Without Missing a Bark

by Stella St. Claire

  Julie sniffed and shook her head. “No. I had an appointment next week for that, but I do have the necessary paperwork and tons of pictures to help identify him.”

  “Okay—and don’t worry, Julie. Most likely, whoever took him either wants to keep him or sell him, so I’m sure they’re taking really good care of him.”

  That seemed to mollify Floofy’s owner. She went to jot down the information Olivia had requested. Olivia turned to find Jackie, Nick, and Stanley talking in low voices over one of the display cases.

  “What’s going on?” she asked as she joined them.

  “We were just discussing whether Nick would get his wife the diamond heart bracelet or the necklace,” Jackie said quickly. “I think the necklace is perfect, but Stanley said that the bracelet is a more unique gift. What do you think?”

  Jackie’s eyes were a little too bright, and Olivia regarded her friend suspiciously. There was something strange going on, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  Jackie would never lie to her, right?

  “What anniversary is this?” she asked as she glanced over the two choices. Both were exquisite.

  “Fortieth,” Nick admitted, and there was a note of pride in his voice. “Maybe I should get her both. She deserves it for putting up with me for forty years, right?”

  “Absolutely. She’s a lucky lady,” Olivia grinned. “Get both. And Stanley, I know that you can get me a ring for Andrew. We’re going to talk about this later, okay?”

  Stanley and Nick both paled, and Olivia shook her head. They needed to get over their patriarchal misconceptions. She was going to ask Andrew to marry her, and no one was going to stop her.

  Not even some evil dognapper.

  “I guess this is as good a time as any to give you a present,” Jackie said with an evil grin. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a paperback book. “I went through a lot of trouble to get an advanced reader copy.”

  Olivia held her breath as she reached out to take it. Recently, Jackie had been pushing romance books on her, but it looked like she was going to be able to fall back on her old addiction.

  The Rose Palmer mystery files. Just when Olivia thought she was ready to move on, the town was pulling her backward.

  4

  “I told you. I’m not doing it anymore,” Rose said as she fixed Christopher with a steely look. “I’ve got a new job now.”

  “You’re answering phones for the police department,” he growled. “If you wanted to get away from mysteries, you probably should have picked a different career. Maybe one of those perfume sales staff at the mall. Or a gardener.”

  “Perfume makes me sneeze, and I have a black thumb.” Rose closed the folder and slid it back across the counter. “All I’ve done is solve mysteries. It’s not like I had a whole lot to fall back on. The chief hired me to answer phones. It doesn’t mean that I’m interested in all of this.”

  Rubbing his handsome face, he sighed. “I never thought I would see the day that Rose Palmer quit.”

  “Are you kidding me? My best friend ended up in the hospital, and my boyfriend put her there. What kind of sleuth am I that I couldn’t stop that from happening!”

  “If you can’t trust yourself, then trust me. I’ve known you for years, Rose. You were meant to solve mysteries.” He reached over and grabbed her hand. The spark between them heated her skin, and she pulled away.

  “You’ve also lied to me for years, Christopher. Please leave.”

  His expression darkened, but he tapped his finger on the folder before walking out of her kitchen. She couldn’t bring herself to touch it, but she also couldn’t get it out of her head.

  Normally, Olivia was happy in yoga pants and a t-shirt, but in the process of planning her proposal, she was trying out different things. Andrew had tried to propose to her at L’Amore, one of the fancier restaurants in town. She’d ruined it by showing up late as well as completely underdressed. He’d also tried a romantic walk under the night sky as well as a picnic. She’d ruined both by focusing on a mystery, instead. He’d finally succeeded in asking her to marry him at the gazebo in the dog park. It had been perfect—but she needed to do things differently.

  She didn’t want to do anything that might remind him of all the times she’d ignored him and gotten involved in a mystery, but that was a long list. First there had been Yvette’s death—the coffee-truck murder. Olivia had used that murder to avoid Andrew when she wasn't sure that she was ready to marry him. She certainly didn't want to do anything to remind him of that.

  Then there was the murder of her wedding planner. That mystery had led to Andrew breaking up with her. Next, the supplier of her favorite dog food was killed. That had only furthered Andrew's anger, although in the end, they did decide to give it another go. Next was the murder of poor Hannah. Andrew had been the last person to see her alive, and Olivia had spent most of her time worried that Andrew was cheating on her. She certainly didn't want to remind Andrew of that, either.

  Finally, there had been the last of her mysteries. The disappearance of Hattie. At least that one hadn't ended in a dead body, and Andrew had actually encouraged her to help him out, but that didn't mean he was going to be thrilled to find her involved in yet another mystery. Especially during this crucial time.

  She was going to have to avoid all the places that might remind Andrew of those challenging moments. That wasn't going to be easy. It excluded all the places and vendors planned for their first wedding. It also included the two bed-and-breakfasts in Lexingburg, along with the dog park, the only romantic restaurant in the small town, their favorite watering hole, the jewelry store, and the other bakery (not Janelle’s) that Olivia, Jackie, and Janelle had sort of broken into.

  The list went on and on.

  At this point, she was going to be forced to propose in the neighboring city. She'd burned too many bridges in Lexingburg, and that thought made her miserable. How was it that Andrew had put up with her after all these years?

  Opening the oven door, she checked the casserole she'd put together and tugged on the skirt of her dress.

  Their apartment door opened, and Andrew whistled from behind her. "You look beautiful.” He paused and added, “Are you about to tell me something I'm not going to like?"

  "What?" Whirling around, she tried not to look guilty. "Just because I put on a dress doesn't mean I've done something wrong."

  "Well, you cooked,” his eyes narrowed, “and you don't normally cook. You've done your makeup, and you look amazing.” He gazed intently into her eyes and finished, “Either I've forgotten a very important date, or you have news."

  "The casserole is taking twice as long to bake as I expected, so I'm afraid the dinner isn't going to be much of a bribe," she admitted, surrendering to his hug. She took a deep, appreciative breath, and her arms tightened briefly as she held him closer. Andrew, with his rakish good looks and his charming smile, always smelled so good.

  "So it is supposed to be a bribe." He kissed the top of her head, his arms firmly surrounding her, a nice, safe feeling. "You're not kicking me out of the apartment, are you? Things are going to be pretty tight if I have to share that one-bedroom apartment with Brent and Jackie."

  Olivia laughed nervously. "They are attached at the hip, aren't they? I'm happy for them, and I am definitely not kicking you out. I just wanted to talk with you about something, first."

  "Sure,” he said. “Should I open a bottle of wine?" He released her and suddenly lifted his nose to sniff the air. "Sweetheart, I think the casserole might be burning."

  "No!" Grabbing her oven mitts, she threw open the oven door and pulled the casserole out. The thing hadn’t even looked like it was browning before, and now it was nearly burned on top.

  She really was a horrible cook.

  Andrew took a fork out of the silverware drawer and poked at the mess. He shrugged. "Looks good underneath. We'll just scrape off the top part. Don't be upset, darling. It wasn’t your cooking skills that made m
e decide you were the one for me.”

  Olivia tried to take comfort in that thought as she dished out the casserole onto two plates. She added the spinach salad she'd put together and carried it all to the table while Andrew poured the wine. Nervously, she sat down.

  She waited until he’d also sat down and had picked up his wine glass before saying, "I was out walking with Jackie this morning when Julie came up to me in tears." It was almost the truth, right?

  “Tears?” Andrew took a sip of his wine and dug into the casserole with gusto, obviously distracted by hunger. He’d probably been too busy at the hospital to eat lunch today, as happened all too often these days. Olivia could tell that the pasta was a little overdone, but he wasn't complaining. "The jeweler's daughter?"

  "Yeah. She's one of the new owners of those rescued Shar-Pei puppies. She thinks that someone stole her puppy. Apparently, she took the dog out in the yard this morning, went back inside to get some treats, and when she got back, he was gone and the gate was open. Julie thinks she saw someone running away."

  "Ah." Andrew put his wine glass down and leaned back in his chair, fixing her with a keen gaze. "And you want to investigate?"

  "No. Yes. I'm torn," Olivia admitted. "I called Nick, and I was more than happy to let him investigate, but Nick actually said that he couldn't do anything until there was more evidence. He's encouraging me to look into it on my own since I have more connections to the dog community. I did tell Julie that I would look into it, but I don't want to do anything unless you're okay with it."

  "I see."

  Olivia's heart sank. "It's not a murder investigation. I'm just trying to track down some puppies. I won't do anything dangerous. I'll just ask some questions and keep my ears open, but if you hate the idea . . ."

  "Nick already called me," Andrew interrupted with a smile, "and I think it's a great idea. With Natalie helping you out, and Janelle hiring extra help at the bakery, getting ready for her delivery, you've had some extra time on your hands, and we both know that you like to keep busy."

  She tried not to look completely flabbergasted as she set her wine glass down. "I do like to keep busy, but—are you sure you're okay with it?" A sudden thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened. "What else did Nick tell you?"

  "He just told me about the case, assuming that there is a case." He cocked his head. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

  This was definitely not the road she wanted to go down. "I just know how Nick can get sometimes when it comes to me and investigating. I was actually kind of surprised when he offered. I get the feeling that there's another reason he wanted me to look into it."

  "No!" Andrew shook his head vehemently. "I wouldn’t think there’s any other reason.” Suddenly relaxing, he picked up his wine glass, took a sip, leaned back, and said in a casual tone, “What are your leads so far?"

  After taking another bite of her casserole, Olivia reached over to the counter behind her and grabbed a piece of paper. "I haven't done much. Lenore was in this morning—complaining that she hadn't been chosen to get a puppy yet. She's from a wealthy family, and she thinks that her money should buy her anything that she wants. She's not happy about Charlene's approach. In fact, she fired me when I wouldn't help her!” She looked down at the paper, then up at Andrew again, thinking out loud. “Madeline Stone offered to buy Julie’s puppy, and so did Scott Truant."

  "Who are they?"

  "Scott is a German Shepherd breeder in town. I don't approve of his practices, so I won't work for anyone who buys from him. He doesn't give the females enough time to recover before breeding them again, and I abhor that kind of thing." Olivia shook her head in anger. "I know that Dr. Roberts has complained about him multiple times, but she couldn't ever get the proof to shut him down, and he stopped bringing his dogs to her."

  "And Madeline?"

  Olivia shook her head. "I don't know who that is. I was going to ask Janelle if she's ever heard of her."

  "If Scott is a German Shepherd breeder, why would he want a Shar-Pei?"

  Olivia’s mouth twisted. "The same reason that anyone would. The only reason that Charlene is offering them for so little money is because she fosters for a rescue group, but if the original breeder had sold them, that litter would have been worth close to ten thousand dollars. Even if the thief sold them for half that, it would still be a lot of money." She paused as another thought struck her. “Rescue organizations require neutering, and the new owners have to sign a legal agreement to do that. The pup was too young yet—so the thief might have stolen him to be able to breed him.” The thought of a potential puppy mill turned her stomach. “They could sell any pups they bred for a lot of money, even without papers.”

  Andrew whistled. "I knew that some breeds were expensive, but I had no idea we were talking about that kind of money."

  "And, unfortunately, that means we're looking at a lot of suspects and very little evidence to narrow it down.” She sighed. “At least they're an easily recognizable breed. I'm heading to the newspaper in the morning to talk about getting them to run an article and ask people to be on the lookout. It would be hard to hide the puppy, then, if they are still in town. I'm hoping that'll help lure them out."

  Andrew smiled and leaned across the table to grab her hand. "You're brilliant. I'm sure that you'll have this solved in no time."

  "Thank you,” Olivia said, meaning the words, and flashed Andrew a brilliant smile, “and thank you for supporting this. It makes me feel better about the whole thing, and soon we can maybe make some time for us. Since you seem to think that I have too much time on my hands." She gave him a mischievous wink, and he laughed.

  "Maybe cooking classes are in order."

  "Hey!" Feigning outrage, she picked up a tomato from the salad and threw it at him. It bounced off his shoulder and hit the floor.

  The dogs immediately scrambled into action. Despite Goodwin's youth and agility, Fender was lower to the ground and moved surprisingly fast when it came to food. Even tomatoes.

  It was a moment that she treasured. Hopefully, if she played her cards right, she'd have moments like this for the rest of her life.

  5

  "Snowball, you need to stand still. I need to hook your harness . . . Snowball!" The giant Rottweiler jumped up and smacked Olivia in the nose with his big head before racing into his owner’s living room and coming back with a giant squeaky toy.

  As usual, the alpha male dog was dressed up. This time, he wore a yellow glittery skirt and matching beads around his neck. Snowball had the ability to be fierce and overly protective, but he was a sap when it came to the small child in his family. She dressed him up, and he actually seemed proud of it.

  Apparently, he'd been lunging lately during walks, so his family had bought his new Easy Walk® harness on Olivia's recommendation. The only problem was that she couldn't get him to stand still long enough to get it fitted to him.

  Pressing a hand to her sore nose—at least it wasn’t bleeding—she sighed and resorted to plan B. Grabbing a dog biscuit, she got Snowball's attention, and the big dog trotted over. "Wait," she commanded him before grimacing and carefully placing the biscuit between her teeth. If she set it on the floor or the counter, Snowball would gobble it right up.

  He patiently waited, drooling a little as Olivia got the harness around his body and tightened the straps. "Okay," she said without thinking, and the dog immediately lunged and snatched the treat right out of her mouth.

  "Oh, God." Wiping the drool off her chin, Olivia straightened and grimaced. "I'm glad we could share that moment together. Let's go."

  Whistling for Goodwin and Tucker, she gathered all the leashes in her hand and headed out. She had a busy schedule today. The daycare roster was full, so Natalie was back at the office to look after the daycare dogs while Olivia did her dog walks. If her business kept growing, she would have to hire more help!

  Leading the dogs out of the small neighborhood, she headed back to the business district and the
dog park. She would let the dogs have a good run and play time inside the large fenced area, and then after dropping Snowball back off at his house, she was going to head to the newspaper office and answer a few questions about the case. She'd spoken to the editor this morning, and the woman had already agreed to run the story. Olivia felt confident that she'd get Julie's dog back in no time.

  "Hey, Tucker, leave Snowball alone. I'll tell Nick to start dressing you up in skirts too, if you want." She gently tugged the two dogs apart when they turned the corner.

  Suddenly, a figure came racing up to them. All three dogs barked, and Olivia had her hands full for a moment, belatedly recognizing the upset woman who stood before them now, wringing her hands.

  "Calm down, guys. It's just Sharon. You know Sharon." Olivia took one look at the woman's face and somehow knew what was wrong. Sharon was another of the lucky people who'd adopted one of the rescued puppies.

  "Olivia, I spoke to Nick this morning. He said that you were looking into Julie's dognapping.” Sharon stifled a sob. “Someone took Brady. Someone took my new baby, and my son just keeps crying and crying.”

  She tugged at her hair and looked absolutely lost as she babbled. Olivia tried to get her back on track. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “ My husband tried to make a report, but I didn't see anyone take the puppy. He was in his little playpen out in the yard. I left him alone for five minutes to make lunch for my son, and when I went back out, Brady was gone. Nick said that it's suspicious, but that he couldn't do anything. You have to help me. Please!"

  Olivia strained to keep the three excited dogs from bowling poor Sharon over. "I'm getting ready to take the dogs to the park,” she said, waving her hand toward the dog park, now only a block away. “Walk with me, okay?"