Mission Impawsible

by Krista Davis

Dave scrambled to his feet. Speaking sternly and shaking his forefinger at them, he said, “I’m letting you off with a warning this time, but such behavior will not be tolerated in the future.”

  Huey sat very properly, didn’t take his eyes off Dave, and offered his right paw.

  “Okay, all is forgiven, pal.” Dave shook his paw, dug treats for everyone out of his pocket, and rubbed Huey’s head. “But I’m not forgiving that woman who called nine-one-one and woke me for this!”

  Sky flushed red. “I’m so sorry. That was my roommate. It won’t happen again.”

  When Dave left, I locked the door behind him.

  Sky escorted Duchess upstairs, with Huey trailing along behind them.

  I swept the floor of the pantry and put away the remaining kibble.

  When I closed the door, I made very sure the latch caught properly. Gingersnap and Trixie lay just outside the door as though they were waiting for me. Huey had returned and waited by the stairs. “Everybody up to bed.”

  They raced up the stairs ahead of me. I picked up Twinkletoes and Marmalade and carried them, huffing and puffing. On the second floor, I made a brief detour to Oma’s quarters to be sure her door was closed. Just as I expected, it stood ajar.

  I set the cats down and tiptoed inside to check that she was all right. Even though the room was dark, I could make out the sound of soft snoring. I left Gingersnap inside and locked the door behind me.

  I picked up the cats again and carried them. Halfway to the third floor, I wished I had taken the elevator. It felt like each of the cats gained a pound with every step I took. When everyone was safely in my quarters, I locked the door and double-checked the hidden dog door in my dining room. It was still closed.

  Now I was seriously miffed with Ben. I could only imagine that he hadn’t shut the door properly when he’d returned. But that didn’t explain how Lulu, Duchess, or Gingersnap had managed to join in the fun.

  Glad that everyone was safe, I went back to bed but slept lightly, jerking awake at every tiny sound.

  I gave up on sleeping when the sun rose, and I opened the French doors to my balcony. The chill in the early morning air didn’t stop me from taking in the view.

  Below me, early risers jogged with their dogs. A few walked cats, or sat on benches enjoying coffee.

  Only the bakeries, coffee shops, and a couple of cafés were open at this hour. In the distance, the sun caught the mountains, bringing the lush greens of the trees to life.

  Trixie turned her head, and with the tiniest, joyous yap, she ran through the apartment. I knew what that was about. Mr. Huckle delivered tea or coffee and prebreakfast treats five mornings a week.

  The tiny old man stooped slightly but always looked impeccable in his formal butler’s attire. After decades of service, through no fault of his own, he had lost his position as the butler of the wealthiest man in Wagtail. Oma had offered the wizened fellow a job. I couldn’t imagine what might have happened to him otherwise. He was a wonderful addition to the staff. He walked dogs, brushed cats, delivered room service, filled in at the front desk, and even waited on tables when needed. Not to mention the personal favors he gladly undertook for our guests. Small wonder that they raved about him.

  He set the tray down on the kitchen counter and slipped Trixie and Huey treats. “Miss Holly! You’re up early. Is Mr. Ben awake as well?” He poured a cup of tea for me and added sugar and a splash of milk.

  “I don’t think so.” I sipped the tea. “This is perfect. Thank you, Mr. Huckle.”

  “My pleasure, Miss Holly. I hear there was something of a raid on the pantry last night.”

  I shot Trixie and Huey a dirty look. “I can’t imagine how they got in there. Probably a combination of lucky breaks. Doors that weren’t properly closed or something.”

  “Is it true that there was a murder in the Shire?” He asked it with dignified casualness, as though he were inquiring about the weather.

  “I’m afraid so. Are people gossiping about it already?”

  “As you know, I don’t gossip.”

  I almost spewed my tea. He was as guilty of gossip as everyone else.

  “Then how do you know about it?” I asked.

  “Officer Dave arrived first thing this morning to speak with your grandmother. Do we need to provide an alibi for her?”

  “Mr. Huckle! It’s nothing like that.” At least I hoped it wasn’t. “The victim was supposed to be a guest at the inn and had a letter from Oma in his pocket. That’s all. He never checked into the inn.”

  “That’s a relief. Though I don’t like having another murderous scoundrel on the loose in Wagtail. They say his wallet was stolen. I fear it could be one of the thieves from Snowball moving in on unsuspecting Wagtail tourists. We must put a stop to that immediately.” He took his leave.

  Feeling guilty for having it so good, I savored the creamy chocolate in the fresh-from-the-oven croissant he had brought.

  I poured a second cup of tea, then showered and dressed in a navy-and-white-striped summer dress that I particularly liked because the broad stripes were on an angle that was slenderizing and becoming. The full skirt came to the top of my knees, which I liked because I often had to bend to pick up animals and things people had dropped or left behind in the inn. Short skirts were not practical in my job.

  The green T-shirt lay on my bed. I picked it up to examine it more closely. One of the dogs must have dragged it out of Ben’s room and played tug with it. I looked at Trixie. “Is this your way of telling Ben you don’t like him? Huey, did you have anything to do with this?”

  Huey cocked his head and wagged his tail. Too bad he’d been assigned to Ben. After the big middle-of-the-night feast, Huey had slept with us instead of with Ben. I sighed about it, but it didn’t come as a surprise. Huey must have picked up on Ben’s lack of interest in him immediately. Dogs are very perceptive about people. Fortunately, WAG didn’t kill animals. He would be safe there when he went back. I made up my mind to keep an eye out for a potential new person for him.

  I tossed the shirt on a chair. I would have to pick up a replacement in town.

  I applied a little eye makeup, tied my medium brown hair back in a sleek ponytail, added dangling earrings, and slid my feet into white sandals. “Everyone ready to go?” I asked.

  I carried the leash in my hand, wondering if I dared let Huey run loose with Trixie. Would he come if I called?

  I opened the pet door and told the cats, “I think you had better eat downstairs this morning. Marmalade’s mom will be looking for him.”

  They didn’t seem upset by that and left with the rest of us, gladly springing down the stairs with the dogs.

  The dining area was already packed. Hard as it was to walk by the smell of coffee and sizzling bacon, I accompanied the dogs outside.

  Gingersnap already lay on the front porch, her favorite location. I suspected Gingersnap thought she would receive the most attention from guests there. But with no one around at the moment, she gladly accompanied us to the doggy toilet area around the side of the inn.

  Two men in Indiana Jones–style fedoras waited for their dogs to do their business. As we neared, I recognized the dogs as Lulu and Duchess.

  One of the men stood with his back to me but waved his hand around as he talked. Large diamond rings caught the sun’s rays.

  I cracked up laughing. It was Sky and Nessie, wearing jeans, men’s shirts, and fedoras.

  “Oh, look, Lulu,” cried Nessie. “Here come the friends who got you into so much trouble last night.”

  Lulu and Duchess greeted the other dogs with great excitement.

  “Think they’re planning another escapade?” Sky watched them with suspicion.

  “Don’t even suggest it!” Nessie held up her palm in protest. “No more sleepless nights. I have enough worries about my daughter.”

  “N
ot that it’s any of my business but why are you dressed this way?” I hoped I didn’t sound rude.

  Nessie mimicked a melody that sounded very familiar. “Dun dun, dun dun dun dun . . . ‘Your mission, should you choose to accept it . . .’” Nessie and Sky laughed.

  “You’re too young to remember Mission Impossible, the TV show,” said Sky. “Isn’t this a stitch? We had the same idea and packed men’s attire. Can you imagine, we even bought exactly the same hat online for this trip, thinking we could sneak around and spy on our daughters better.”

  Nessie pulled her hat down over her forehead a little more. “I think we make pretty good men. We’re two moms engaged in Mission Impawsible!”

  I wondered if I should mention that the dazzling rings Nessie wore might give her true identity away. Maybe not. She was having fun. It wasn’t as though she was a real spy going into enemy territory.

  An unfamiliar dog barreled toward us. The shaggy little dog had clearly gotten away from someone.

  “Oh no!” Sky handed me Duchess’s leash and ran like crazy.

  Ten

  Sky wasn’t fast enough to outrun the determined black and gray dog. When the dog caught up to her and jumped playfully, Sky ducked behind a nearby hedge.

  “Atticus! Atticus!” A young blonde woman ran toward us. “Have you seen a little dog run by?”

  Nessie pointed in the wrong direction. “He was chasing a rabbit and went that way.”

  “Thanks!” The woman kept running.

  “I’d have known Sky’s daughter anywhere,” whispered Nessie. “She’s not as thin as her mom, but otherwise she looks just like her.” She lowered her voice further and whispered, “Right down to the scruffy hair in dire need of conditioner.”

  Sky peeped over the hedge. “Psst. Here, hold on to Atticus and call her back.”

  “Honey? Maddie? We found Atticus!” called Nessie.

  I grabbed Atticus and snapped the leash onto his collar. Sky crouched behind the hedge again.

  Maddie returned, panting. “Thank you so much!” She swapped her leash for mine and handed it to me. “Oh, Atticus,” she cooed, “you’ll get lost if you run off like that. And that would make me very, very sad.” She picked him up and held him close. “He’s usually so well behaved. I don’t know what came over him.”

  “I’m glad we were able to catch him.” Nessie was right. Up close, the resemblance to Sky was remarkable.

  Maddie stopped fussing over Atticus and studied Nessie. “Do I know you?”

  Nessie held out her hand. “I don’t believe so. I’m Nessie Jamieson, and this is Holly Miller.”

  Maddie eyed us. She maintained a pleasant expression but asked, “Then how did you know my name?”

  Nessie’s smile faded fast. “The tag on Atticus’s collar.”

  “I see. Well, thanks again for catching him for me.” Maddie walked away, glancing back at us a few times.

  “That was close! How stupid of me to have called her by her name.” Nessie sighed with relief.

  Sky joined us again. “I don’t think I have the nerves to be a spy. I should have realized that Atticus would give me away. I need a strong cup of coffee.”

  We all returned to the dining area. Nessie and Sky opted for a table outside on the patio overlooking the lake. I made a beeline to Oma, who sat at a table with Officer Dave.

  I scooted into a chair without asking if I could join them, hoping Oma and Dave would be less likely to shoo me away if I simply sat down.

  Oma’s floral dress in happy shades of pink and yellow contrasted with her worried face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  Oma frowned. “Dave says the egg and avocado toast is delicious.”

  She’d sidestepped my question, and I didn’t like that at all.

  Dave glanced at her. “I’ve been hearing about avocado toast. It’s supposed to be very healthy, and it tastes better than I expected.” He took a swig of coffee and started to say something else but stopped when Shelley came along with coffee for me.

  A proper breakfast was one of the many luxuries of living in an inn. No more hurried yogurt or dry toast on the run. Not to mention the bliss of not having to sit in traffic for an hour to get to work.

  “Avocado toast special?” asked Shelley.

  “Yes. Thanks, Shelley.” Buttercup placed her front paws on the edge of my seat as though she didn’t want me to forget her. “Is there a dog version?”

  “They weren’t excited about it, but dogs love it now that we swapped the avocado out for chicken livers,” she said.

  Trixie yelped and danced in a circle. “Sounds perfect. For Huey and Gingersnap too, please. Have you seen Twinkletoes and her friend, Marmalade?”

  “Oh, sure. Twinkletoes brought him by for breakfast. I gave them Loverly Liver, which is a fancy way of saying chicken livers and chicken. Last I saw of them, they were out on the terrace lounging in the sun.”

  What had happened to Marmalade’s mom? She had probably been out late partying and was still catching up on beauty sleep.

  As soon as Shelley left, I demanded, “What’s the big secret?”

  “It’s not really a secret. We just don’t want this getting around town,” Dave said. “I like Shelley a lot, but, you know, she sees and talks with a lot of people.”

  In other words, Shelley was a gossip. “So what’s up?”

  “We think Gustav must have been mugged, because his wallet and money are missing,” Dave said. “If it hadn’t been for the letter from your grandmother, we wouldn’t even know his identity. He was probably on his way over to the Alley Cat and someone was lying in wait. You know how poor the lighting is there.”

  I looked at Oma. “Why would that have to be such a big secret?”

  “I am not the one who wishes this.” Her lips drew thin in annoyance.

  After I’d joined Oma as her partner at the Sugar Maple Inn, she had run for mayor and won. I was happy for her, but it meant that all of tiny Wagtail’s problems were her problems, too. And to some extent, my problems, since she expected me to help her.

  “We’re going to bring undercover cops over from Snowball to patrol there for the next few nights in the hope of catching our killer. Obviously, if word got out about that, the killer wouldn’t lurk around in the Shire.”

  “You really think he’d go back to the same place?” I asked. “Seems kind of stupid to me. I’d be glad I got away with it once and wouldn’t try again.”

  Dave almost smiled. “Criminals usually don’t think these things through. If they did, they wouldn’t commit a crime in the first place.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. Have you notified Gustav’s family?”

  Oma placed her palm flat against her cheek. “All we have are his mail and e-mail addresses. I know that he has a daughter named Trudy and a son called Michael. But that doesn’t help much.”

  “I’ll be contacting the police in Tucson, where he lives. Lived,” Dave corrected himself. “They can probably help us track down his next of kin.”

  Shelley arrived with breakfast for Trixie, Huey, Gingersnap, and me.

  Dave thanked Oma for breakfast and excused himself.

  I hated seeing my grandmother so down. “Oma, we’ve been through these kinds of things before. Dave will get to the bottom of it.”

  Oma shook her head in dismay. “Another murder in Wagtail. And it was someone who was supposed to be a guest of the inn. This is very bad.”

  “I’m sure Dave will catch him.”

  Oma changed the subject and got down to business while I savored the creaminess of the avocado, which went surprisingly well with the soft egg yolk. “I have a meeting this morning,” she said. “You can take care of everything here and fill in for Zelda when she goes to lunch?”

  “Absolutely. Is this a mayoral-type meeting, or are you participating in on
e of Macon’s events?”

  Oma didn’t laugh. “Please. Of course it is about Wagtail.”

  “Oma, what’s wrong?” I stopped eating and looked her in the eyes.

  She averted her gaze. “You like this John Adele?”

  “I don’t really know him very well. So far our relationship consists of finding a dead man together.”

  “Lesser things have helped couples bond. And he is better than the Ben. Where is the Ben?”

  “Probably still in bed. Did you hear about the dogs getting into the food?”

  My description of the pantry raid in the middle of the night had her in stitches. I was glad to see a smile return to her face.

  “I can only think that Ben didn’t close the door properly. Otherwise I can’t imagine how they managed to get out.”

  “But this does not explain the presence of the other dogs, like my Gingersnap.”

  “It’s a mystery!”

  Oma seemed more like herself when she headed off to her meeting.

  But I was disturbed because so many doors had been opened during the night. Almost as though someone had gained access to the master key. Ben stumbled down the stairs and joined me. He’d visited often enough that Shelley came over to say hi and bring him coffee.

  After she left with his order, I told him about the dogs escaping, and concluded with, “So one of us must not have closed the door properly.”

  Ben grimaced. “You’re so passive-aggressive. Just come out and say I didn’t shut the door. I admit that I came in a little late, and I might have had—”

  “May I join you?” I hadn’t noticed Laura Pisani, Marmalade’s mom.

  “Yes, of course.” I started to introduce her to Ben, but she interrupted me.

  “We’ve met. We had the best time last night.”

  I was stunned to see Ben blush. He actually ran his hands through his hair like he was primping for her. I wouldn’t have admitted it to him, but it did feel a little odd to see my former boyfriend interested in another woman. Still, as they carried on, laughing about something like old friends, I was genuinely happy for him. Laura was very attractive. Maybe she even had a slightly nerdy side.