Trouble at the Animal Shelter: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

  That was Kelly Reynolds, the owner of Kelly’s Koffee Shop. She’s married to the sheriff that’s handling the murder investigation. I saw him on the news being interviewed about it, and I’d swear that was the same dog I had all the problems with when I was in the old lady’s house. I remember that curled tail. Darned near didn’t make it out of there because of him. She or the sheriff, or maybe both of them, must be suspicious of me.

  She must have brought the dog here to see what his reaction, if any, would be to me, and it certainly wasn’t good. I wonder how much they know? Wish I could leave the store and go home, but I’ve got a delivery coming any minute. It’s a cash delivery, and I’ve got to be here to pay for it when it’s delivered.

  Trash truck comes to the house tomorrow, but that might be too late. Sure wish I’d never put those empty bags that had the dog treats in them in the trash barrel behind the house. I was worried when I put them in there that Amanda would see them and wonder why they were there. Now it looks like her seeing them is the least of my problems.

  Kelly took Chapman to the freeway and drove north. Kelly’s mind was spinning.

  There is no doubt in my mind that Jimmy Richards is the murderer. If Sanyu could talk, I know he would identify him, but if I tell Mike what I just observed, although he may agree with me, he’ll tell me no District Attorney in his right mind would charge a man with murder on evidence that flimsy.

  I’m sure he must have given the dogs treats, so they’d be distracted while he killed Maggie Ryan. He would have needed a lot of treats, and Mike said they found a lot of residue from the treats in the house. So, how did he get rid of the bags? He could have put them in a bin in some shopping center parking lot, but he would have risked being seen. I’ll bet he put them in his own trash barrel at his home.

  “Sanyu, we’re going to the coffee shop and rest for a little while. I’ll give you some water, and I bet I can find a special treat for you. Then when it gets dark you can come with me to the Richards’ house. Kind of interesting that although everything seems to be done on computers these days, a lot of people still list their addresses in an old-fashioned telephone book. I’m sure I can find it. Are you okay with doing that?” The big dog barked, and she was sure he’d understood every word she’d said.

  CHAPTER 27

  Mike was on his way home when the phone in his car rang. “This is Sheriff Reynolds.”

  “Sheriff, it’s Brandon. We just had a call that I thought might be of interest to you. A man called in and said he’d seen you on the television interview you did earlier today when you were asking people to call the station if they knew anything about the murder. You also mentioned that over thirty dogs were in the house and if anyone knew anything about that to call.”

  “Go ahead. I’m heading for home. Do I need to stop by the station on the way?”

  “You can decide after you hear this. Here’s the thing. This guy was jogging with his dog around 6:30 the night of the murder. He told me he and his dog always run the same route which includes looping around a local neighborhood shopping center. When they got to the back of the shopping center he saw a man dressed in black opening the trunk of his car. He said it stuck in his mind because he thought what was in the trunk was really strange.”

  “I’ll bite,” Mike said. “What was in it?”

  “The guy said there was a wire cart, kind of like you sometimes see senior citizens use at the supermarket, plus there were several huge empty bags in the trunk of his car. It looked like this guy was getting ready to throw the empty bags in a trash dumpster next to his parked car, but here’s the real kicker. The empty bags were for a certain type of dog treat. The bags have a distinctive color and logo on them, and the jogger recognized the brand because it’s the same brand of treats he gives his dog. When the man spotted the jogger, he closed the trunk, and sped away without throwing anything in the dumpster. He didn’t think much about it until he saw you on TV. What do you think?”

  Mike was quiet for a few long moments as the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in his mind. “Brandon, did he say what the guy looked like or if he could identify him?”

  “Yes. The guy was in his mid-forties, about six feet tall with dark hair. He was wearing jeans. The jogger said he got a very good look at his face, and he’d be able to identify him.”

  “Brandon, I’m pulling over, and I’m going to send you a photograph of a man. Call the jogger back and send it to him. See if it’s the same man and get back to me immediately. I also want you to get Judge Hilken’s phone number. I may need him to issue a search warrant. I’ll wait for your call.”

  Within minutes the phone in Mike’s car rang. He saw Brandon’s name on the screen. “What did you find out, Brandon?”

  “It’s the same guy. He positively identified him. Here’s Judge Hilken’s home number as well as his number at the courthouse. What do you want me to do?”

  “Stay where you are. I’ll be at the station in a few minutes. I want you to call the trash company and see what day they pick up trash at Jimmy Richards’ home. His address is in the Ryan file on my desk.” Mike called the judge on his way to the station and convinced him that although he had quite a bit of circumstantial evidence, he needed a search warrant for Jimmy Richards’ home and premises. The judge told him he’d grant it, and Mike could pick it up at the judge’s home in about half an hour.

  Mike drove to the station, picked up Brandon, and headed for the judge’s home. “Brandon, what did you find out about the trash pick-up?”

  “Tomorrow is the scheduled day for that neighborhood. Why, do you think this Richards guy has something in his trash?”

  “If you were surprised putting something in a shopping center trash bin, wouldn’t the logical place for you to get rid of it be to put it in your own trash barrel at home?”

  “Yeah, I guess it would. So, are we going to do a trash barrel dive? I’m not quite dressed for that.”

  “I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do, but my gut feeling tells me we’re on the right track, and I’ve learned to trust it.”

  “Well, from what I saw at the murder scene in that house, I hope your gut is right.”

  CHAPTER 28

  After stopping at Judge Hilken’s home and picking up the search warrant he’d authorized, Mike and Brandon drove to the street where Jimmy Richards lived and easily found his home. It was a tired looking house badly in need of some tender loving care. They drove down the street, turned right, and then made another right to see what was behind the house. After Mike had picked up Brandon, he’d driven his patrol car to his house and exchanged it for his van. He didn’t know what to expect, but a patrol car was a dead giveaway that law enforcement personnel were looking at something in the neighborhood.

  The Richards home backed up to an empty lot which was unfenced, and the back yard of the Richards home didn’t look much better than the vacant lot. Weeds took the place of grass, and no attempt had been made to make it attractive. There were several abandoned cars parked in the empty lot along with all sorts of urban trash. Although it was quite dark, Mike could see that the only things separating the Richards’ back yard from the empty lot were three large trash barrels belonging to the Richards home.

  Mike pulled into the empty lot and exclaimed, “What the blazes…” He abruptly stopped his van when he saw Kelly’s minivan parked in the vacant lot with an Akita dog sitting in the passenger seat with the window rolled down. The big dog looked at Mike briefly and then directed his attention back to the area of the trash barrels.

  “Something wrong, Sheriff?” Brandon asked in a whisper.

  “Yes. The minivan over there is my wife’s. She has a tendency to get involved in my cases. I have no idea what the dog is doing sitting inside her minivan. Open your door as quietly as you can…”

  As he was saying that the back door of the Richards home flew open, and Jimmy Richards came charging out of the house brandishing a gun and yelling, “Get out of that trash
barrel, Kelly. I know you figured everything out. I’m going to take care of you just like I took care of Maggie Ryan.”

  Mike stood next to his van and yelled, “Drop your gun. Police.”

  At that moment, the big dog in Kelly’s minivan jumped out of the open window, ran towards Richards, who was looking in Mike’s direction, and leaped on him, causing him to drop the gun in his hand and knock him to the ground. When the gun hit the ground it harmlessly discharged with a loud bang. Sanyu stood over him, snapping and snarling in a threatening manner, his huge open mouth only inches from Jimmy Richards’ throat.

  “Mike, I’m over here,” Kelly yelled. Mike ran towards her and yelled for Brandon to handcuff Jimmy.

  “Kelly, what in the devil are you doing here? I didn’t even see you.”

  “I heard a car drive onto the lot, and I didn’t want to be seen by anyone, so I hid between two of the trash barrels. I was having a hard time getting the lid off of one of the barrels, and I think Jimmy heard it.”

  “Are you all right?” he said squatting down to where she was sitting on the ground and wrapping his strong arms around her.

  “I’m fine Mike. I’m so glad I brought Sanyu with me. I think Jimmy would have killed both of us. Mike, I found three large empty dog treat bags in one of the trash barrels, and when Sanyu and I went to Jimmy’s hardware store…”

  “You what? Never mind. We’ll talk later. Right now, I need to take care of Jimmy.” He called the station and asked for two back-up deputies. He walked over to where Jimmy was laying on the ground with the big dog standing guard over him. “Kelly, would you call this dog off? I think between Brandon and me we have the situation under control.”

  “Sanyu, come.” The big Akita walked over to where Kelly was sitting on the ground and sat down next to her. She patted his head and said, “Good boy, Sanyu, good boy.”

  “Jimmy Richards, I’m arresting you for the murder of Maggie Ryan,” Mike said.

  Just then the back door to the house opened and a woman wearing a nondescript dress with grey-blond hair walked out. “What’s going on out here? I was watching television when I heard shouting and what sounded like a gunshot. Jimmy, what are you doing laying there on the ground?”

  “Amanda, tell them I was home the night of the murder of that old woman who had the dogs. You know I was. We were watching television together after dinner. Remember?”

  Amanda Richards quickly assessed the situation and realized her worst fears had just come true. Her husband was the person who had murdered Maggie Ryan because of an incident that had occurred over ten years earlier. She looked down at Jimmy and then looked over at Mike. “Sheriff, Jimmy’s lying. He was gone from the house about the time I read in the paper that Maggie Ryan was murdered. If you need me to testify, I will. The only good thing to come out of this is that he won’t be beating me up anymore.”

  Mike’s two backup deputies raced up to the house in a patrol car and ran into the back yard. “Take him down to the station and read him his Miranda rights. Brandon and I will be there shortly.” He walked over to the trash barrels and said, “Kelly, which one has the dog treat bags in it?”

  She pointed to the one in the middle and then said, “They’re under one of those carts like older people use at the supermarket. You know, people pull them along behind them.”

  “Yes, and that means Shannon Lewis was right. She did see the murderer, Jimmy, dragging a cart behind him. Just wish she could have seen him well enough to identify him. Brandon, get a couple of large evidence bags out of my van and put the cart and the empty dog treat bags in them. We need to take them to the station and log them in as evidence.”

  He walked over to where Sanyu was sitting by Kelly and patted the big dog on the head. “Kelly, I thought we’d agreed on no more dogs. Where did he come from?”

  “Mike, it’s a long story. A really long story, but he’s not mine. I’ll take him back to where he belongs just as soon as I leave here, I promise.”

  “You do that, and I’ll see you at home later, and Kelly, I’m glad you’re all right,” he said as he pulled her up from where she was sitting on the ground.

  “Me too.”

  CHAPTER 29

  “Hi, Jenna,” Kelly said as she and Sanyu walked into the animal shelter after they’d driven there from the Richards home. “I can’t thank you enough for loaning Sanyu to me. I wish I could keep him, but Mike is adamant that three dogs in our household is enough.”

  “I have no idea why you wanted to borrow him, but I’m glad I could help.”

  “Actually, Sanyu was responsible for saving my life as well as Mike’s, and he helped Mike catch Maggie Ryan’s murderer.”

  “What?” Jenna screamed. “What are you talking about?”

  “It will probably be on the news tonight and in the paper tomorrow. Sanyu is a real hero. Matter of fact, you may have some reporters here pretty soon. I would imagine there are going to be a lot of people who’ll want to adopt Sanyu when they hear about it, so you better get ready for them as well. I’ve got to get home. It’s been a long day.” She walked over to Sanyu, knelt down, and said, “Thank you for saving our lives, big fella. I don’t think the case would have been solved without you.” She stood up, waved goodbye to both of them, and walked out the door.

  I know it sounds ridiculous, because people consider me to be a good cook, but all I want tonight is comfort food. I’m going to make us hamburgers along with macaroni and cheese. Might even have a chocolate sundae for dessert.

  When she got home she changed her clothes, fed the dogs, prepped the food for dinner, and waited for Mike. She was dreading the coming conversation she knew she was going to have with him. An hour later she heard his car pull into the garage, and she mentally braced herself.

  “Hey, everybody, I’m home. Kelly, where are you?”

  “I’m in here. Mike, before you get mad at me I want to explain what happened.”

  “That would be nice, considering I felt like I’d been blindsided when I saw your minivan in the empty lot with a dog I didn’t recognize inside it.”

  She told him everything that had happened from the time he’d left the coffee shop after lunch to when she’d seen him at Jimmy Richards’ home. She explained how she was convinced, after the conversation with Doc and hearing how Max had reacted to Jimmy, that the murderer could be identified by a dog. She said she was pretty sure it was Jimmy, but since there were two other solid suspects, she needed to make sure. Once she’d seen Sanyu’s reaction to Jimmy, she knew her theory about the dog treats, along with the evidence found in the house, was solid.

  “Mike, honest, I was just trying to help. I was really sure that if I could find the dog treat bags, along with Sanyu’s behavior towards Jimmy, it would be enough for you to arrest him. I would have made it if it hadn’t been for the noise from the trash barrel lid I had trouble getting off. Please don’t be angry with me,” she said, looking at him as innocently as it was possible for her to look.

  “Kelly, I’d be less than honest if I told you that I wasn’t angry with you, but the reason I’m angry with you, and the reason I don’t want you involved in my cases is that you almost got killed tonight. If it hadn’t been for that dog and me showing up at the right moment, I’m not sure what would have happened to you. Just the thought of what could have happened to you makes me sick with worry.”

  “But Mike, you have to look at the positive side. I’m here, and you caught the killer. That’s pretty much a win-win in my book, but I would like to know how you happened to show up at the exact moment I needed you.”

  “I know, Kelly, you’re a glass half-full person, and that’s one of the things I love most about you. As to how I got there when I did…” He related the chain of events that had happened that afternoon, concluding with getting the search warrant from the judge.

  “Well, I think we’ve both had enough excitement for one day. I’ll make you a deal, actually it’s a deal we pretty much do every night. I’ll cook i
f you clean up, and then I’m going to bed.”

  “Deal, and I’ll be right behind you.”

  She’d just turned the oven on when her cell phone range. She looked at the monitor and saw it was Roxie. “Roxie, I hope you have good news about Betsy.”

  “The best, Kelly, the best. Dr. Simpson says he was able to remove the entire tumor, and she’s going to be fine. He even did some more biopsies on the surrounding tissue and they were all benign. We had to promise we’d keep her quite for awhile, but we get to bring her home in three days. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it.”

  “Enjoy your evening, Roxie, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “How come you didn’t tell her about what you were up to tonight?” Mike asked.

  “I wanted her to just have this evening to celebrate. I’ll tell her about it tomorrow, and I’m sure it will be the main topic of conversation at the coffee shop.”

  “Of that I have no doubt,” Mike said.

  CHAPTER 30

  Kelly was right. The following day was as busy at the coffee shop as the previous ones had been with everyone wanting to talk to Kelly about her part in apprehending Maggie Ryan’s murderer. The night before, just as she and Mike were finishing up dinner, the press had come to their home, taken photographs, and fed their interview to the area television stations. The story was on all of the late news channels and there were pictures of Kelly, Mike, and Sanyu. The local newspaper had run a front page story that morning about how Jimmy Richards was apprehended, including a big photograph of Sanyu. Kelly and Mike figured it had been a slow news day.