Left Fur Dead

by J. M. Griffin

  “Thanks, I would be lost without it. By the way, how well do you know Lizzy?”

  “Not real well. She works here a few hours a week. She’s done some great things for the business. Why?”

  “I just wondered. I haven’t seen her since, well, for a while now. See you on Saturday, bye.”

  The window closed. Bailey drove away before I could ask questions, of which there many, piled one on top of another. Why I’d become worried by Lizzy’s behavior was anybody’s guess, because I sure didn’t know why.

  Inside the studio, I applied what little talent I had for displaying the garments and finally, after hearing chuckling behind me, I stopped with a disgusted huff.

  “Need a hand, do you?”

  Her hand tucked into the pockets of her white coat, Jessica laughed aloud. “I thought Lizzy was coming to meet you today. She would have had these displays completed in no time flat.”

  “She came by. Didn’t you see her?”

  “No, I had appointments all morning.”

  “When Bailey Kimball arrived, Lizzy said she wanted to check in with you and hurried off into the clinic. What the heck is going on with her?”

  “Maybe she couldn’t wait to speak with me in between patients.”

  “Hm, could be,” I said with a shrug. “I think there’s more to Lizzy than we know.” I turned away to work on the display. Jessica gave me a hand until her next patient arrived. When she left, I struggled on my own until I was satisfied with the total look of it all. One blanket lay folded over a quilt rack, the other was suspended from one angled edge to another on a cord attached to the wall. I gave it a final viewing, threw my hands up in despair, and went into the house. Décor had never been my forte.

  Lunch was on the table when Jessica walked in. Washing and drying her hands, she asked what I thought of Bailey.

  “She’s charming and funny. Her puppets are weird, they don’t look like Punch and Judy puppets, but they’re vibrant in colors that kids will love. I think she’ll work out well. We’ll meet at Karen Sommers’s house on Saturday for her trial run puppet show. That reminds me, I have to call Karen after we finish lunch.”

  “Glad to hear she’ll fit in. No one could mime like Arty, and a different venue is sure to be accepted by all. I’m certain Bailey will be a hit.” Over lunch, we talked of her appointments before the conversation returned to the farm itself.

  I retrieved the photo album from the living room chair and flipped it open to the page where Arty stood with the hooded man. Explaining my conclusion that this man was our intruder, I handed the book to Jess. She gave it a long, close look before giving it back.

  “It isn’t very clear, is it?”

  “I’m going to ask Sheriff Carver to have his tech guy sharpen the image, if possible.”

  “Aren’t you on Carver’s naughty list?”

  “Not really. He came by last night and we talked awhile. He seems as confounded by all this crap as we are. I think he’s at his wit’s end. If I come up with a smidgeon of info, he wants it. That’s why I’ll give him this picture.”

  “If nothing else, you have steady nerves, Jules.” Jess offered bail money, should I overstep my bounds, yet again.

  “This could be important. I don’t know how, but surely Carver has dug into Arty’s life deeper than I. This might be the one clue that will bring these mysteries to an end. I’m willing to try. I only hope he is.”

  “Remember, I have bail money,” Jess said with a grin while I dialed Karen’s phone number to give her the news about Bailey.

  * * *

  Saturday arrived, sunny and bright. A light breeze fluttered through the now fully budded tree branches. Many had sprouted leaves, and spring had arrived. We should all be thankful for the little things in life, right?

  My chores complete, the rabbits and cages had been loaded into the van. Carry cages used for transport filled the better part of the vehicle. Regular cages, too cumbersome to take to events, were left in the barn. I folded the petting pen, secured the straps, and drove toward Karen’s home.

  Our arrival coincided with Bailey’s. As we helped each other unload our vehicles, I could sense excitement in the air and heard children giggling. “Guess we’re going to have a big turnout today.”

  Bailey laughed and said she hoped all would go well.

  “It will, you’ll see. If the kids are happy, the parents are, too.”

  Karen directed us to where she wanted us placed. I was on one side of the yard and Bailey was on the other, each with a clear view of what the other was doing. The rabbits happily chased one another, nosed their toys, and nibbled at hay while children stopped by to touch their fur and run a hand over their soft coats. Bun hopped to a spot close to my feet and asked, “I’ll keep my ears tuned for any talk of Arty, okay?”

  I knelt beside him, scratched his ears, and murmured it was a great idea. Karen came by to admire the beauty of the rabbits.

  “They are darling, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, they are. Sociable, too. They like it when the children come over and pet them.”

  “The kids do love them. I’m so pleased to think Bailey will be able to step in since Arty can’t be with us any longer. It would be so hard on you to handle a bunch of excited kids all day on your own. They are wearying after a while. Thank goodness the party will be shorter than usual. My older daughter has a dance recital that we are attending. Bailey is very sweet, isn’t she?”

  “She has a wonderful personality, I think her puppets will win the day.”

  The show had begun, the puppets were on the small stage with Bailey holding the rapt attention of the ten-year-old kids. I listened to her voice for each character and realized her act wasn’t that far off from Punch and Judy, just more updated. Her puppets were also colorful enough to hold an audience’s attention on their own.

  The show over, the rabbits drew the kids in a swarm. I offered to let one or two kids at a time hold Jazz. She enjoyed contact, and I explained she needed gentle handling. Some kids asked questions while petting Jazz. I answered honestly, yet simply, to help them understand the ways of rabbits. I wasn’t used to letting the kits be handled, but these creatures were docile, and all went well.

  Karen herded the guests onto the patio for cake and ice cream, then said gifts would be opened afterward. I left Bun in the pen with the other rabbits while I joined Bailey, who stood on the fringe of the parents. Many regarded us with friendly smiles and greeted Bailey warmly when I introduced her.

  The kids were noisy, their interest piqued when gifts were opened and shown to all at the table. I backed away from the hubbub, as did Bailey. We were walking toward the rabbit pen when I heard angry voices. One was feminine, the other was terse and masculine. We both stopped to listen.

  I peered at the rabbit pen. Bun had risen on his hind legs, his head turned to the voices. The couple stood just beyond a lattice trellis, partially hidden from view.

  “What’s that about?” Bailey whispered.

  “No clue. Maybe a marital spat.”

  Bun turned his head in my direction. “I’ll tell you about this on the way home. Stay where you are.”

  I reached out and touched Bailey’s arm. She gave a start and a wide-eyed look at me.

  “Let’s go over to your puppet stand. We should stay out of that.” I dipped my head in the couple’s direction.

  With a nod, Bailey agreed. We packed up the stage and puppets, loaded them in her van, and then returned to the yard. No further angry words could be heard as we neared the rabbit pen.

  “It’s safe to come over. I can’t wait to leave.”

  “The rabbits are so calm, and very soothing. I wish I had a place for one, but my landlady would have a cow if I brought one home.”

  “Feel free to come by and visit them anytime you’d like. We like company, don’t we, Bun?”

  He hopped around for a minute before stopping before me. I picked him up, put him in a small cage, and then did the same with the othe
r rabbits. Leaving the van doors ajar, Bailey and I returned to the patio where Karen waited with checks for each of us. We marked our invoices paid before handing them to her.

  She walked us off the deck, her arm tucked in my left elbow. “Thank you so much for entertaining the guests today.” She looked at Bailey with a wide smile. “You can’t do better than teaming up with Juliette, she’s well known and well liked by the community. You two will be known far and wide if I have my way.”

  Her willingness to be so kind left us with smiles on our faces as we parted ways. Bailey drove off. As always, I’d put Bun’s cage on the passenger’s seat. If I didn’t, he’d get cranky and I wanted him to tell me what he had heard of the argument.

  “Did you recognize the couple who were behind the trellis?”

  “I never saw them before. The man was jealous over the attention paid to the woman by Dr. Sommers. There wasn’t anything of interest to be gotten from that. A waste of time. I did hear another couple speaking earlier. They weren’t real close to the pen, but you know how acute my hearing is, Jules. You might not have been able to discern what they said, but, of course I could.”

  Not wanting to ruin his self-adulation, I said, “You do have super deductive powers, Bun. No getting away from that.”

  “I know you appreciate my keen senses. That’s why we’re such a great investigative duo.”

  “I’m all ears, Bun. Tell me what you gleaned from the party.”

  “The man was watching you while you spoke with Karen. He told his wife it was because of you that Arty had been killed. We know that’s not true, and I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. His wife asked him how he knew that, and he said their neighbor had told him so. He said the neighbor knew you personally, and that he had proof you were to blame. Could the neighbor be Rusty?”

  I shrugged. “I’ll give Karen a call and ask her about the couple. You have to give me as much information about them as you remember, or Karen will get suspicious.”

  I turned into the drive of the farm while Bun rambled on and on about clothing the couple wore, what they looked like, including their child. At the end, he mentioned the man had a moon-shaped scar on his chin.

  “You’re so smart, what would I do without you, Bun?”

  “I’m exhausted from this busy day. The other rabbits are, too. They liked that you let the kids handle them. I know you don’t usually like to do that.”

  Once in their own roomy cages, the rabbits chowed down on timothy hay and rabbit nibbles, and quenched their thirst before settling in for a nap. I’d finished packing away the pen when Jessica stepped into the barn from the yarn studio.

  “How did it go?”

  “We were a smash hit, especially Bailey.”

  “Great. I have news, too. Molly will work for us all summer until it’s time for her to leave for college. Isn’t that wonderful? I’ll have to hire someone before she goes. She said she’d also work with you and the rabbits. You don’t mind if she splits her time between both of us, do you?”

  “Not at all. I had asked Molly if she wanted to take the summer off before leaving for college, but she had said she could use the extra money. If I need her to give me a hand, I’ll ask. Your business is going to get busier, you just wait and see.” Jessica was excited about the prospect of having Molly handle the office end of things. I was glad, but uncertain if I could deal with all the chores by myself. Maybe it was time for me to look for a helper who didn’t have to bounce back and forth between Jessica and me.

  “Now that you two have settled that, can I have something to eat? I think I’m fading fast.”

  “If you have time, come into the house, Bun has to be fed before he starves to death.” I set off through the breezeway.

  Jessica set the kettle to boil for tea while I poured food into Bun’s feeder and added fresh water to his dispenser. When I was finished and joined Jess in the living room, I indulged in a cookie and a hot cup of Earl Grey.

  “This tea hits the spot. All I’ve had today is water and a slice of birthday cake.”

  “I’ll make a sandwich for you. It’ll only take a minute.”

  I waved her offer away. “Don’t bother. It’s only another hour or so before we have supper.”

  Sipping her tea, Jess curled up in the chair. “What do you think will happen if Lizzy doesn’t get her act together before the spinning classes begin?”

  “I don’t know, but I am worried about it. She seems to have taken an unexpected hiatus from her job here, and frankly, I’m not happy about her attitude. When Lizzy first started working with us, she was organized and willing to jump in where needed. Now, well, she seems to have lost interest. What do you think? You know her better than I do.”

  An odd look crossed her features. “Actually, I don’t know her all that well. She’s a friend of a friend, you know the sort of thing. Lizzy came recommended to me by way of a conversation we were having on a break from class at the college. It never dawned on me to ask for references. Sorry, Jules, I know I should have.”

  “Hey, I didn’t ask for them, either. We might be blowing her actions out of proportion, instead of getting to the crux of why she’s been behaving differently. I had hoped that she’d become part of our businesses and don’t understand what’s going on with her. Do you think she’s got anything to do with our intruder and what’s been happening?”

  There, I’d put into words what I’d been trying to avoid saying.

  Shock widened Jessica’s eyes and her mouth formed an O as she hauled in a breath.

  Flustered, she spilled tea down the front of her sweater, then dabbed the moisture with a napkin. “It never occurred to me. Oh, my goodness. I’m sorry, Jules, I can’t believe she’d have anything to do with that.”

  “Just throwing my thoughts out there, to see what yours are. That’s all.”

  “Let’s invite her over for supper or lunch, maybe. If we have her in front of us, without interruptions, she might tell us what’s going on. She could be going through a rough patch with a boyfriend, or her parents. You know, something like that.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. Why don’t you call and invite her over for lunch when it’s convenient for her? We’ll see what response you get and take it from there.”

  “I will. What if she refuses?”

  “We can’t force her, Jess. All we can do is attempt to find out what’s going on with her. Don’t be nervous or she’ll know we suspect that all isn’t well with her, and she might not want to talk about what that problem is, anyway. Offer a simple invitation to lunch with us. No strings attached, okay?”

  “All right.”

  “Stop wringing your hands. We’ll all be fine with whatever happens.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  It wasn’t until two days later that Jessica and I had time to discuss the phone call she’d made to Lizzy. I’d been so busy with the rabbits and farm issues that I hadn’t had a chance to ask. There’d been no sign of Andrew, and I awaited return calls from the sheriff and Karen Sommers.

  Jessica’s success with the invitation to lunch had been a struggle. Lizzy insisted she couldn’t attend until the end of the week. I had hoped for a sooner, rather than later, opportunity to question her. I accepted what we could get in answer to the invite and thanked Jess for making the effort.

  “I did my best. Lizzy’s nervous as a cat about something. She wanted to know why we invited her to come by and asked if she was being fired. As if.”

  “I know, huh? She’s worth every penny I pay her. The problem is, she’s not doing the job I asked her to do. It has me worried.”

  “Me too.” Jess returned to the clinic. I cleaned the kitchen before Bun insisted we get outside into the sunshine.

  A break from routine gave us a chance to briefly leave the farm. My cell phone in my jacket pocket, Bun in his sling, I went toward the lake. The walk did me good, the sweet smell of spring refreshed my mind, and Bun never stopped talking for a minute. Blah, blah, blah. I had tuned hi
m out until he poked his head out of the sling and craned his neck back to see me.

  “Have you heard a word I’ve said? I know you’re alive, because we’re still moving, but you haven’t uttered a sound.”

  “Sorry, Bun. I’m preoccupied with other issues.”

  “What issues could possibly be more important than what I have to say?”

  “Yes, I know, you have been droning on about something. I can’t fathom what it is, so start over, okay?”

  “Huh, I don’t think I will. You’ve ignored me all day.”

  “Don’t be upset, I brought you out here with me, didn’t I? That’s far from ignoring you.”

  A sniff was his only response. It made no difference to him that I had brought him along. He was miffed over the fact that I hadn’t hung on his every word. I reckoned there’d be no way to get around his attitude, so I fell silent and kept going.

  Birds twittered and sang while they flitted from tree to tree. They’d finally come home after wintering down south. A movement at the far edge of the water caught my eye. Andrew reeled in a fish before he noticed us.

  “Andrew is fishing over there,” I murmured softly.

  Bun poked his head from the confines of the sling and jittered his whiskers up and down a few times, then stiffened his ears.

  “He hasn’t been around the farm in a while. I thought he had moved on.”

  “Me too.” I waved and headed in his direction.

  His fish pouch held three good-sized fish. I peered at them and congratulated him on his skill.

  “When you’re hungry enough, you get good at catching your dinner.”

  “If you want to share, I’ll cook these up for supper later. That is, if you want . . .” I trailed off, not knowing what else to add to my offer. Andrew was adept at making his own meals. He didn’t need my help.

  “That would be good of you, thanks. I do occasionally get sick of my own cooking.”

  I checked my watch, noted we’d been gone a good hour, and knew it was time to return home. “Come by around four o’clock, then?”