by Tonya Kappes
“That’s wonderful.” The excitement in her voice made me excited. “I’m so looking forward to learning from you.”
The call waiting beeped in.
“Emily, I’ve got to run, I’ll see you in the morning. And thank you so much for all you do.” I always liked to hear praise when I was her age and I wanted to make sure she knew just how much I did appreciate her. I clicked over. “Hey,” I greeted Patrick. “I was about to call you in a few minutes.”
“I don’t know how you did it, but it seems like your mom and Maxi were actually laughing together today.” His words were music to my ears.
“Really?” I asked and noticed Jeremy was still staring at me.
“Yeah, I had to go to Buzz In and Out to fix a bad electrical outlet and there they were, sharing a big piece of mud pie.” He laughed.
“I’m shocked.” My mouth dropped open. Never in a million years did I ever think they’d sit down together, much less share a piece of pie. “But delighted.”
“It was a good sight to see, especially remembering how you used to talk about your mom when you’d come visit.” His voice was so comforting. “Do you want to grab some supper?”
“I wish I could but I’m actually sitting in the parking lot of Pet Palace with Jeremy giving me the stare down. He needs a volunteer so he can go to his summer class. Rain check?” I asked.
I did want to ask him about that whole cop thing, but there wasn’t enough time right now. It all went back to me not really knowing him and him not really knowing me, not that there was much to know.
“I’ll bring something to you,” he suggested.
“Perfect. Text me when you are here because I’m going to lock the door and do you mind swinging by the house and grabbing Pepper?” Pepper loved to come see his friends at Pet Palace.
Jeremy was standing by the car door and tapping his foot. I grabbed the laptop and the cooler. Since I didn’t see any animals at Hill’s Orchard, I knew these animals would gobble them up.
“I’ve got to run.” He touched my shoulder. “Tag you’re it.”
“No problem. But. . .” I had a few questions.
“What?” He looked down his nose at me.
“What’s going on with Louise?” I asked.
“She’s upset and trying to get things in order if she does end up going to jail.” He shrugged.
“What things?” I was curious. “As her lawyer, I’d like to know these things.”
“Wait.” He gave me a curious look. “You’re her lawyer?”
“She asked me to be and I’ve got to make sure the paperwork is all completed, but yeah, I’m doing a little snooping.” I hugged the laptop with one hand and I’d gripped the cooler with the pup-sicles in the other.
“Hopefully you can help her like you did in the last investigation.” He smiled. “Do you have any information?”
“Just that the darn chicken y’all let Fred adopt is worth a mint.”
“Huh?” His nose curled like I was stink talking. “A chicken?”
“Yes. Something about being a rare bird and Louise told me the eggs from it can sell upwards of three hundred dollars.” It sounded so ridiculous coming out of my mouth. “I even have Joanne pulling me some articles on the darn bird at the library.”
“Were they why he and Louise were fighting?” he asked.
“You know about that?” I asked.
“Know about it?” He took a step back. “He was crazy over some eggs and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. But Louise said he wasn’t getting them. He told her that by all rights they were his eggs and he’d fight her until he died.”
My eyes popped open. I gulped.
“That’s the same look Officer Shepard gave me when I told him about it.” Jeremy shuffled toward his car with his keys in his hand. “I’d love to sit here and chit-chat, but I’ve got to get to class. Even more important now than before. If you can’t help Louise, it looks like I’ll be looking for another job.” He stopped shy of his car. “By the way, I left all the poop cleanup for you.” He winked and jumped into his car.
I tucked my bottom lip into my teeth. I’d wished Jeremy hadn’t told Spencer that about Louise and Fred. Now Louise looked guiltier than ever.
Fourteen
Thankfully Jeremy had left the lights on for me. Pet Palace closed at five o’clock p.m. It was really a perfect time. The animals needed to be fed, the cages cleaned again, the animals needed to be let out and tucked in for bed. By the time all of the chores were completed, it was almost nine p.m. and that was with two volunteers.
“Hi, Louise,” I called my friend once I locked the door behind me. And stuck a few of the pup-sicles in the freezer that was right inside the lobby where Louise stored homemade kibble for purchase. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, you know.” She sniffled on the other end of the line. “I just can’t believe I’m the only suspect.”
“I’m not so sure that’s the truth.” I walked around the counter in the front lobby of Pet Palace and set the laptop down. After I finished cleaning the cats, I figured I could sit up here and wait for Patrick to come with our supper. Plus, it would give me some time to go through some of the laptop.
“What? Who?” she asked.
“Did anyone ever come to you about a rare chicken like Bertie? Because she’s been stolen from her pen at Hill’s Orchard.” Though she gasped on the other end of the phone, I still talked. “Someone knew about the chicken and wanted it. Not only that, but Jean said someone had come by the orchard late at night on Sunday. She said that Fred fidgeted all night long.”
“Did she say who it was?” she asked. There was a bit of hope in her voice.
“No, but I also got another tip that I need to explore tomorrow.” Even though I hadn’t checked on the status of my law licenses, I was going ahead like I was putting together a case. “Remember, anything I tell you is only between me and you.”
A dog barked from the dog kennel side of Pet Palace that sparked the entire dog population to hoot and howl.
“What’s going on there?” Louise asked. “Is something wrong? They don’t do that unless they hear something.”
“That doesn’t make me feel good.” I walked over to the hall that led to the dogs.
I thought I heard something like the rattle of a chain, but the dogs were so loud that I couldn’t make it out. Suddenly, they stopped. All at once. Goosebumps crawled up my legs, my body and stopped on my neck.
“They stopped.” I told Louise hoping she’d tell me that everything was okay. I walked back to the front door and didn’t see any cars. I brushed it off as an active imagination for the pure fact that I was talking to Louise about a murder and my scare meter had already been turned on high.
“You be careful out there.” Her words didn’t make my nerves ease up.
Pet Palace was out there. It was in the rural area of Honey Springs. There was enough land that there could be an add-on. And it was prime real estate.
“Real estate,” I whispered.
“What?” Louise called from the other end of the phone.
“Nothing. Listen, no matter what I tell you, you can’t tell anyone. If you tell anyone and Spencer hears what I’m doing, it could hinder your case and then you’d really go to jail.” I had to get off the phone.
There was limited time to clean the cages and get right to the laptop.
“Why don’t you come by the coffeehouse late morning and we’ll get a strategy.” After she agreed, I flipped the phone shut and stuck it in my pocket to wait for Patrick to text me so I could let him in.
I had a system when I volunteered at Pet Palace. The cats always needed a litter change and the smell was so much better after they were cleaned. That was the first thing I did after I put a pup-sicle in each one of their water bowls. If they were low on kibble, I was sure to fill it to the brim. Not to mention I kicked a couple play mouse toys or balls that sent the sweet cats into a batting tizzy.
“Pepper!” My s
weet Schnauzer rushed back to the cat side of Pet Palace.
He jumped up and down on me until I bent down to give him some rubbing. The cats in the area weren’t too fazed by him. He’d lived there for a while before I’d adopted him and from what Louise had told me, Pepper had belonged to a man in the military who had to give Pepper up due to another tour of duty.
He was a bit of a yip-yapper and very active so he wasn’t easily adoptable, but I truly believe he was meant for me. He was the perfect companion to keep me safe at night and a wonderful cheerleader for the coffeehouse. Louise knew he was a great dog and she’d let him walk around with her during the day while she cleaned. The other animals knew him and that was what made him so great to be around the animals that Louise brought in for me to help find a home at the coffeehouse.
“There you are.” Patrick was out of breath when he rounded the corner of the cat kennels. Sassy was with him. She moseyed up to me, sniffed me and sat down. “Pepper took off like a jet and he sniffed you out.”
“Hi.” I stood up with a pair of yellow gloves on and a big black trash bag of cat litter in one hand. I leaned over really far and gave him a kiss. “How was your day?”
“I’ll tell you over Chinese.” He pointed behind him. “I’ve got it sitting on the front counter.”
“Wait.” My brows furrowed. “How did you get in?”
“The front door was open.” He looked at me under hooded brows. “You did tell me to text you.”
I dropped the bag and ran out of the cat kennel with everyone on my heels.
“I didn’t unlock that door,” I called out over my shoulder.
The ruffle of papers and footsteps came from the front of the lobby. Patrick obviously heard me and shoved me out of the way, running around me.
“Stop there!” he screamed right as the person tried to get out of the door.
“The laptop!” I screamed. “Get the laptop!”
The door stuck, the person dropped the laptop and pushed on the door, flinging it open and ran out.
“Did you get a good look?” My chest heaved up and down. I bent over to catch my breath.
Pepper jumped up and down like we were playing.
“No. They had on a pair of black jeans and a black hoodie that was pulled tight around the face and tied.” He picked up the laptop and handed it to me.
“Black jeans and hoodie.” My stomach dropped. My eyes did a slow slide to lock gazes with him. “Jean Hill said the late night visitor had on black and a hooded sweatshirt.”
“What’s on that computer?” he asked.
“Jean let me take it because there might be a clue on there about the visitor. She said that Fred had been logging in all the visitors from the written log. Spencer took the written logs from the shop and the desktop computer, but he didn’t get this.” I wagged it in the air at him.
“You need to turn that into the police,” Patrick noted.
“No.” I hugged it close to me. “What are you doing?” I asked when he started tapping away on his phone.
“I’m calling the police about the intruder.” He stopped and looked at me.
“Oh no.” I reached out to take it. He jerked it back. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were a cop?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.” His brows dipped.
“This is exactly what I was saying the other day about how we didn’t really know each other. I think as your future wife, this should’ve come up.” It was a great way to get off the topic of the intruder and the laptop.
“We were separated for ten years. There’s a lot of stuff that happened in ten years, but my love for you never stopped. When I saw you on the boardwalk that morning with the coffee and treats for my crew, I went right back to being head over heels in love with you.” He always knew what to say to make my heart melt.
When I’d come back to Honey Springs, it wasn’t until the weekend that The Bean Hive opened that I ran into him. He and his construction crew were working so hard to finish for the grand opening of the newly revitalized boardwalk. I’d watched them day in and day out. They even got there as early as I did. I felt bad for them, so I took them donuts and coffee, never once realizing it was Patrick underneath that hard hat.
“To make up for it, you can help me go through the laptop and help me use your resources to get Louise off the hook.” I grinned.
“Fine. But,” he held up a finger, “I’m calling Spencer right now to come here and look around. You can put the laptop in your car.”
“He’s going to ask questions.” I didn’t want to lie about the intruder having the laptop. “I can’t lie. I’m trying to get some more clues to get Louise off the hook.”
“Louise has a key to the place.” He made a good point.
“So does every other volunteer.” I gulped. “I think the intruder was here before I got here.” I was thankful I didn’t walk in here and find Jeremy dead. “I called Louise when I got here and the dogs started to go nuts and bark. She said they didn’t do that unless there was something wrong.”
“Did you look in the dog kennel?” he asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “They suddenly stopped and I just figured one started barking and the others followed suit.”
“That’s it.” Patrick had heard enough. “I’m calling Spencer.”
While we waited for the Spencer to show up, we munched on some crab Rangoon and some spring rolls. We decided not to go back in the dog kennel in case the intruder was waiting in there and we didn’t want to mess up any fingerprints or evidence.
“See,” I told Spencer when he arrived and offered him a spring roll, “Louise wasn’t here when the intruder came. You can check my phone records.”
“I believe you. And I’m not saying you’re right, but someone is going to great lengths to make it seem like she killed Fred,” he noted.
“A little too much if you ask me,” Patrick stated.
“I didn’t ask you.” Spencer glanced up at Patrick.
“When it comes to the safety of my fiancée,” Patrick put his arm around me, “then it becomes my business.”
“You need to tell your fiancée to stop snooping around.” He pointed to me. “This is the third time in the matter of a twenty-four hour period that I’ve told her to stay away.”
“You know I can’t do that when I’m Louise’s lawyer. I’m looking for clues just like you are and I think I’ve proven my case that a similarly dressed person showed up at Fred’s and now showed up here tonight. It wasn’t Louise Carlton.” I knew I had him.
“What on earth is going on?” Jeremy walked in through the front door. His backpack slung over his shoulder.
“There was an intruder. They must’ve been hiding out in the dog kennel while you were here,” I choked out.
Tears started to form on my eyes. The thought of me being there with a killer suddenly hit me.
Jeremy ran his hands through his hair. “Oh my God. Did you catch ’em?” he asked Spencer.
“No, they got away.” Spencer delivered the bad news right as Louise hurried through the door.
“Louise, where are the eggs that Fred wanted?” I asked, wondering if the intruder was looking for the eggs.
“They are at my home. Safe and sound,” Louise noted. “Are the dogs okay?” There was a worried look in her eyes.
“They seemed fine, but I’m not much of a dog person so I don’t know.” Spencer’s words met dead silence.
Patrick’s lips grew into a big ole smile. He looked at me and I snarled at Spencer. I never trust a person who doesn’t love dogs.
Fifteen
“Okay.” Patrick opened the laptop. “Let’s take a look at this visitor’s log Jean told you about.”
Patrick sat at one of the café tables in the coffeehouse and Mom made the lavender coffee that I’ve been dying to have since this morning while I busied myself with grabbing ingredients to make southern pound cake. It was a nice light dessert that would pair well with Mom’s lavender c
offee. I’d decided it was going to be tomorrow’s special.
Pepper and Sassy had gotten a treat from Mom and now shared Pepper’s big pillow. Pepper was curled up in a ball while Sassy was on her back with her legs in the air. Both of their eyes were closed tight.
After Spencer let Patrick and I leave, I’d called Mom to meet us at the coffeehouse. Even though Emily had said she had everything covered, I wanted to pick up the packet Joanne had left for me about the fancy chicken, and I wanted to bake. My mind needed to relax and it was the only way I knew how.
I’d also told Louise there was no need to come meet me at the coffeehouse in the morning because there was sufficient evidence that there was another suspect. Spencer had even confirmed that the person in the black outfit was now the main person of interest. Especially since they’d broken into Pet Palace.
Patrick eased back in the chair and stared at the screen.
“What?” I asked with a handful of ingredients in my arms as I pushed through the swinging door between the kitchen and the coffeehouse. I put them on the counter and walked up behind him.
There was a security box that’d popped up. The background photo was of Bertie.
“Bertie,” I let out an exhausted sigh. “I completely forgot to get on the computer and pull her adoption papers Fred would’ve had to fill out.”
“If I can get into his computer, I can sorta hack into the Pet Palace computer,” he said nonchalantly.
“Are you serious?” My mouth dropped open.
“I was in the internet crime division of the department after I stepped down from being in the field.” He was starting to open up about that part of his life now that I knew about it.
Though I wanted to know the truth behind the drowning Jean had mentioned, I didn’t want to press him. Like he said, it was in the past and it didn’t define our relationship. It still didn’t keep me from wanting to know everything about him and his past.
“Don’t look at me that way.” He glanced over his shoulder and looked at me.
“You mean all the time I was trying to figure out what happened to Alexis Roarke, you could’ve helped me?” I asked.
