else you wanted me to do for prom? Do you need me to help set up?”

  The pet gate rattled as Elspeth struggled to open it, and Olivia hurried over the help her. Sometimes they were worse than baby gates. “Thank you. No, we have plenty of help with the decorating. It’s funny. Volunteers are nowhere to be found when it comes to planning the prom, but when it’s fun things like decorating, everyone wants to help. The decorations that you ordered are wonderful. I can’t wait to see how they all look.”

  “Oh, me too. I’m sure it’s going to look wonderful.” Olivia smiled and waited for Elspeth to tell her what she wanted. When the older woman didn’t say anything, Olivia cleared her throat. “So, how can I help you?”

  “Oh, no. I’m actually here for Tanya. Is she in the back, somewhere? I don’t need her right away. Whenever she’s finished is fine. I just need to have a word with her.”

  Olivia frowned. ‘Tanya isn’t here. I gave her the afternoon off in case she needed to do something last-minute for prom. Did you expect to find her here?”

  “Yes,” Elspeth said sharply. “I did expect to find her here. What do you mean, you gave her the day off? I assumed that when you gave her a job, she’d be sticking to a schedule. A tight schedule. She should not be having afternoons off. This is unacceptable.”

  The normally calm and cool woman was suddenly wild-eyed as she started to pace around the room. Her breaths grew shorter and came faster. When she accidentally stepped on a sleeping Fender, Olivia jumped into action. Grabbing the woman’s hands, she guided her to the window. “Stay right here. I’m going to get you a bottle of water.”

  Worried that the woman was having a panic attack, Olivia hurried to the fridge. When she returned, Elspeth seemed to have settled down. “Thank you, dear,” she said quietly. “I apologize. I have no idea what got into me.”

  “She’s your daughter,” Olivia said simply. “You have a right to be worried about her.”

  “Yes. I do. Olivia, have you ever made a mistake? Something that you deeply regret and can’t fix?”

  Olivia laugh was low and dry. “I think I’m in the middle of sorting one out right now,” she admitted.

  “You must
sort through it,” Elspeth said immediately. Her voice reached a fever pitch. “You must talk it out. Open communication. Do not let it take root and fester, or you’ll never untangle it. It’ll haunt you. Put all the cards on the table, and fix it.”

  Afraid to get the woman all riled up again, Olivia smiled and squeezed Elspeth’s hand. Maybe the mother knew about her daughter’s troubles. “I promise,” she said quietly. She thought about talking to Elspeth about the problem she was having with Andrew. Maybe an older woman’s perspective would help, but for some reason, she didn’t want to divulge such private information. Instead, she tried to get the root of Elspeth’s problem.

  “Are you worried about Tanya?”

  At the mention of her daughter’s name, outward calm came over the older woman. She sipped her water and gazed out the window. “Why on Earth would I be worried about Tanya? She’s such a good girl. She’s got high grades, and tomorrow she might even be crowned Prom Queen. I’m so proud of her.”

  There was something odd in Elspeth’s face. It was almost like the words had been rehearsed over and over again, and the woman barely knew what she was saying. Then, just like that, the haze disappeared, and Elspeth groaned. “Of course, Tanya isn’t here. She told me this morning that she had some errands to run. Silly me. I’m so sorry to have wasted your time. I’m just juggling so many things.”

  “It wasn’t a waste of time at all, and just think, by this time on Sunday, it will all be over with!” Olivia took the bottle of water and watched as Elspeth bent down and patted Goodwin’s head awkwardly. She thought about pushing the issue with Tanya, but whatever the daughter had done, it was not Elspeth’s fault. Best not to give the woman a heart attack right before prom.

  Olivia only had one round of dogs to walk that day. Because it was almost the weekend, most of her clients paid her just to walk the pups around rather than take them to the park. The dog park was usually reserved for the middle of the week when the dogs were a little more stir-crazy. She didn’t have the manpower to open the daycare on Fridays either, so she mostly just caught up on paperwork.

  The sun was shining and warmed her skin. She felt light on her feet as she walked the dogs back home and even hummed along to the songs blaring through her earbuds. When it was just herself and Goodwin, she even picked up the pace into a slight jog. She was so consumed with her own thoughts that she jogged right by the dry cleaners and barely registered what she’d seen.

  Tanya.

  Stopping suddenly, she thought about her options. She hadn’t planned on confronting Tanya until after prom, but this was Kimberly they were talking about. If Tanya knew something about her friend’s death, Olivia wanted to be able to tell Nick.

  Mind made up, Olivia backtracked. Looping Goodwin’s leash around a nearby light pole, she charged through the door. Tanya looked up and smiled briefly. “Hi, boss. Walking the pups?”

  Olivia looked around and saw that the owners weren’t there. Lowering her voice, she shook her head. “Tanya, we need to talk. I’ve been hearing some things that aren’t making me very comfortable.”

  The student narrowed her eyes and watched her warily. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said defiantly.

  “I heard that you were changing grades for some of the students, and I knew you were using my computer for more than just work. I had Andrew take a closer look at what you might have been doing.” She left out the part about Sarah Beth. She didn’t want Tanya going after the girl.

  Fire flashed in the girl’s eyes. “There is no way that he found anything. I’m too good at covering my tracks.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she cursed.

  “I don’t care about that,” Olivia said quickly. “I mean, I do care about that because I care about you, and I wouldn’t want you to cheat, but I’m more concerned about you threatening to use my dog food to keep your friends quiet. Tanya, Deedee Espouse overheard you, and she thinks that Rich Eats poisons dogs. She’s threatening to tell everyone that I’m killing their pets! This is my reputation that you’ve endangered. My livelihood!”

  Shame crossed the teenager’s face. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I would never hurt someone’s dog. I hope you know that. And it never crossed my mind that it would get back to you.”

  “And Kimberly? Did you think that it might get her hurt?”

  “What?” Tanya gasped. “No! There’s no way that Kimberly’s death had anything to do with me. I mean, I think she thought that something was up. She wanted to meet with me, but when I got there, she was already dead.”

  Olivia’s mouth dropped open. With a hiss, she yanked the girl aside. “What do you mean, she was already dead? You went to see Kimberly? Tanya, no one discovered her body for hours. Why didn’t you call the police?”

  Tears filled the girl’s eyes. “I was so scared,” she admitted. “My mother would freak if she knew that I was there, and I didn’t want anyone asking too many questions, especially about why I was there. I figured that someone would find her when the workers got there.”

  “No, they didn’t. She was hidden behind a stack of boxes.”

  Tanya shook her head. “She was in the office when I saw her. In plain sight. I didn’t move her, I swear.”

  Olivia wanted to believe her, but it didn’t make sense. Why would someone kill Kimberly and then go back to hide the body? It hadn’t even been hidden well! How could the murderer not have seen Tanya there?

  How could Tanya not have seen the killer?

  “Olivia, don’t be mad,” Tanya said in a small voice. “I just wanted some extra money for college. I didn’t realize that it would get so out of hand. I was going to go to the principal on Monday and tell him. I just wanted to get through prom first. Please don’t tell anyone.”

  “Tanya, this isn’t just a school matter anymore. You need to go to Nick and tell him what you saw. It might help him find the killer.” Or help him coax Tanya into confessing the truth. “Don’t wait until after prom. You need to see him today.”

  “Can it wait?” the girl pleaded. “Until after prom?”

  “No, it can’t. My friend was murdered, Tanya. You should have called the police when you found her. Who knows how the evidence might change now. Pick up your dress and then go straight to the sheriff’s office, okay?”

  “Okay. Olivia, I’m sorry. I never thought about how it would affect you. Do I still have a job?”

  Most likely, the girl wouldn’t even have her freedom so it wouldn’t be a problem. “I’ll think about it,” she promised.

  It boggled her mind to think that Tanya could kill someone, but maybe Tanya wasn’t in her right mind. Still, when she went to Nick, Nick would get it all straightened out.

  She could put the case behind her and focus on Andrew.

  And Nick couldn’t even be mad because for once, nothing bad had happened to her.

  16

  Rose tailed the woman from a safe distance. Everything added up. From the way the ex-husband had died, falling at that unusual angle, to the psych evaluation that confirmed the woman needed professional help. Still, Katie was poor and couldn’t afford the treatment. What else could the system do but throw her back out on the streets?

  Anger cascaded through her. The poor woman had spent years at the hands of her abusive husband, forced to live in rags and watch as he spent more time on his precious consignment shop than on her. She obviously needed help, but there had been no one.

  And now she was killing.

  Rose was sure of it, but it was nothing more than a gut feeling. She needed proof, and she had a terrible feeling that she wouldn’t get it before the next man died.

  And Jason? Well, as usual, Jason was nowhere to be found.

  But then, she could only blame herself for that.

  Olivia was whistling to herself as she retrieved Goodwin and made her way back to her car. It was the lightest she’d felt in weeks. Tanya had to be Kimberly’s killer. There was just no other suspect who even came close to that kind of motive. It
still stung that someone of Tanya’s age could be capable of that, but she didn’t want to think about it. Instead, she wanted to focus on Andrew.

  It was hard for her to remember that she was going to chaperone a dance and not actually attend as a guest. She didn’t think she had even been this happy about school dances in high school, but then, she’d never been in love with her date before.

  And it was a date.

  She took a shortcut behind the buildings to avoid the after-work crowds on the sidewalk, and she was so lost in her own world that she didn’t even hear the footsteps that quickly approached her. It wasn’t until Goodwin growled that she froze.

  “I’ve been looking for you.”

  The sinister voice made her spine stiffen, and she whirled around. Ballard stood just a few feet behind her, and from the look on his face, he didn’t have anything nice to say. Nervously, Olivia looked around, but of course, she’d been seeking quiet and solitude, and the area was deserted. For a moment of pure terror, she wondered if she’d been wrong about him. “I see the sheriff let you go,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm.

  “I spent twenty-four hours in jail because of you, and now everyone thinks I killed my ex-wife. Her family has been sending me death threats, and the employees at my store won’t look me in the eye.”

  “Because of me?” Olivia took an involuntary step back. Rage rolled off him in waves, and he didn’t even seem to notice that Goodwin had raised his hackles and was standing motionless between them. “I wasn’t the one who thought you killed her.”

  “You called the police on me,” he said in outrage. “It took me a minute, but I recognized you. You’re that damn dog walker that always has your nose in other people’s business. Some amateur detective. Well, this time, you got it wrong!”

  Surely someone could hear him shouting at her. Swallowing hard, she took another step back. “I never said that I thought you killed her. In fact, for a long time, I thought it was someone else.”