And the next.
And the next.
13
Dog Dilemma
Knock, knock, knock.
Piper peeked out the peephole in her apartment door and leapt back, thankful for her sock feet that muffled her stumbling footsteps. It was her landlord, Steve. And man, was she not ready to see him. Or rather, her bank account wasn’t ready. She’d used her most recent paycheck to handle the pesky little matter of her past due utility bills.
Colin trotted in from her bedroom to see who was at the door. Thankfully, the one—and only—trick she’d ever taught him was how not to bark when someone came to the door. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to keep him a secret for so long. She crept away from the door, afraid that Steve might see her shadow pass underneath, or hear her pounding heart, or smell the lack of money on her.
The clock on the microwave said she was already running late to open the center with Addison and Zoe. They’d be waiting for her. She gave it two minutes before very carefully, very quietly, tiptoeing back to the peephole. Steve hadn’t left, and it didn’t look like he had plans to do so anytime soon. He unfolded a lawn chair, setting it up to face her door. She watched him sit down, cross his legs, and unfold a newspaper.
It was a standoff. She could be stuck there for hours. Steve would probably wait her out. Didn’t he have anything better to do?
She still didn’t have the money for rent that month. Aiden was going to pay her on Friday, but it was only Saturday. It would be two weeks late by then. If only she could avoid Steve until she had it. Then she could hand over the check like, “Whoops! Must have slipped my mind.” He couldn’t evict her if he couldn’t find her. Right…?
Grabbing her backpack from the sofa, she coaxed Colin in by throwing a treat in the bottom. Once he was inside, she zipped it up and slipped it on her back. She picked up her shoes from beside the door and carried them over to the window that had a fire escape access. Slipping them on, she prepared to climb out. Piper drew the curtains aside and reached for the window latch, but her hand froze. Instead of her usual glorious view of the Indian restaurant across the street, her sight line was obscured by a message.
Lying whore!
The red spray paint dripped down the outside of the windowpanes. She gaped at it for a few seconds. It wasn’t tough to figure out who-dun-it: Laura. Piper was impressed by how the activist managed to spell it from the outside so she could read it from the inside. Hell, she was surprised Laura could spell at all.
Knock, knock, knock.
This time the banging fell heavier and more insistent, rattling the lock. Jolted out of her shock, Piper unlocked the window and slid it high enough for her to sneak out. She would have to call to the cops at the rescue center, far away from her landlord. Maybe the brick incident had been Laura too. Maybe stalking just wasn’t enough for her anymore. She had bullied Piper to leave SFAAC. Maybe she was trying to take the rescue center away from her too.
After creeping down the fire escape like a burglar, she whisked across the parking lot and over to her VW. Out of the corner of her eye she spied a bulky figure standing in front of the third-story stairwell window. Placing Colin inside the car, she started to move a little faster. The figure moved down a window, then another.
She turned the key; the engine slugged away, groaning with the effort. When the landlord-shaped figure burst out of the entrance doors waving his hands, the engine finally roared to life. Without glancing up, she threw it in drive and sped off. Because if she didn’t see him, she couldn’t very well acknowledge him. Right…?
Piper raced across town to open the rescue center for the day. She pulled into the parking lot to find Addison and Zoe already waiting for her. They sipped their lattes, giving her a look that said they’d just been in the middle of talking about her. And by the devilish grins on their faces, she assumed Aiden was the hot topic of conversation.
Piper crawled out of her car and held the door open for Colin to hop down. He trotted across the small gravel lot to say hello to the girls. They were leaning against the building’s whitewashed brick exterior. Piper had painted it herself after she showed up one day to find someone had spray-painted Grade-A Slut in large red letters. Of course, she suspected Laura—it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking stuff. However, she did appreciate the acknowledgment that she was an A student. It was nice to get a little recognition from time to time. Currently the wall had a saucy graffitied scene involving both Minnie and Donald Duck that she didn’t think Mickey would appreciate.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Piper said. “I had a surprise message from Laura this morning spray-painted on my window.”
“You’re kidding,” Addison said.
“Yeah. It’s not a big deal, though.” Piper wasn’t about to tell them exactly how or why she found it. “I’ll call the cops once we’re inside.”
“Well, you’re not late.” Zoe handed her a coffee. “So don’t apologize.”
Piper checked her phone. She was right on time. “Oh. Force of habit, I guess. Big shoes to fill this week.”
Marilyn had flown out to Los Angeles, where her cruise ship embarked from, only after Piper managed to convince her that everything would be all right. Yes, she would be at the center every day. No, she promised it wouldn’t be too much to handle with clinical practice, her jobs, and her final coming up. And no, she didn’t think that “rotter,” as she put it, would return to do more damage. At least, Piper hoped not. But she wasn’t about to let Marilyn cancel her trip over some coward with a grudge.
“So-o-o-o?” Addison practically vibrated with curiosity. “How was your week? Did you see him?”
“Him who?” Piper feigned ignorance.
“Umm, that dreamboat you call an employer.”
“Do people still say ‘dreamboat’?” Zoe asked.
“Well, he is pretty dreamy.”
Zoe conceded with an appreciative nod.
Piper took a sip of her coffee and pretended to think. She was acting all cool to torture her friends, but in reality she was bursting to gush about him.
“Oh, you’re talking about Mr. Caldwell.”
“Of course,” Zoe said as they rounded the corner and onto the sidewalk. “How’s the job going? Did you take his wiener out?”
Piper threw her a look. “It’s good. He’s”—she hesitated—“good.”
“Just good?”
“Yeah. He always just so happened to be around at the same time I was, so he walked the dogs with me every day this week.”
“So was it just walks?” Addison asked. “Or were they like dates?”
“Well, there was flirting. Heavy flirting. But they were more like pseudodates. Or if they were dates, it was a covert operation and I wasn’t in on the mission objective.”
“I wonder why.”
“Well, I know this is hard to believe, since I’m so amazing, but there’s a small chance he might not be interested.”
Addison gasped. “Blasphemy.”
“I know, right?”
“He’s interested all right,” Zoe said. “A busy CEO wouldn’t be coming home from work every day to walk his dog when he’s already hired someone to do it for him. Sophie isn’t the only wiener he’s thinking about.”
Piper snorted. “He’s just so hot and cold. And then there’s his personal assistant. I think there’s a lot more than assisting going on there.” She stopped on the front stoop to wait for Colin to mark his territory on the bench. “Besides, he makes up these excuses for coming home, like wanting to see me isn’t a good enough reason. And don’t forget the handshakes. Ugh,” she groaned. “Those damned handshakes.”
“Well, I doubt he was there for the fresh air and exercise,” Addison said.
“Fresh meat is more like it,” Zoe said.
“Oh, Zoe.” Addison gave her a look. “He’s not like that. I think it’s romantic. He must be very busy at work and he’s managed to find time to spend with her every day.” She sighed. “It just goes to show you how m
uch he cares.”
“You’re far too optimistic about men’s intentions,” Zoe said. “They’re not all Disney princes, you know.”
“And you’re far too pessimistic. Maybe Aiden is Piper’s prince.”
Piper climbed the front stairs to the entrance. The soggy top step squeaked under her shoe. She took a mental note to pick up a few supplies from the hardware store to try to fix it. Pulling out the spare key, she unlocked the front door. She noticed she needed to add more duct tape to the cardboard covering the broken glass since it was starting to fall down.
“I’m confused,” she said. “I thought Aiden was my rich pimp like in Pretty Woman, not a prince.”
“Benefactor. Richard Gere isn’t a pimp.”
“Am I still a prostitute?” She laughed and held the door open for the others. Colin slipped in first. What a gentleman, she thought.
“All I’m saying is that I think he’s into you. Just you wait. He’ll ask you out soon enough.”
“It doesn’t matter, because I’m not even that interested.” Piper flicked open the blinds, pretending she didn’t see Addison and Zoe exchange exaggerated eye rolls.
When the morning sun filtered into the reception area, her mouth dropped open at the sight. She blinked against the light a few times as though the scene before her were just something in her eye. But it didn’t go away.
Addison covered her mouth. “Oh, my God.”
“Those assholes,” Zoe said.
Books and papers were scattered everywhere; the picture frames had been torn off the wall and smashed on the floor; cupboards gaped open, their contents ransacked. It looked like a herd of buffalos recently migrated through the space. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Scrawled across the wall in red spray paint were the words Get Out! And beneath that was an ominous deadline.
One week.
14
Bark and Enter
Piper froze at the sight of the senseless destruction in the reception area, at the red graffitied threat dripping down the walls. It hardly seemed real, like this wasn’t the place that she spent most of her free time. They must have stumbled into the wrong building. Because who would want to do something like this to a rescue center? Her fists clenched as the name came to her. Laura.
Piper’s ears tuned into the manic barking coming from the back of the building. The noise brought her crashing back to her senses. “The dogs.”
The three girls rushed for the back. Skirting around the desk, they picked their way through the debris on the floor. Piper’s heart jumped into her throat, sharp and constrictive, as though she’d swallowed a hummingbird.
“Be careful,” Zoe told them. “Try not to touch anything until the cops get here.”
Tripping over the upturned printer, Piper stumbled and fell against the door. The moment it swung open, she let out the breath she was holding. The dogs were all still safe in their homes, maybe a little more hyper than usual, but at least they were okay.
Nothing seemed out of place. The kennel doors were still secure, every guest accounted for. Upon seeing the volunteers, they barked and hopped around in their kennels, excited for playtime. Colin scooted around Piper’s feet, unconcerned about the disaster in the reception room, and went to make his rounds.
“Thank God,” Addison said behind her. “If they’d done anything to hurt them—”
Piper held up a hand. “I don’t want to think about it,” she said. “I’ll go call the cops. Can you two stay with the dogs?”
“Sure thing,” Zoe said. “They’ll probably get a little agitated once they show up and start moving around the place.”
Piper felt more than a little agitated herself at the moment. “Thanks.”
While they waited for the police to arrive, the three of them tried to soothe the dogs. Piper took a few of them out to cuddle, although it was more for her nerves than theirs. The girls did what they could for their morning breakfast and grooming routines, but they thought it would be better if the guests stayed in their kennels while they dealt with the cops. Playtime and baths would have to wait.
When the squad cars finally pulled up front with their lights flashing, Piper met them out outside. It disappointed her to find the same officer as the last time climbing out of the cruiser. But while he was as heartfelt as he was about the brick, he didn’t downplay this event. After one peek inside, he cued his radio to call for the “identification unit.”
It was the same drill as the last time, although more involved considering the extent of the damage. Piper, Zoe, and Addison were separated and questioned. The identification unit showed up and photos were taken, things were measured, evidence was bagged.
After they determined that the point of entry had been the broken window in the reception door, the three volunteers were free to wait in the courtyard with a few of the more hyperactive dogs.
At lunchtime, they were still far behind in their usual Saturday duties. Zoe was attempting to shampoo two dogs at once, and Addison sat cross-legged on the grass, trying to give Smarties, a terrier mix, a pompadour.
Water dripped in streams from a collie Piper was hosing off when Officer Tucker stepped into the courtyard. Zoe lunged at the sopping pup with a towel, but she wasn’t fast enough. The collie oscillated like an old washing machine, flinging water across the yard. Zoe threw the towel up to shield herself. The officer got the full force.
Officer Tucker swiped an arm across his face, soaking up the water with his sleeve. By the sneer curling his lip, Piper doubted he was a dog person. A satisfied snicker crept up her throat, and she turned to shut off the hose in an attempt to hide it.
“All right,” he said, giving the collie a wide berth. “I think that will be all for now. Thank you for your cooperation, ladies. You’re free to go back into the reception area.”
“Wait a minute,” Piper said. “So that’s it? What happens now?”
“We’ll check into that protester you mentioned and talk to some of your neighbors. See if anyone saw anything last night.”
“That’s if they weren’t the ones who committed the crime to begin with,” Piper muttered.
He pretended not to hear the comment. “Then we’ll file the report. We’ll be in touch if we learn anything.”
“What good is filing a report going to do? You filed one last week and now this happened. What’s going to prevent this kind of thing from happening again? The message said ‘one week.’ What’s next? A drive-by shooting?”
“It may be a scare tactic, but we’ll be keeping a closer eye on the place. All we can do for now is take the evidence back to the lab and process it over the next few days. Hopefully it will tell us more.”
Addison gave up on her pompadour and stood up, brushing her tights off. “Why can’t you do your, you know, CSI thing and track him down, throw him in jail?”
“Yeah, did you find any fingerprints?” Piper asked.
“This isn’t Hollywood,” the officer said. “This is reality. I assume you have people coming and going all the time. There are probably hundreds of fingerprints in this building. And if the perp wore gloves, prints won’t matter. Besides, they didn’t need to break in. They just moved the cardboard covering the hole in the front door to unlock it.”
Piper clenched her teeth wishing the window had been replaced—not that it would have slowed them down much.
“Unless you have more for us to go on,” Officer Tucker continued, “camera footage, even the time that it occurred…” He shrugged. “For now, you’ll have to be patient. These things take time.”
Piper crossed her arms. “So what do we do in the meantime?” She knew most of her attitude was due to frustration over the situation, but his careless attitude wasn’t helping.
Colin could sense Piper’s anxiety, her anger rolling off her in waves to crash against Officer Tucker. The doxie sat by her heels, a low grumble reverberating in his chest. She reminded herself to start training him on those attack commands.
Officer Tucker r
emoved his cap to scratch his head. “You should consider buying a security system for this place, or hiring a security guard company to monitor it.” It sounded more like a reprimand than a suggestion.
“A security guard?” She snorted. “Isn’t that what the police are for?” She felt so much safer knowing he was protecting the city.
Colin gave him a firm woof. Good thing Officer Tucker couldn’t understand what Piper was sure was an expletive.
Zoe, who’d been leaning against the tall fence listening to the exchange, stepped in. “Thank you, Officer.” Although her disappointed tone didn’t exactly relay the gratitude and her icy stare could have cowed a grizzly bear protecting her cubs. “Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help.”
Sidestepping the collie, he went back inside and headed for his squad car. Barrel chest jutting out, Colin plodded after him, escorting him from the premises.
Piper watched the man go, half-considering releasing horny Toby on him. “So I guess we’re on our own.”
“Looks like it,” Zoe said.
Piper took a deep breath, her shoulders automatically kicking back, her chin rising. “It’s fine. We’ll be fine.” It had become something of a mantra of hers lately. As though simply saying it out loud made it true. “Just fine, fine, fine,” she muttered in case it hadn’t worked the first time.
“Have you gotten ahold of Marilyn yet?” Addison asked.
“No. Her cell phone keeps going to voice mail. I can’t remember what time the ship left port. She might already be gone.”
“You could always call the cruise ship itself.”
“I hear that’s expensive. Besides, no one was hurt. I’ll leave her a message, which she can listen to at the next port. I’ll probably downplay most of this because I know how she worries. It will ruin her vacation. Even if she was here, I’m not sure there’s anything more she’d be able to do.”
Piper dreaded the conversation once Marilyn returned her call. She’d handed the keys over to Piper, and within a few hours under her care the place looked like an eighties rock band’s hotel room. She knew it wasn’t her fault, not really, but she didn’t like the timing.
Must Love Wieners Page 11
