Pulling the Wrangler off to the side of the road, Olivia stared at the plantation-style house. It loomed large over its surroundings, imposing against the sunset sky, and as neglected as it might look, Olivia could still picture it in its heyday. It had probably been stunning. Hannah’s bed and breakfast would have drawn a large crowd. A historic building. Gorgeous views. No wonder Larry was jealous.
“I don’t see any lights on,” Janelle said slowly. “Do you think Rafe is living here?”
“I don’t know. He looked pissed when he left earlier. Did you tell him that you weren’t interested in his eggs?” Olivia opened her door and stepped out. Grabbing the leash, she hooked it onto Goodwin’s harness. He hopped out eagerly and immediately began sniffing. His paw was still wrapped up, but he wasn’t limping at all.
Janelle followed her out. “I told him that a few eggs weren’t enough for me to sign a contract. I get what he’s thinking. If he can line up enough businesses that want to buy his product, he’ll have a better chance at getting investors. Even if Rafe has inherited all that money, it may not be enough to get the farm going. He’s got to buy the animals. He needs soil tested for crops, not to mention that he’s going to need something to feed the livestock. The farm wasn’t made to sustain large quantities of product. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him, and I’m not willing to sign anything until I see some proof that he’s willing to put in the work.”
Olivia froze. “Wait a minute. Rafe already has product.”
“He has some eggs,” Janelle scoffed. “That’s not really product.”
“But Mom said that all the animals were sold off. How does Rafe already have chickens producing eggs? Why would he have chickens if he knew his cousin was building a bed and breakfast?” Her heart hammered in her chest. “Oh, God. I’ve got this all wrong. Hannah was killed because of the bed and breakfast, but Larry wasn’t the killer.”
Janelle’s eyes widened. “You think Rafe did it for the farm?”
“Their grandmother left everything to Hannah. Everything. Rafe must have been pissed, but he’s a planner. He’s already got a business model for the farm. He’s trying to impress investors. He’s had this plan for awhile. I am such an idiot!” She shook her head. “He just cooed over Goodwin and played up his stress. I thought he was mourning his cousin, and I barely entertained the idea that he might kill her. They were family!”
A thought occurred to her, and Olivia gasped and whipped her head around to stare at the woods. “Janelle, did Rafe leave the bakery right after you turned him down?”
Janelle just stared at her.
Olivia closed her eyes and tried to remember. She’d seen Rafe walk away from Janelle, but had he left the bakery?
“No,” she heard Janelle say slowly. “I told him that he could have a slice of pie on the house. I served it to him right before I left. He was sitting in the corner. You think he heard us? Olivia, we need to leave.”
“We can’t,” Olivia said desperately, but her gut clenched as she saw, despite the brilliant sky, how quickly the daylight around them was fading. “If Paul is hiding from Rafe, I might have led Rafe right to him. We need to find him and warn him!”
“You think Paul is stupid enough to hide on Rafe’s property?”
A small beam of light suddenly shone in their faces as Rafe walked toward them. “Not stupid, Janelle. Smart. I’ve been looking for him for days, and he’s been hiding right under my nose.” Rafe chuckled and pulled out a gun. “And now you two ladies are going to help me find him.”
19
“Why are you always getting me in these situations?” Janelle hissed.
“You insisted on coming along!” Olivia kept her eyes trained on the gun. It was steady in Rafe’s hand, like he was more than comfortable at the thought of using it.
“Put the dog in the car,” Rafe ordered. “I don’t want any surprises.”
“The dog?” Olivia demanded. “A few days ago, he was Goodwin, the poor baby with a broken nail! Remember? He reminded you of the German Shepherd that you grew up with? Did Hannah play with that dog as well?”
“Shut up!” he hissed and jerked the gun toward Goodwin.
Gasping, Olivia immediately stepped in the way.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll put him in the Jeep.”
Goodwin growled, and Olivia immediately herded him toward the Wrangler. She didn’t want Goodwin getting shot. “Just because I think Paul is in the woods doesn’t mean that I have any idea where he is. I was just hoping to find his car. It would take hours to search the whole area—and twice as long in the dark.”
“You seem like a resourceful woman,” Rafe said mildly. “I’m sure you’ll find him in no time. Now, walk.”
Janelle and Olivia exchanged looks as they slowly headed into the darkening woods. “I already told Nick that I was coming out here,” Olivia muttered. “And there were people in the bakery who saw your argument with Janelle. If you do anything to us, there’s no way you’re going to get away with it.”
“I’m not going to do anything,” Rafe said cheerfully. “Paul is. Andrew was a much better scapegoat, with him going around and interviewing all those women for his little app, but I underestimated the sheriff’s friendship with the man. Paul is the perfect fall guy now.”
“App?” Olivia asked. “What app?”
“Focus,” Janelle hissed.
Did everyone in this town—except Olivia!—know what Andrew was doing?
“It’ll even be okay if we don’t find him. I’ll just say that I came out here to help you search, and Paul attacked us and disappeared. I will be the only survivor. Of course, if we do find him, I’ll be the hero.”
A cold shudder went through Olivia. Still, she said stubbornly, “Nick thinks that Paul is hiding from you.”
They entered the woods, and Olivia reached out and grabbed Janelle’s hand.
“He is hiding from me,” Rafe growled. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I just wanted to make sure that he kept his mouth shut, but after I sent him that first rose, he disappeared. I was even going to offer him a partnership on the farm if he kept quiet. He could grow and harvest his precious roses here, but no. The coward just up and ran. I’m not a killer! Hannah was just a one-time deal.”
“She was your family,” Janelle said sharply. “You chose money over your own family!”
“You have no idea what she was like,” Rafe sneered. “Stop slowing down, and walk faster. Hannah charmed my grandmother. The old lady had no idea what Hannah was really like. She told my grandmother all these plans that she had for a bed and breakfast, but she was never going to open one up. She practically admitted it to me the day before. She was going to take the inheritance money and live out her life on the beach getting a tan! She took advantage!”
Olivia’s foot hit a root, and she stumbled. Janelle gripped her arm and pulled her back up. “A flashlight would be helpful,” Olivia muttered. “Since you seem to have the only one, maybe you’d like to go first?”
Rafe shined the light right in her face. “Keep wasting time, and I’ll shoot your sister.”
“You just said that Hannah was a one-time deal!” Janelle protested.
“She was, until she started poking her nose where it doesn’t belong,” Rafe retorted, gesturing from one sister to the other with the flashlight beam.
Olivia bristled. “You know, I really wasn’t investigating until you tossed my office. That’s my private space, and you violated it!”
“What are you talking about?” Rafe demanded. “I don’t even know where you work.”
Indignation rose in Olivia. “What do you mean, you don’t know where I work? I’m the only dog-walking business in town. I own Wagging Tails.”
Rafe shrugged. “Never heard of it. Keep walking.”
Olivia stood her ground. “What do you mean, you’ve never heard of it! I work on the second floor of the brownstone.”
“Yeah, I always just thought that you were hanging around the bakery for food. I
didn’t know that you worked there.”
Olivia wanted to believe that he was lying, but he’d already admitted to murder. Why would he hide a breaking-and-entering charge? “Well, if you didn’t do it, who did?”
“I don’t care,” Rafe snarled. “Now walk!”
“Can’t.”
“Olivia!” Janelle hissed. “I don’t want to die out here.”
“If we go deeper, we’ll get eaten by the coyotes.” Olivia kept her eyes trained on Rafe as she noticed the movement right behind him. “Isn’t that right?”
“It was just a story,” Rafe muttered, but he paled just a little.
“Yeah, a story. Only you got one thing wrong. It wasn’t a coyote in the woods.”
“What? A bear?” he mocked.
“Nope.” Olivia grinned. “Just a dog. Goodwin!”
A shadow lunged out from deeper shadow and knocked Rafe over, sending the gun flying from his hand. The man howled in pain as Goodwin locked his jaws around Rafe’s ankle.
“Get the gun!” Olivia shouted as she grabbed Goodwin and unhooked his leash.
“Oh God!” Janelle cried, but she bent down and picked up the discarded weapon. “Now what?”
“What do you mean, now what? Aim it at the bad guy!”
“Oh. Right. This is very stressful. Maybe this is why I can’t get pregnant.”
“Really? You want to talk about that now?” Olivia pulled Goodwin away. “You. Up against the tree. Now.”
Grunting in pain, Rafe eyed Janelle. “She’s not going to shoot me.”
“Dude, normally I would say yes, but my sister has been very stressed and a little insane lately. There’s little doubt in my mind that she would shoot you. Up against the tree.”
Rafe decided to heed Olivia’s warning and slowly stood. He backed up against the trunk of the pine tree she’d indicated, and Olivia used the leash to tie his hands together behind him, tying her best knots. Anchored by the tree, he wouldn’t be going anywhere soon.
“Much better. Who’s a good boy?” Olivia leaned down and kissed Goodwin on the nose. “I have to admit that his new trick really did come in handy.”
“Now what?” Janelle asked nervously.
“Now you’re going to call Nick.” Olivia walked around the tree and glared at Rafe. “And you are going to tell me all about Andrew and this app that he’s apparently working on.”
Janelle threw her words back in her face. “You want to talk about that now?”
“You’re damn straight we’re going to talk about that now. First you’re going to tell me what you know about Andrew, and then you’re going to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to lie to me!”
“Olivia! I didn’t lie. I just omitted a few details.”
Pulling out her phone, she glared at her sister. “And now we have time for you to fill me in.”
Rafe groaned. “Can’t you shoot me before you make me listen to this crap?”
“Shut up,” Olivia and Janelle said together. There was a pregnant moment of silence before Janelle finally sighed. “Call Nick, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Finally. Olivia was going to put two mysteries to rest in one night. She just hoped that whatever her sister was about to tell her wasn’t going to break her heart.
The whole sheriff’s department showed up. They found Paul in under an hour, huddled up in a tent a couple of miles into the woods. Once he realized that Rafe was in custody, he spilled everything. When Olivia told him that his shop was out of flowers, the poor man broke down in tears.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he gasped. “I thought that Rafe was going to kill me!”
Olivia did feel sorry for the shop owner, but she shook her head. “Andrew could have gone to jail, Paul. All you had to do was tell Nick, and he would have protected you!”
That just made Paul put his hands up to cover his face, his shoulders shaking.
As one of the deputies drove Rafe away, Nick pulled Olivia aside. “I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you,” he said quietly.
Olivia smiled. “I can’t be too mad. I actually thought Larry had done it. And all he’s guilty of is being a bad business owner and not being able to stand up to his mother.”
“Yeah, well, by now I should have given you some credit. That, however, does not excuse this little stunt that you just pulled. Coming out here alone? What were you thinking?”
“I brought Janelle,” Olivia said hastily. “Doesn’t that could for something?”
Nick leaned over and hugged her. “He could have killed you, Olivia. He could have killed you both. I know you think I’m being ridiculous when I ask you to stay out of these investigations, but it would just kill me if something happened to you. I love you like a daughter.”
“I love you, too, Nick,” Olivia whispered. “Now, let me guess. You also knew that Andrew was developing a dating app, didn’t you?”
“Finally figured it out, huh?” he grunted as he pulled back. “As soon as he saw that Hannah was dead, he contacted the development company. They sent a lawyer down to meet with me. He’d signed some pretty binding non-disclosure agreements, but they agreed to waive them so he could talk to me. He was never really a suspect, but I couldn’t officially rule him out until I had more facts.”
“I just hate the idea that Rafe tried to use him,” Olivia muttered.
“He’s going to get what’s coming to him. Murder. Attempted murder. Breaking and entering.”
Olivia winced. “Actually, he said that he didn’t break into my office.”
Nick studied her closely. “You think that he’s telling the truth?”
“It’s a weird thing to lie about after just admitting to murder.”
“True, but I’m going to press him just to make sure.” Nick ruffled her hair. “You and Janelle go home. We’ll get your statements in the morning.”
“Thanks, Nick. I’m glad it’s over.”
“Me, too. Get some sleep.”
She would, but first, there was someone that she needed to talk to.
20
He was waiting for her in the back yard with a crazed look in his eye. “Are you insane?” Andrew bellowed, but then he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her so tightly that she ended up gasping for air. Immediately, he loosened his grip and said, “I don’t know whether to kiss you or strangle you!”
Olivia leaned against him and propped her chin up on his chest. “Kiss, please,” she murmured.
He bent down and obliged her with a kiss that warmed her soul all the way down to her toes. “I went a little insane when I thought something had happened to you,” he admitted.
“Let’s go upstairs. I’m exhausted, and Goodwin deserves a treat. He saved the day.”
“In that case, he deserves all the treats.” Andrew didn’t relinquish his hold as they walked upstairs. She unlocked the door to her apartment, and he followed her inside.
“So, a dating app, huh?” she asked when she turned around.
He turned bright red. “I wanted to tell you. It felt so wrong keeping it from you, but the contracts were really binding.”
He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, though the other remained firmly planted around her waist. “When we broke up, it sort of forced me to reevaluate my life. I realized that I’m not happy at the hospital. It’s fine for now, but I haven’t been pushing myself to do better. I thought about freelancing my services. I cast out a line, and I was hired by this company to design a dating app for them.”
She stood there frozen, at a loss for words.
He stared earnestly into her eyes. “I wasn’t going on dates. I’d published a questionnaire for people who were having trouble dating, and Hannah, Jennifer, and Larry were three of the nearly fifty people that I interviewed.”
“But the rose,” she said faintly.
He chuckled and reached down to take her hand in his with a gentle squeeze. “Nothing more than a marketing technique. A rose is the dating app’s logo, plus it he
lped people who didn’t know me to recognize me.”
Olivia shook her head. “I feel so stupid. I followed you the night that you were with Hannah. It looked like a date—and then she was so angry when she left.”
“A couple of my questions triggered a response in Hannah, and she left unhappy. I followed her out to make sure that she was okay, and then the hospital called me back for a job, so I had to go straight there.”
“The dogs that chewed on the wires?”
Andrew chuckled. “A service dog.”
“The trips to the gym?”
“Like I said, I didn’t like not being able to talk with you about it. Especially when I saw what it was doing to us. I worked out my frustrations at the gym. I came close to breaking the contract several times, but this could lead to something really big for me.”
“Andrew, I’m really happy for you. I just wish I wasn’t so spastic. We promised that we’d do better at communicating, and I completely failed.” Everything made so much sense. “I can’t believe that I ever thought you were cheating on me. You must hate me.”
“Things haven’t been easy for us lately,” he murmured. “And you did decide to try to clear my name of murder even though you thought I was cheating on you. I have to admire that.”
With a dry laugh, she wrapped her arms around him and breathed in his scent. Suddenly, everything was right with her world again. “Just so we’re clear, we are in a relationship again. Exclusive.”
“I love you, Olivia. I don’t like my life the way it is without you, and if that means that I have to give up my other girlfriends . . .” She punched him in the arm, and he chuckled. “I haven’t thought of a single woman since I first laid eyes on you, Olivia Rickard. There’s no one else.”
“Good.” She propped her chin up on his chest and stared at him. “So where do we go from here?”
A mischievous twinkle sparkled in his eye. “I haven’t been to the gym in weeks, and it’s been pretty stressful. I thought that maybe I could blow off some steam with you tonight.”
All Bark and No White Knight (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 4) Page 15
