Paws & Ballroom Blues (A Willow Crossing Mystery Book 2)

by Leona Fox

  “I’m sorry, Don. She just kind of got away from me.”

  “No big deal. I see she’s enjoying the puppies.”

  “That’s actually why I came by. I was hoping to get to see the little girl you were talking about.”

  Looking at the stranger and then back at Don, Ru then said, “I see you’re busy. I can come back.”

  The man next to Don said, “That’s not necessary. We are done here.”

  He turned to Don and said, “Just let me know when you’d like to get started and I will be back.”

  “Thanks. I think I’d like to get it done as soon as possible.”

  “I can get started tomorrow if you’d like.”

  “That would be great. See you tomorrow then.”

  The stranger left and Don said, “That was John. He will be building my new kennels. I can’t wait to get my dogs into something so comfortable for them.”

  Ru noticed the glimmer in his eyes and realized how happy he seemed at the prospect of getting new kennels. He showed her a picture in a brochure.

  “Those are incredible, but they must be expensive.”

  “Normally I wouldn’t be able to spend so much on new kennels, but I won some money in the lottery, so I thought I would splurge a little bit. Nothing is too good for my babies.”

  “That’s great! Congratulations!” She hoped that she was hiding her doubt over the fact that he won the lottery.

  “Thanks.”

  Just then, Leanne drove by and gave her horn a little tap. Both Don and Ru waved and then Ru said, “She looks happy.”

  “She always looks happy.”

  “She and the Mayor must be doing well,” Ru said, hoping to get a reaction out of Don.

  “What do you mean?” He asked, his eyes lighting with fire.

  “I heard they were dating.”

  The fire in his eyes flared and he responded with, “They are not seeing each other.”

  “Well, that’s what I heard.”

  “I’m surprised that you would believe such a rumor.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset you. Listen, maybe I’ll come back to see the puppy. I need to get Opal home for dinner.”

  Without waiting for an answer, Ru went over to Opal and tried detangling her from the mass of puppies she was playing with. The two of them headed home, leaving Don to contemplate what Ru had just said. She found his reaction almost amusing; he definitely didn’t even try to hide his agitation over hearing that Leanne was dating Mayor Espinoza. She found it funny that he lied about how he got the money for the new kennels.

  When Ru got home, Opal immediately went to her bed and passed out while Ru went into the kitchen. Esteban was sitting at the table, and he had a very worried look about him.

  “Papi, what’s wrong?”

  “Griffin came in to finish his dad’s work, so I was able to come home sooner. When I got here,” he paused, sliding a piece of paper toward Ru, “this was on our door.”

  Ru picked up the folded paper and opened it. It read: If you value your pretty little pooch’s life, you will stop butting in where you’re not welcome. Seth Washington is off limits.

  “Oh, my gosh,” Ru said.

  “It was in an envelope, taped to the screen door.”

  “Call Chester; I think he needs to know about this.”

  “You may want to tell him everything you’ve found out, yes?”

  “Yes,” Ru replied, knowing that her husband was right.

  Esteban called Chief Putnam while Ru went to check on Opal. She couldn’t imagine life without her and hated that her digging around was putting her dog’s life in jeopardy. In the ten minutes it took for the Chief to arrive at their house, Ru checked on Opal about twenty times. Once Chief Putnam did arrive, Ru held Opal almost as if to illustrate just how important it was to get to the bottom of the letter’s purpose.

  “So, Ru, Esteban tells me you have been quite the busy little bee. Would you mind filling me in on what you’ve found out?”

  She could sense the slight teasing in his voice, and shot Esteban a little glare before saying, “Well, I don’t really know where to begin.”

  “How about you begin with why you haven’t told me anything you have found out?”

  “I didn’t say anything yet because I had nothing concrete. I found out that … well, actually Esteban found out first … that Leanne wasn’t upset at all over Seth’s murder. I also talked to Mayor Espinoza and he seemed very vague; like he was hiding something. Then I found out that Seth’s will included not only Leanne, but the Mayor and even Don Jacobs.”

  “Esteban was right, you have been busy.”

  “That’s not all.”

  Chief Putnam’s eyes widened and he asked, “You mean there’s more? Do tell.”

  “Don just told me he won a bunch of money in the lottery recently and was having new kennels built. He even showed me a picture of them and I know they will cost a fortune.”

  “When did you see Don?” Esteban asked.

  “I was just there.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I pretended to want to see the puppy. Leanne drove by and I mentioned that she looked happy and that it must be because things are going well with her and Mayor Espinoza.”

  Chief Putnam butts in and says, “Whoa, whoa! Leanne and Mayor Espinoza?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Ru started, “I guess I should have mentioned that. I think the Mayor has a thing for Leanne. And, as it turns out, I think Don does, too, because he was really upset when I mentioned that Leanne was seeing the Mayor.”

  “Well, it seems we have a lot going on and there is a lot I need to think about.”

  “What about the letter, Chief?” Esteban asked Chester.

  “I’ll take that with me and see if we can get some prints off of it.”

  He then turned to Ru and said, “I think this is your cue to lay low and keep yourself out of what happened with Mr. Washington.”

  “I’ll make sure that she does, Chief,” Esteban said.

  “I’ll be good, I promise,” Ru replied, hoping to sound convincing.

  When Chief Putnam left, Ru could tell Esteban still was worried. “Talk to me, Papi.”

  “I don’t like what is going on. I have to work this weekend and I don’t feel comfortable leaving you at home alone; not after finding that letter.”

  “But, Sweetheart, they weren’t threatening me.”

  “I know, but Opal is basically our child, and to get to her, they’d have to go through you.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure? I could just call in, check in. Pete could come in.”

  “No, don’t be silly. I’ll be fine. You need to go to work. We can’t have ignorant people scaring us into not living life.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Knowing that Esteban felt at least a little bit better, they attempted to enjoy the rest of their evening by ordering pizza and cuddling with Opal while watching their favorite show. That didn’t stop Ru from thinking secretly about everything that had happened, and trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

  Chapter 8

  Against his better judgment, Esteban went to work the next day. He took the letter seriously, perhaps more so than Ru, and he didn’t like the idea of Ru being alone. He also felt uncomfortable with the fact that, with him at work, Ru could continue her snooping around.

  “I’m leaving for work,” Esteban said as he came into the kitchen.

  “Okay, Papi.”

  “What do you plan on doing today?”

  “I have to run to the office supply store to pick up some supplies for school, and then I also have to stop off for some catering supplies.”

  “Take Opal with you.”

  “Yes, Dear, I know. I swear, you worry too much! We will be fine, Papi.”

  “Promise you will stay out of trouble?”

  Ru smiles devilishly and says, “Come on! You know that trouble finds me and not the other way around. I’ll try
to be good.”

  Knowing he was fighting a losing battle, Esteban said, “Okay, Mama, just keep your phone with you so I can check in with you.” Esteban kissed his wife and then bent down and kissed Opal.

  “See you girls later!”

  “We love you!” Ru shouted after him as he went out the back door.

  “Did you hear him, Opal?” Ru asked the dog. “He thinks we are gonna go snooping around again.”

  Opal snorted at Ru’s words. “Well, I guess we’d better get going.”

  Ru dressed Opal in a pink jogging suit and put her in the car. She pulled out of the driveway and drove to the office supply store first. Instead of dragging Opal’s wagon around, Ru placed the dog in the front seat of a shopping cart. As she rounded the corner and pushed Opal toward the pens and pencils Ru caught a glimpse of Mayor Espinoza at the other end of the store. She hurried back around the corner and hid behind some shelves. When he was out of sight, she returned to the pen section and grabbed what she needed. She then went to the paper section, hoping not to run directly into the Mayor, but continued watching his every move. Soon her cart was half full and the Mayor was at the checkout counter.

  “Well, girl, what do you think? Should we follow him?” Ru asked. Opal snorted and wiggled her bottom a little bit.

  “I think you’re right. Let’s go!”

  She left the cart right where it stood and picked up Opal. She raced out of the store and climbed into her car, hoping she wasn’t spotted. Then she waited. After what seemed like an eternity, the Mayor exited the store and climbed into his SUV. When he pulled out of the parking lot, Ru counted to five and then pulled out behind him. After watching as many crime solving shows as she watched, she had an idea of how to tail someone without them noticing. She kept her distance, but always had an eye on the SUV.

  The Mayor first went to Seth Washington’s house. He pulled up to the curb and sat for a few minutes. Ru watched intently as Leanne ran down the driveway and climbed into the Mayor’s vehicle. The SUV pulled away, and drove fast enough that it was hard for Ru to keep up. As soon as they made it to the abandoned train station just outside of town, Mayor Espinoza pulled in and went to the backside of the building. Not wanting to be spotted, Ru pulled her car onto a dirt path that led into a stand of trees. Leaving a window open for Opal, she ran from the dirt road to the far side of the train station.

  From behind an overgrown bush, Ru could hear voices, but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. She looked around, trying to find another place she could hide where she would be closer to the voices. Just as she was ready to make her move, another vehicle pulled up. Ru watched as Don Jacobs stepped out and then opened the back door. Ru panicked when she saw Don lead his two Dobermans out of the vehicle. She worried they would pick up on Opal’s scent and find her there, spying.

  Thinking quickly, Ru picked up some dirt and rubbed it all over herself, hoping to cover any scent she may be harboring. Then she watched as Don headed over to where Leanne and the Mayor were waiting. When the man and his dogs were out of sight, Ru ran as quickly and as quietly as she could, keeping herself as low to the ground as possible. When she was tucked out of sight, she took her cell phone out of her pocket, turned the ringer off and hit record on her voice recording app. From where she was, peeking around the corner periodically, Ru could hear everything the three were saying.

  “What are you gonna do with the money?” Leanne asked the Mayor.

  “I’m not sure yet,” he replied.

  “Well, you better decide quickly. You don’t want to have that much money sitting around for very long. You’re the Mayor; it may look odd that you have so much in your account.”

  Don butted into their conversation and said, “Well, I think I’m going to do some renovations at my house once the dog kennels are done.”

  He looked at Leanne and said, “I need to make my place comfortable for the future Mrs. Jacobs.”

  The thought of Leanne with Don the Dog Breeder infuriated Mayor Espinoza, “Oh, and you think that SHE is gonna want to be with YOU? Give me a break!”

  “Well she sure isn’t gonna be with YOU!”

  The Mayor shouted, “What do you have to offer her? I am way more suitable for a girl like Leanne.”

  Leanne stepped between the two bickering men and said, “Come on, guys, there’s no need to fight right now. Right now we need to plan our next move.”

  Don’s dogs began pulling on their leashes, trying as hard as they could to get to where Ru was hiding. The dogs’ movement stopped the men from fighting and they all looked over toward the weeds where Ru was hiding. Knowing she had been caught, Ru made a break for it. Leanne ran after her and Don let his dogs go. Within seconds, the fast running Dobermans caught up to Ru and began sniffing her like a meal, slowing her run to nearly a walk.

  Leanne, Don and Chris hurried toward Ru and circled around her as she spun in a circle. Ru realized there was no way out, so she stood still and quiet, trying to plan her next escape. For a moment, nobody spoke. The silence was so thick Ru felt like she could cut it with a knife. Then she secretly hoped a knife wouldn’t be involved.

  “So, Ru,” Leanne started, “You like to eavesdrop, huh?”

  “That’s not what I was doing,” Ru replied.

  “Then why don’t you tell us what exactly what you were doing.”

  “I was out here the other day walking Opal and I lost my sunglasses. I was just looking around to see if they were here.”

  Don said, “Yeah, right, likely story. We’re not stupid, you know. But, you are. You should have listened to our warning.”

  “Warning?” Ru asked, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

  “I know you got the warning. I also know you called Chief Putnam out to your house,” Mayor Espinoza said.

  “You’ve been watching me?”

  “No,” Leanne said sarcastically. “That was just a lucky guess.”

  “So, which one of you killed Seth?” Ru boldly asked.

  “Oh, Sweetie,” Leanne replied, an evil smile on her face. “It was a group effort.”

  “How?” Ru asked, hardly able to believe that Don and the Mayor would be involved in something as evil as murder.

  “Well, Ruby,” Leanne started, “being Seth’s personal assistant, it was really quite easy. See, while we were at the dinner to close out the fundraisers, I made sure Seth was busy talking to Don and his dogs, while Chris here was putting poison in his drink.”

  Ru tried to digest what she was just told and then said, “What about the will? All three of you were in it.”

  “Very good, Ru; you’ve been doing your homework. You see, I had access to all of Seth’s personal documents. I simply had some changes made, including adding us to his will. It was really quite simple. He was so stupid to grant me his power of attorney, but then again, he never did know how to think with anything other than what was in his pants.”

  Shocked at how cavalier Leanne was acting, Ru looked at Don and Chris and realized that they, too, were no more remorseful than their pretty leader. Ru began frantically looking around, desperately looking for a way out. The three murderers stepped closer to Ru, leaving her no room for escape.

  “There’s no way out, Ru,” Mayor Espinoza said with a very casual tone; almost as if he were chatting with her over coffee.

  “Yes, Ru, he’s right; there’s no way out.” Don echoed, sounding like a parrot imitating his owner.

  Ru nervously asked, “What are you going to do? People know where I am.”

  “Yeah, right,” Leanne said. “Come on guys, we need to get rid of her.”

  Ru’s heart pounded as the trio dragged her around to the far side of the building, out of sight of the road and the nearby warehouse. She tried pulling free from the men’s grip as she felt the breath of Don’s dogs on her neck. When they stopped, Ru looked up and saw the broken window in front of her. Don tugged on Ru’s arm, pulling her closer to the window. Both men lifted Ru closer to the window a
nd her neck hung precariously over the broken glass. Her life flashed before her eyes.

  Chapter 9

  Time seemed to move in slow motion for Ru as she mentally prepared to die. Nobody noticed the police arriving and surrounding the building. Things were so intense, even the dogs remained trained on Ru.