Case of the Hot Dog

by Erik Schubach

  Jess, ever helpful – not – blurted out with a smirk on her own face as she stood too, “They have apple juice.”

  Winnie cocked an eyebrow at the tall redhead, an implied question in her eyes, as I glared a 'not helping' toward said redhead.

  I headed to the kitchen to retrieve water as I called out while Mrs. May hugged Garrett and Becky,

  “Winfred May, this is Jessie Freeman. Jess, Fin's mom.”

  Jessie smiled and offered a hand, I cringed when Winnie arched her brow again to look between Jess and me, why did I feel so guilty? I didn't do anything! “The ex?”

  Jessie chuckled and said, “Yes, the ex. Just here for moral support, Finnegan is my friend too.”

  Then she added with a sly grin when Winnie still didn't shake her offered hand, “Don't worry, I've more of a chance with Fin now than Jane. But I'm no poacher... unless Officer Dense there doesn't make her move soon.” Then she segued with a mischievous grin on her face, “You make some pretty kids.”

  Just take my service weapon and shoot me now. Bang, plop. Someone remind me, why did I ever date that woman?

  Winnie chuckled as she finally shook her hand and said to Jess while she looked pointedly at me.

  “Thank you, Jessie. At least 'someone' here has good sense.”

  Oh right, that's why, she could charm the fleas off a dog. And shouldn't Fin's mom be trying to warn me off as a suitor for her daughter, not trying to marry us off? I flushed at that thought. Not a time for daydreams, Jane. But Finnegan in a white wedding dress? Damn.

  I grinned when Jess rubbed the side of her hand after they were done shaking. As odd as it sounds, Finnegan's mom had a surprisingly firm handshake. Among her other unorthodox hobbies, the slight woman was, of all things, the Liberty ladies arm wrestling champion for six years running.

  I brought over the water and then she stole my chair, and Calvin, the traitor, laid at her feet. So I wedged myself between Jess and Becky on the couch. Gar, the perve, leaned forward a bit and wiggled his brows at my position. Fine, I'm a perve too since I grinned back at the man. Bek, quick on the uptake muttered playfully as she rolled her eyes, “Men.” What? I felt like a Jane sandwich there between two gorgeous women. Zip it, I'm not dead.

  I pointed to the dachshund as he hopped back up on Becky's lap and curled in, “The little guy is Oscar.” I was never going to call him Burt. God, Fin was going to be devastated when Nadine's family flew in from Austria, she already loved the little guy.

  I explained everything we knew about Fin's disappearance... which was next to nothing, and what we were doing to find her. Our hands were pretty much tied until tomorrow.

  I always felt like the calm one in any room. Taking in a situation and being the calming factor for those around me. But mom's have decades of experience at that same art, and I found Winnie was taking charge as she saw what we were all doing. “Well while you kids go through her contacts, I'll whip something up in the kitchen, you can't work on an empty stomach.”

  I got 'the glare' when I tried to rise to help. I swallowed and gave her a silly grin which got me a crooked smile from her.

  I extracted myself from the sandwich position to reclaim my chair, the ladies grinning at me. I returned the grin, noting just how comfortable Oscar was with Becky, curled into a tight ball on her lap and actually snoring.

  As we made calls, I noted Winnie looking at all the labels on the shelves and food, I don't know what she thought as she said absently toward the living room, “You're really good for her.” Was she talking to me?

  Then she called out to the group while she started mixing ingredients in a bowl as she set the oven to preheat, “She'll probably walk through the door at any moment. This isn't the first time our girl has gone missing, now is it Gar?”

  I looked from her to Garrett, he sighed shaking his head. This has happened before? I can't believe she'd leave an injured, Calvin. That dog was her life.

  I tilted my head in question, and Garrett squirmed in his seat a bit and looked at his mom, “No, it isn't. But that was different mom. You were just being overprotective.”

  Why did I feel like I was suddenly in the middle of a family squabble? A patient looking Rebecca who just kept making calls told me she knew the story. Jess, always the rebel was grinning, eager to hear what they agreed to disagree on, leaning forward in anticipation, her arms on her knees.

  He sighed as he noted my and Jess' attention on him. “She never really was missing. She's just, well she's just Fin, and mom is a worry wart.”

  I heard the spoon scraping the mixing bowl stop, and I was afraid to look back. Winnie said in a patient tone full of warning, “Now tell the story right, or I will.”

  He closed his eyes, sighed in resignation then opened his eyes, and made sure his mom could see him looping a finger around his temple, indicating his assertion of his mom's mental state as he muttered, “Fine,” to her grinning amusement.

  Then he added as a disclaimer, “I have to admit, I was marginally worried myself.” Then he organized his thoughts and began.

  Chapter 8 – Finnegan Takes Manhattan

  He chuckled, running his hand through his curly mop of hair. “Who would have known that in just one day, Flea would pretty much own the big city everyone thought would eat her alive?” There was that undertone of pride that always colored his voice whenever he spoke of his twin sister. From what I have seen, he's never doubted her strength where others faltered because she seems so fragile and almost innocent at times.

  The man said toward the kitchen, saying the first part loudly to tease his mother, “It was the day Fin was moving to the big city after she got her bachelors degree from the local community college.

  Mom was a mess.”

  He looked fondly toward where some pretty savory smells of meats and spices were coming from,

  “She shouldn't have been. There isn't a woman more organized in this world than Finnegan.”

  Grinning at the memory, he explained, “She had been, meticulously gathering weeklies from the city and organizing them into a wedding planner style book. Three primary rooms for let highlighted and meetings with the renters scheduled. I'm pretty sure she laminated those clippings. She had four backup apartments lined up. Each categorized and ranked according to their locations and accessibility to Central Park and the most upper-class residences in Manhattan as well as facilities and public transport.”

  The man shook his head. “She told us her plan one day, that she wanted to start her own business in New York City. We all thought it would have something to do with animals, her studies were focused that way. She loved animals and simply adored our dog, Puddles. I originally thought she would take veterinary medicine after her bachelors, but she had other plans.”

  He chuckled and laid back on the couch, shaking his head as he draped one arm around Becky's shoulders. “Imagine our reactions when she pulled out a scrapbook and laid out her plans to become a dog walker, of all things, in Manhattan. We were thinking she was just being Fin, she loves dogs. That is until she laid out everything in meticulous detail. Imagine our shock when she showed us how much dog walkers could make.”

  Garrett shrugged as Bek reached up to her shoulder with one hand and took his hand. “She had everything laid out almost to the minute. This grand five-year plan of hers. It was all pie in the sky stuff, like owning her own apartment in one of the most crowded and expensive cities in the world.”

  He motioned his free hand around to the apartment we sat in which Fin owned.

  He said with a smirk toward his mother, “Mom was scared to death, thinking New York City would eat her alive. But I knew she could at least make a decent go of it. Flea is fearless. But not even I

  knew that five minutes after she hit the city that she'd own it.”

  Eyes creased in the memory he squished his lips to one side of his face, something that mirrored one of his sister's expressions. “Mom tried to get her to postpone until she had a place secured, but Fin was so adam
ant and sure that she'd have a room by the end of the day, holding her five year plan up as if it were indisputable proof. She wouldn't even accept a ride from me. Me being mom's insurance policy that she'd have Fin back home for supper and forget all that big city nonsense.”

  Winnie chastised, pointing a wooden spoon at him, “Don't judge young man, she's my baby girl.

  Until you have one of your own, you couldn't possibly understand.”

  The man chuckled and said, “So mom made her promise to call when she was situated... or needed a ride back home. We walked her to the bus station, and I remember how proud I was of her when she hugged us and boarded the bus with her single suitcase and her planners under her arm. She waved at us from the back seat and crossed her fingers. I swear I thought I'd have to bring mom to the hospital for hyperventilation when the bus drove off.”

  Something hit the back of his head, he reached back into his curly mop of hair to find a carrot slice, and Winfred pointing a paring knife at him in warning. He ate the carrot slice with a smirk.

  I had to grin at him as he absently played with his new bride's fingers while he pulled the old memory forth. “So, two hours went by and then three, she should have reached the city already. Then noon rolled around, and we still hadn't heard from Fin. Mom was so worried I finally broke and called after she prompted me the twentieth time. It rang straight through to voicemail.”

  He looked a little sheepish. “I assured mom that she probably just turned her cell off while she interviewed for the rooms she was hoping to rent. For Fin, it would only be the polite thing to do. But after another three hours rolled by and no word from her, mom had me getting in my car and driving to the city to find her, armed with the second copy of her planners that she had left for us... for reference.”

  Jess got a cute grin and questioning eyebrow quirk on her face, Gar snorted and admitted, “Yeah, Fin's a little different sometimes... excessive.”

  Jessie supplied like she was offering a cookie to someone on a diet as she prompted, “Obsessive?”

  Now Bek snorted and pointed at Jess. “You, I like.” God, there were two of them. We were all doomed.

  Garrett, slapped her pointing finger down playfully, giving her a 'bad puppy' scolding look, “Fine...

  evil wenches. She may be a little obsessive compulsive at times, but we all have our own damage now don't we?”

  Jess nodded. “Word.”

  Ok, it was apparently my turn to snort as I asked, “Word? Really? And I dated you? What was I

  thinking?”

  Winfred called out as Jess' grin got all toothy, her eyes twinkling in amusement, “Just ignore them, Jane dear.” I gave her a thumbs up without looking. At least someone had sense.

  He continued as if not interrupted, “So mom, worried out of her gourd stayed home to man the phones while she sent me to Manhattan to look for her youngest spawn.”

  Winnie offered, “I could see her in the hospital or worse in my mind. We all know how violent the city can be.”

  Garrett said in a patient tone like she hadn't interrupted, “So two hours later, I was pulling into Manhattan. Not knowing where to start. Mom had informed me she was checking the hospitals already. Weird thing is though when I remembered the planner and glanced at it. That's when I wondered why I was so worried? Even if she seems so innocent and naive at times, if anyone could take care of themselves in this world, it was my sis. The world wouldn't dare try to derail her plans, they were laminated.”

  He looked directly at me and said plainly, humor painting his expression, “That's when she called.

  She wanted to know why mom had left so many messages. She had the phone off while she 'got down to business.' She was so excited, explaining how she wowed her new roommates with her organization skills and how she was sure they'd all be best of friends forever.”

  The man chuckled, his eyes glittering with mirth as he shared, “She had apparently run into an older lady who was trying to wrangle her Chinese Shar-Pei, Fiona and get her groceries to her posh condo near Central Park. Sis offered to assist the woman, and took her dog for her as she explained to the woman all about the folds of skin on the breed and what they were originally bred for besides being far too cute.”

  Gar just shook his head and said wistfully, “Only Fin could endear herself to one of the most influential women in Manhattan within hours of arriving. By the time she helped her put her groceries away in her condo, and telling this complete stranger her dreams, Fin had her first dog walking client.

  The woman spread the word for her, and within weeks, Fin was on her way to being the most sought-after dog walker in the city.”

  Hmmm... Fiona? Wasn't the name of the dog Fin helped birth puppies? The owner had sold Fin her parking spot as a parting gift when she moved out of the city. I had to chuckle. Day one, Finnegan takes Manhattan.

  Gar exhaled and finished, “We never told her that I came to the city to 'save' her that day. And look at all she accomplished.” His hands indicated the place and the city beyond, and he hesitated, worry creasing his face as he remembered why we were all there just then.

  Right on cue, Winfred took the sagging atmosphere in the room and pushed it aside, saying, “Come eat children, then we can continue our search.”

  Solemnly, we all nodded and went to see what culinary masterpiece the elder May had whipped up.

  Fin got her skills in the kitchen from her mom, and neither of them used any recipes.

  Chapter 9 – Stampede

  After we ate and continued our calls again, the streetlights outside were coming on as the city prepared its nightly transformation. Manhattan was two different cities by day and night. The bustling metropolis of business and commerce by day, turned into a wonderland of entertainment and nightlife like no other when the sun was down.

  I had a uniform retrieve the Mueller case file from my office and drop it by my place, I wasn't going anywhere while Fin's family was at my place. I couldn't do any more than I had, and I felt utterly helpless while Fin was out there somewhere, so I thought immersing myself in a case would stop me from dwelling on all the what ifs.

  I had even broken my golden rule again when I got down to Jamal Stone in Fin's contacts. The man was a fine looking black man who worked as a doorman at the 855 Building where Garrett and Rebecca lived. Fin owned that apartment too, through Calvin. When Cal's owner had died, she left everything to her dog, and she had named Finnegan as his guardian.

  It still amazed me how Fin ingratiated herself into the lives of everyone she met. And just by being herself, kind and selfless – bullheaded – she wound up thriving in a city that would normally chew up and spit out someone as... pure? As she is.

  Just because she has that big heart of hers, she is becoming a real estate maven without even trying.

  How many twenty-somethings do you know who own two apartments and a parking spot in

  Manhattan?

  God, I was worried.

  I guess that's what drove me to ask Raife to issue a Broken Leash, and then for me to ask Jamal if the network of doormen could keep an eye out for Finnegan. A good chunk of them knew Finnegan on sight. And after the news channel posters and bus advertisements of her standing in the middle of the street, her eyes closed and hand held out in front of a car to stop a murderer from getting away, I was willing to bet a lot more would recognize her now.

  I was amazed what Finnegan did with this group of people that most saw as 'invisible.' And it was equally amazing what they were capable of. The doormen, sanitation engineers, dog walkers, bellhops and maids who were so ubiquitous, a part of the background noise of the city that nobody really seemed to notice them. Invisible. They saw and heard things as people moved about them that most of us aren't privy to.

  Finnegan sees them all, and she utilized their eyes and ears to staggering effect when the whole police department was out scouring the city for Tanya McKnight for the murder of Calvin's owner,

  Abigail Reeves.

  No
rmally, I wouldn't get civilians involved in an investigation, but this technically wasn't one... yet.

  Not until Winnie files a missing persons report after the prerequisite twenty-four hours is up. So this was just friends looking out for another friend who may be in trouble.

  I'm a little ashamed to admit that I get jealous around Jamal. It is obvious that Fin is attracted to him, and he really is a prime specimen of a man. I want her to look at me with that same hungry look she gets when looking at him. I mean, I do catch her giving me some heated looks that have me needing to change my panties from time to time, but I don't think she has come to terms with her attraction, and what it means for her sexuality and sexual identity.

  I'm something new, and it would seriously break my heart if I were to try to take the next step with her just to be her failed experiment in dipping her toes into the rainbow pool. I've seen that sort of thing end badly many times. And I wanted Fin in my life, no matter how combative she is. Heh, she's like a kitten batting at the string.

  I started going over the Mueller case file and some new information and emails on my tablet. The crime techs finished processing Nadine's condo and determined it was likely the scene where the murder took place before she was stuffed in the trunk of her own car. She had underground parking there so the body could be moved without anyone seeing. The place was sterile. It had been thoroughly wiped down and sterilized with bleach everywhere. No signs of a struggle or a single stray fiber or fingerprint on any surface, not even Nadine's. It was obvious something was being covered up.

  So we had a compromised probable crime scene, the location the car was found, which was near a known fence. The car itself, which was wiped down just as meticulously. The coroner even said the dress Miss Mueller was in looked to have been put on her post-mortem, no sexual foul play was found.

  So the murderer thought they may have left some evidence behind on her clothes, so took that too.

  They were good, but no matter how good they are, they always make mistakes. Their mistake was greed... stealing something that would be missed. That diamond studded collar. So I had a good lead.