VALENTINES AND MURDER

by Patti Benning

  They didn’t have long to wait before the person rounded the corner. Moira’s eyes went to the dog first, and she smiled when she saw a neatly groomed standard poodle trotting along beside its owner. Then her eyes found the man’s face, and she jolted with surprise. It was a face she recognized easily even from this distance, thanks to the eye patch. Wyatt.

  “You okay?” David murmured, looking at her with concern.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I just didn’t expect to see someone I know out here.”

  “You know him?”

  Moira realized that with all of the craziness surrounding the murders, she had completely forgotten to tell David about the new business next to the deli. She caught him up in a hurried whisper as Wyatt drew closer to them.

  “Oh, hi,” he said, pausing a few feet away from them. “Ms. Darling, isn’t it?”

  “You can call me Moira,” she said. “Wyatt, this is my husband, David.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” The two men shook hands. Between them, the dogs were engaged in their own greeting.

  “It looks like they like each other,” Wyatt said, glancing down at his poodle, who was sniffing Keeva’s ear. “Your dogs are beautiful. I hope you bring them to daycare. They seem like they’d be a good fit. They’re certainly friendly.”

  “They are,” Moira said with a smile. “The German shepherd is Maverick, and the wolfhound is Keeva. They’re good dogs.”

  “This is Stanford. He’s not as dignified as his name sounds, though.” He stroked the poodle’s head. “Well, our daycare room is set up. You can bring them over tomorrow morning if you’d like and we can introduce them to Penny’s dogs to see how they do in a group. If it goes well, we can sign you up. You’ll be our first customer. I’ll give you guys a great discount, of course. It will be good to have some good reviews already up by the time we officially open.”

  “Great,” she said. “I’ll bring them by. Thanks again. I’m sure they’ll be happier playing with other dogs all day instead of staying home alone all day.”

  Her phone rang, and she checked it automatically. It was Candice. Wyatt seemed to take the call as his cue to leave.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. It was nice to meet you, David.”

  He waved, and continued on his way down the path, going the direction they had just come from. Moira answered the call, excited to speak with her daughter. Candice was living her own life now, and Moira knew she had to be okay with that, but she still missed the closeness that they had shared in the past.

  “Hey, Mom,” her daughter said, sounding cheerful.

  David took her arm gently, and they began to walk again as she talked. “Hi, sweetie. How are you?”

  “I’m great. My boss is out of town for a month, and he left me completely in charge of the store, plus I’m getting a raise. I know it’s not the same as running my own shop, but honestly, it’s less stressful and I have way more time to focus on other stuff. Eli got a job too.”

  “Oh, where? How is his physical therapy coming along?”

  “He’s working at a bookstore. He likes it, but I can tell he misses the ice cream shop. And he’s doing well, he actually had his last session last week. He’s still got a limp, but it’s way better than it could have been. I’m just happy that he can walk.”

  “That’s great,” Moira said. “Allison told me about the trip you girls are planning. It sounds like it will be fun.”

  “It will. I’m excited for it. Anyway, I called because I want to come visit this weekend. Eli can’t, because he has to work, and he doesn’t want to ask for time off so soon after getting the new job, so it will just be me, but I still want to visit Reggie and everything. Can I stay with you guys?”

  “Of course,” Moira answered automatically. “You know there’s always a bed for you in our house.”

  “Great. I just thought I should check since…”

  Moira listened only vaguely as her daughter chattered in her ear. She had just had a sickening realization. There was still a murderer on the loose somewhere in town. He had killed two people so far, and both had been connected to her husband’s work. What if he decided to target David next? Even worse, what if her daughter got caught in the crossfire? She hadn’t been worried about it when Candice was out of town, but the visit might put her in danger.

  “Mom?”

  “Huh?”

  “Were you even listening?”

  “Yeah, of course. I’m just in the middle of a hike with David and the dogs. Sorry. Sweetie —”

  “Oh, can I talk to David? I didn’t know he was there. I want to say hi.”

  Moira handed the phone over to her husband, using the time that he spent talking to his stepdaughter to think. Was it safe for Candice to visit that weekend? What if the shooter is never caught? I can’t have her stay away forever. And David is usually right about this sort of thing. If he doesn’t think there’s a connection, then he’s probably right.

  David handed the phone back to her after a moment. She took a deep breath. She wouldn’t forbid Candice from visiting — not that she could, her daughter was an adult, after all — but she would tell the young woman what was going on. She could make her own, educated choice.

  “Before you go,” she said, “there’s something I have to tell you…”

  She told her daughter all about the murders, and was unsurprised when Candice said that she wanted to visit anyway. She was left with a worried feeling in the pit of her stomach as she said goodbye and hung up. If Candice got hurt, she knew that she would never be able to forgive herself.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  * * *

  Moira pulled up in front of Perfect Paws the next morning, her mind still on her daughter’s visit. Two murders in two days was frightening, and it wasn’t the sort of situation she wanted the person that she loved most in the world to be walking into, but Candice had been adamant that she still wanted to visit. She knew that she would be worried until her daughter was safely on her way home, but she didn’t want to wreck the visit completely. I just need to think about something else, she told herself. Like making sure that Keeva and Maverick are on their best behavior.

  She got out of the SUV and walked around to the rear hatch. She held up a finger, giving the dogs a stern look through the window. They both loved going new places, and were beside themselves with excitement. She wished she could impress on them just how important this meeting went. If they could start coming to doggy daycare, it would add a whole new facet to their lives. The dogs often got the short end of the stick, when it came to her and David’s busy lives, and she wanted to change that.

  “Be good,” she said as she carefully opened the hatch, grabbing at their leashes so they couldn’t dart out. “I mean it. Don’t jump on anyone, don’t push the other dogs around, and Maverick — don’t you dare lift your leg on anything.”

  She let them out of the car and led them into the building, passing by a green car with a white paw print decal. That’s where I remembered it from, she thought. This must be Wyatt’s car. The interior of the building had been transformed in the few short days since she had last visited. The walls in the front room were now completely painted, and the fixtures had been installed. There was a large glass window to the side of the front desk, which looked in on the daycare room. Through the window, Moira could see a couple of dogs playing, supervised by Penny. She wasn’t sure what to do next. Should she just go in? There wasn’t a bell on the desk, and no one else was in the front room.

  A door off to the side opened, and Andre, Wyatt’s nephew walked through. He looked surprised for a moment, then seemed to remember who she was.

  “You’re here to introduce the dogs, right? I’ll show you in. Right through here.”

  He opened the door to the daycare area, and Moira found herself behind a chain-link gate. The door behind her clicked shut, and the dogs that were playing in the room, including Wyatt’s poodle, Stanford, rushed up to the gate.

  “I guess this is like a
practice tour for us,” Andre said, giving her a nervous smile. “So, there’s always at least two gates between the dogs and the outside. That’s to make sure none of them get loose and run into the street. We always make sure the first gate — or door in this case — is closed before opening the second one. Introductions are done off leash.” He waited while she unclipped Keeva and Maverick. “Usually with new dogs, we introduce them one at a time to make sure they don’t have any major behavioral issues first, but my uncle said he already met your dogs, so that’s fine. We’ll just open this gate and let them into the room.”

  He reached around her and did just that. Keeva and Maverick paused for a moment, looking back at her as if they weren’t quite sure they had permission, then trotted forward to sniff the other dogs.

  “They seem fine,” Andre said. “The poodle is Stanford, my uncle’s dog, and the two mixed breed dogs are Nikki and Taco — they’re Penny’s.”

  “It’s nice that she gets to bring them to work,” Moira said. She walked into the room, and Andre followed her, closing the gate behind her. “Do you have dogs?”

  “No. I’ve never actually owned a dog. I only got this job because my uncle offered it to me. Don’t worry, though, I like dogs, and I’m learning a lot.”

  She watched as the dogs, their sniffing done, began to race around the room. Penny watched them for a moment, a smile on her face, then walked over to greet Moira.

  “Hey. I’m glad you could make it this morning. I know we aren’t completely set up yet, but I think Wyatt’s glad that we have at least one customer. Do you want to see the rest of the place? The grooming room’s a bit of a mess still, but I want some practice giving tours before we start getting real customers.” She paused. “Not that you’re not a real customer, but I guess it’s different with you since you own the business right beside ours. Sorry, I’m making a mess of things, aren’t I?”

  “Not at all,” Moira said, laughing. “Go ahead with the tour.”

  “I was going to show her around,” Andre said.

  “I want to do it,” Penny said. “You’re Wyatt’s nephew, he’s not going to fire you if you mess up once or twice. But he might fire me. I really want the practice. Please?”

  Andre opened his hands, giving up, and turned to watch the dogs. Moira followed Penny to the right, toward another chain link gate. The young woman opened it and led her into a room that was filled with boxes.

  “So, this is where all of the grooming will be done. That door there leads to a hallway that goes back to the front room, so we don’t have to lead grooming dogs through the daycare area. We’re getting some kennels set up over the weekend, and each one will have a dog bed in it, as well as no-spill water dishes that attach to the doors, so we can take more than one dog at once.”

  Moira followed the young woman around, smiling as Penny talked rapidly, describing everything within sight to her. They walked back through the daycare room to the door to outside, where she found herself in a small yard. The ground was covered with gravel, and the double fence — with a layer of chain link on the inside and a wooden privacy fence on the outside — stood a good foot above her head.

  “Well, that’s about it,” Penny said at last. “I mean, there’s the storage room and the break room, and Wyatt’s office, but I don’t think any of those are on the official tour. I could still show them to you if you wanted. Do you have any questions?”

  “I don’t,” Moira said. “This all looks wonderful. I’m sure my dogs will enjoy coming here, and I’m looking forward to having them right next door while I’m working. You’ve completely sold me as a customer.”

  “Thanks.” Penny beamed at her. “You have no idea how much I wanted this job. I love dogs, and I’ve always wanted to work with animals, so when I saw the job listing, I was so excited. I even get to bring my dogs to work with me, can you believe it?”

  “It seems like it will be an amazing job,” Moira said. “And Wyatt seems nice. I’m sure he’ll be a great boss.”

  “He is. Once you get past the eye patch, he’s a totally cool guy.”

  “Do you know why he wears it?” Moira asked. She knew it was likely a very personal matter, but couldn’t help her curiosity.

  “I think it’s something that happened to him when he was younger. I know he’s missing the eye. I kept staring at it, and he offered to take it off, but I was too squeamish. Andre knows, but I don’t want to ask him. I don’t think he’d tell me, anyway. He’s super devoted to his uncle. All I know is that he got into trouble years ago, and Wyatt got him out of it somehow.”

  They fell silent, until Moira realized that she had to hurry. “I’d better get going if I want to drop the dogs off at home before coming back into town for work,” she said.

  “Oh, you can leave them here for a few hours if you want,” Penny said. “Wyatt will be here soon, so between him and Andre and I, someone will always be watching the dogs. We’ve pretty much just got to unpack the grooming room today; it won’t be hard work or anything.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. It doesn’t make sense for you to drive all the way back to your house and then return to the deli. It’ll be like practice for when they start coming here for the whole day.”

  “Well, thank you,” Moira said, shaking the young woman’s hand. “This is wonderful, and I’m excited to watch this place grow.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  * * *

  Moira cracked open the slow cooker’s lid, eying the brisket inside. The slow cooker had made her resolution to begin cooking outside of the deli more much easier. It was as simple as putting all of the ingredients together in the morning, then checking the food when she got home in the evening. It was perfect for a busy Saturday like this, when she was getting home from work only an hour before her daughter was supposed to arrive.

  “Are you sure I shouldn’t cancel with Lenny?” David called from the other room.

  “It will be nice to spend some time one on one with Candice,” she called back. She shut the slow cooker and left the kitchen to find David in the living room, focused on his laptop. “But of course, if you wanted to reschedule, we’d love to have you here.”

  “I really shouldn’t,” he sighed. “I thought she was getting here earlier, or I wouldn’t have told Lenny to handle it on his own, but this person he’s been following has been stealing from a lot of people he’s worked for. Three of them actually came together to hire us to catch him in the act, and Lenny’s convinced that he’s meeting his fence at this bar to get rid of the stolen goods, so we have to be there.”

  “It’s fine,” she told David. “Trust me, Candice will understand. You can always catch up with her tomorrow.”

  “I know. I just feel bad, she hasn’t visited in a while. But if I’m going to do this, I’d better head out. I’ll text you when I’m on my way home, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said. “Be careful.”

  She still didn’t trust Lenny completely. It had been less than a week since the first shooting, and the police hadn’t made any headway into the case — at least, not that had been on the news. David had spent a lot of time with his new business partner over the past few days, and she told herself that if there was anything off about the man, David would have noticed. Still, she couldn’t shake the coincidences. Lenny had been nearby both times someone had been shot, and he drove the right kind of car.

  “I always am,” her husband said. “Have a nice time with Candice.”

  He got up, put his laptop in his briefcase, and kissed her goodbye. Moira watched him leave with a bad feeling in her stomach, but pushed it aside for the time being. There was nothing she could do about David going to meet with Lenny, and she knew that she was probably worrying about nothing. Instead, she wanted to focus on getting ready for Candice’s visit.

  She had already washed the bedding in the spare room, even though she didn’t think anyone had stayed there since the last time her daughter had spent the night. There was a stock of
Candice’s favorite drinks in the fridge, and some of the snacks she remembered her daughter liking in the pantry. As she began mixing the brownie batter in the kitchen, Moira admitted to herself that she might have gone a little bit overboard. Candice was only staying until Sunday evening, after all.

  By the time the dogs started barking, signaling Candice’s arrival, Moira had the table set, the brownies were minutes away from coming out of the oven, and the brisket, creamed corn, and salad were all on the table. She took one last look at everything, then pulled a bottle of chilled wine out of the fridge and set it on the table. Now it was perfect. She allowed herself a quick grin, then hurried to open the door.

  She embraced her daughter for a long moment before finally pulling back. Candice’s hair was shorter, and she had added a swoop of long bangs. Besides that, she looked the same as the last time Moira had seen her. It hasn’t been that long, she told herself. It’s only been since Christmas.