Pick and Chews

by Linda O. Johnston

  “Not many things have these kinds of consequences,” I said with a wry smile of my own. “And every time I’ve stuck my nose into one of these investigations—”

  “Well, you couldn’t say that about your own situation, I’m sure.

  When you were accused, it was because of an argument the victim started with you when she was triggered by the opening of your shops. And I’m sure you’ve never regretted opening your shops.”

  “True.”

  “But the suspicions about me are based on my argument with Raela, or series of arguments, which went on for a long time—”

  “And the reason for these arguments are related to your own career, which you treasure, right?”

  Reed pulled me closer. “You’re pretty observant, aren’t you, Carrie? Along with smart, ambitious, loving … ” He suddenly bent his head down and kissed me. Not just any kiss. A long, sexy one that also seemed full of other emotions to me.

  What had he just said? Loving.

  Then I wasn’t the only one considering it, was I?

  My mind was muddled as we stayed in each other’s arms, our mouths searching yet our hands not engaging in anything.

  Not now, at least. Though the idea certainly crossed my mind many times.

  But Reed was the one to finally pull away. “I’ve got to go,” he said sadly. He retained a light grip on my arms and looked once more into my eyes. I restrained myself from standing on my toes and kissing him again. “But look,” he continued. “When all this is over, well, I want for us to spend some time together. Quality time, maybe even away from Knobcone Heights. Or you and Biscuit can come stay with Hugo and me for a while.”

  “Why?” I couldn’t help asking.

  “I want to talk to you about … well, about our future. But for now—” He bent, gave me one more quick kiss on the lips, and then pulled away. “Assume you’ve got a shift tomorrow afternoon at the usual time. That way you can see what’s going on at the clinic as well as meet Mickey Krohan. I’m sure he’ll stop by. He can be a nice guy, but he’s a bit of a tyrant when it comes to ensuring that his patients are treated right, and that things are going well at his veterinary hospital, which is probably why he’s here. But—well, we’ll just have to see how things go.”

  Reed’s tone had turned more remote, and I could tell he was distancing himself from me in more than the number of feet between us as he started toward the front door. He opened it, bent to pat Biscuit goodbye, and waved at me.

  “See you tomorrow.” And then he was gone.

  It was okay. He didn’t need to stay with me that night, and not until Raela’s murder got solved.

  And however that would happen, it surely would get Reed off the hook. It had to.

  I really, really wanted to experience alone time with him again. To talk to him again.

  To figure out my own future, and whether it included him. Which it couldn’t, of course, if Reed was arrested and convicted of a murder. A murder he certainly couldn’t have committed.

  Not someone as sweet and caring as he was, and not just regarding his veterinary patients.

  No way could I believe, after our date tonight and all Reed had done and said this past week, that he could possibly be the one who’d killed Raela. That was, at last, resolved in my mind.

  But as I started toward the living room with Biscuit at my heels, ready to turn on the television and watch some hopefully unrelated news, that mind of mine started separating itself yet again from my emotions.

  Surely Reed’s words and actions couldn’t have been a ruse.

  Could they?

  Nineteen

  I slept okay that night, even though my last thoughts before dropping off were of Reed and how I could clear him, and how hard I’d work to do it … though I wouldn’t accuse someone else and amass “proof” against that person just to save Reed.

  After all, genuine evidence implicating that as-yet-unknown person should be available somewhere, since Reed didn’t commit the crime.

  I woke up with some of the same thoughts but got ready quickly, walked Biscuit, and headed to the shops a few minutes early.

  I needed something sweet in my life right then—and not just recollections of the kisses I’d shared with Reed. Nevertheless, I decided I’d start by baking some of my favorite Barkery munchies for dogs, just because they were my own recipes, before jumping into the sweet Icing goods.

  As a result, after leaving Biscuit loose in the Barkery, I began baking some of my cheese biscuits as well as those containing beef and yams and liver. The aroma of the kitchen definitely started off dog-treat-related rather than people-treat-related. In other words, delicious but meaty.

  Frida was the next to arrive, and I got her to work on Icing goods, which of course made her happy, too.

  And things progressed well that morning, with lots of products ready for both shops by the time we opened. Dinah and Vicky arrived soon after, and then Janelle.

  I purposely didn’t remind Janelle about how recently we’d seen one another and where—or what we’d discussed. Not that I believed she wasn’t already thinking about it all, too.

  Both shops were fairly busy, which wasn’t surprising since it was Friday. Locals often stocked up on both kinds of treats for the weekends, and a few weekend tourists arrived early. Which was why I tended to have all four of my assistants working on Fridays. It turned out to be a good idea that day, and I had no trouble slipping away for my afternoon shift at the clinic.

  Biscuit and I walked there. I carried a couple of bags of leftover dog treats, one for the clinic and one to take to Mountaintop Rescue later. I could hopefully touch base with Billi and find out what exactly she’d been discussing with Shea.

  We entered the back door, as usual, to go to doggy daycare, where I checked Biscuit in, this time with Charlie. As I reached the doorway into the vet clinic hallway, I heard some raised voices.

  Oddly, it reminded me a bit of when Raela had visited a few days earlier and caused an uproar, particularly when she’d argued loudly with Reed about how wonderful a veterinarian she was. But I knew that whatever was happening, it couldn’t be Raela’s fault this time.

  I opened the door and saw Reed there—not a surprise—along with Jon and an older fellow I didn’t recognize. A patient’s parent? No, considering all I’d heard so far about Reed’s ex-boss from San Diego coming to town, I had to assume that this was Dr. Mickey Krohan. But what was he yelling about?

  I stood there for a moment to listen and saw Arvie doing the same thing, down the hall beyond them.

  “It’s all your fault she’s dead,” the man yelled at Reed. “First of all you quit our wonderful hospital, and then you decided to ruin it by inviting some of the remaining best vets to leave.”

  Did that mean he’d considered Reed one of their best vets? Even if he had, I was sure it wasn’t making Reed feel any better.

  “I don’t know what kind of relationship you and Raela had before you left, but I figured something went wrong and that was the reason you quit. But you had no right to recruit anyone from our clinic to come here. And to tease Raela that way, and for her to wind up dead—”

  “Excuse me,” I said, noting that both Reed and Jon were clenching their fists as they attempted to break into the guy’s rant. I simply walked up to him, stared up at his face, and put my hands on my hips. “Let’s take this someplace private, shall we?” I wasn’t sure when one of the other techs might lead an owner and pet through the hall, but no one needed to see—or hear—this.

  Dr. Krohan was older than his two former employees, though not quite Arvie’s age. He was apparently attempting to look like a member of a younger generation, though, judging by his short light brown hair and beard. He wore black-rimmed glasses and a glare that he aimed at me as if he wanted to spit fire, though he had shut up at least for now.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  “Oh, I work here. And who are you and why do you think you can disrupt this clinic by yelling t
hat way? Wait a minute. Don’t tell me now. Dr. Arden, can we take this into your office?” Jon’s office was just a slight bit closer than Reed’s. I started edging myself toward the San Diego vet, and, as he began moving backward to get away from me, I edged him sideways toward that part of the hall.

  As the three men silently, if unhappily, obeyed my demand, I glanced back down the hall toward where Arvie stood. “Thank you,” he mouthed, then headed toward the door to the waiting room. I hoped none of the patients and their owners would have to wait too long to see a vet, but this situation needed to be faced and stopped right away.

  In a minute, we were all in the office. Jon sat down behind the desk, and Reed and Dr. Krohan sat facing him. My arms still crossed, I stood near the door.

  “Okay,” I said. “Please introduce yourself and tell me why you think you can come in here and yell like this.”

  The vet actually obeyed. “I’m Dr. Mickey Krohan,” he said, then explained his role as head vet and boss to Reed, Jon, and Oliver—and Raela—back in San Diego.

  “Then Dr. Browning also worked for you there?”

  “That’s right. And after Dr. Fellner quit my clinic and came up here to start her own, I had to come up. She got murdered! I need to find out exactly what happened.”

  But when, exactly, had he come to Knobcone Heights? When he’d first heard Raela moved here, or after she was murdered? He wouldn’t have had to stay in town, after all. He might have come up to see what was happening and decided that if he couldn’t convince Raela to return, he would get back at her in some other way—like by killing her.

  So I now had another suspect. One with veterinary skills. One I didn’t care about at all. Great!

  I wasn’t going to point that out, but I would see if Krohan had any other ideas I could follow up on—in case I was focusing on him solely because I’d just met him and wouldn’t feel bad if he was the killer.

  “So what have you learned so far about what happened?” I asked. “Who do you think did it?” Judging by his rant before, it seemed Krohan believed it was Reed. But for now I wasn’t buying that. And, again, I needed more suspects to check out.

  “I don’t know,” the vet said, surprising me. Not Reed? For an instant, the guy looked defeated. “I thought it was going to be easy to come here and see my former employees and point fingers at one or more of them as Raela’s killer. But I actually liked all of them, at least before they left. And though I know that Reed and Raela had some kind of feud going, I just can’t believe he would do that.” He glanced at Reed. “Besides … ” He looked down at his mottled hands, which he’d placed in his lap.

  “Besides,” Jon said gently, beside him, “you were glad when Reed left because that gave you an opportunity to see if you could develop something with Raela, right? At least that was how it looked to the rest of us.”

  Dr. Krohan gave a deep sigh, still not looking up. “She was a pretty woman, even if she wasn’t the most skilled vet on staff. I did like her, and I think for a while she liked me, too. But it hurt when she followed you guys up here to interview for the job.” He looked at me, as if he knew I was the one checking into all the possibilities. “And before you ask, I cared about her too much to sneak up here and kill her just because she’d decided to leave me and our hospital.”

  Of course he could say that. But as with so many people whom I’d spoken with over the past many months, denying that he was a killer didn’t mean that I, or anyone else, had to believe him.

  “We get it,” Jon said, and Reed just nodded. “Anyway, it’s good to see you, Mickey. But as I’m sure you know, we all have to get to work saving animals. How long are you staying? Could we meet later for dinner or drinks or something?”

  They made arrangements that made it clear I wouldn’t see Reed that night. No one invited me. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t get an opportunity to talk to their ex-boss again sometime.

  After all, thanks to my brother, I knew where he was staying.

  “I need to get to work now,” I said, then addressed Krohan as he stood near his chair. “If you’re in town for a while, be sure to stop at my shops. They’re right next to each other, and one of them, the Barkery, sells special, healthy dog treats that I developed while working here as a veterinary technician.”

  To my surprise, he actually appeared interested. “Really? Yes, I’ll have to visit. I very much believe in healthful eating for my patients. And I should be around at least for a few days. I’ve already hired a couple of additional veterinarians at my clinic, so I’m able to stay away for a while.” He looked at Reed and Jon as if daring them to chide him for hiring someone else.

  They just smiled and finalized their arrangements to meet later that evening.

  And me? Well, I spent the next hour or so being a vet tech, helping Arvie, Reed, and others with some of our pet patients. But that day I was happy to leave when my shift was over. I needed a different venue, a friendly face, and some good conversation. Therefore, Biscuit and I were heading to Mountaintop Rescue.

  Twenty

  I stopped first to change clothes, then pick up my leftover Barkery goods from my locker. I didn’t need an excuse to visit the shelter, but I wanted to do my part to make the residents there as happy as possible until they found their forever homes.

  I picked up Biscuit next, and we walked to Mountaintop Rescue in the warming March air. I smiled as I opened the front door to the administration building. Yes, I heard dogs barking. It was almost impossible not to, anywhere at the shelter, unless one arrived late at night when they were all sleeping—and even then, hearing someone enter, many of the residents awoke and acted like watchdogs.

  Today, as usual, Mimi sat behind the tall desk in the entry. Her doggy shirt read Rescue Dogs Rule and had a drawing of a grinning Chihuahua on it.

  “Hi, Carrie. Hi, Biscuit,” she said right away. “How are you today?” Her smile moved from the two of us to the bag of munchies I was holding.

  “We’re fine—and you can see the reason why we’re here.” I moved to place the treat bag on top of the desk. “Another reason is that I’d love to see Billi. Is she available?”

  “She’s in her office. Let me check.” Mimi picked up a phone from the desk and pushed a button.

  I walked, with Biscuit, toward the door leading to the back area where the rescue dogs were housed. I couldn’t see much from there, but I wasn’t able to go farther with Biscuit with me.

  In a minute Mimi called, “Yes, she’d like you to come up to her office, okay? It’s fine to bring Biscuit.”

  “Great. Thanks.” I gently pulled on Biscuit’s leash and we started walking up the stairs to the upper hallway. There, we went past a couple of doors until we reached the one to Billi’s office. As always, I couldn’t resist smiling at the sign identifying whose hangout this was: Councilwoman Wilhelmina Matlock, Boss of the City, Canines, and Cats. I smiled, knocked on the door, and stepped in.

  “Hi, Carrie,” she said. She came over to us and knelt on the gold-decorated area rug to greet Biscuit with a hug, then rose again. She was wearing nice-looking slacks and pricey-looking athletic shoes, but her T-shirt was a standard beige Mountaintop Rescue one. Her long, highlighted brown hair was pulled back in a clip, emphasizing the loveliness of her face. “Glad to see you—and I think I can guess what brings you here today.”

  “Leftover treats,” I responded, although I knew that wasn’t what she meant.

  “And maybe some gossip. I get it. Have a seat.” Billi gestured toward a chair facing her desk, and she went around to her own chair on the other side.

  I always noticed how clean and professional her elegant wooden desk looked. The desk was clearly paid for by Billi herself, who as a Matlock had no budget restraints to manage. She was one of the most organized people I’d ever met, and she had even more careers than I did.

  We started by yet again praising how well the recent adoption event at the Barkery had gone and discussing generally when the next one would be. Th
en Billi said, “Okay, you want to know why you saw me having a drink with Shea, right?”

  “Gee, what makes you think that?”

  She laughed. “Because I know how nosy you are. Anyway, as I mentioned, he and I were discussing legal issues related to the shelter’s adoption contracts. I had questions concerning a couple of adoptions that I might want to rescind. I’m not sure the dogs involved are getting the kind of care the adopters promised in the contracts they signed. Shea may be a volunteer here, but that isn’t all he does. He comes in handy.”

  “Glad to hear it. And does he maybe have another reason to be here … like helping the manager with her personal life?” I raised my eyebrows as I grinned.

  “Could be. Jack and I are still seeing one another, but he hasn’t been in town a lot lately so we’re less serious than we were for a while. Shea’s a nice guy, even if he’s a lawyer, and his love of animals certainly helps.” Her turn to grin. “So how are things between you and Reed?” Her grin faded quickly. “Is he still considered a suspect in that vet’s murder?”

  “You know the case isn’t solved,” I said. “And until it is, I’m afraid he’ll be on the hot seat, since he’d argued with her.”

  “So you’re still involved, too—trying to solve it.” It wasn’t a question, of course. Billi knew me too well.

  “That’s right. I just wish … ” I let my voice trail off. There were actually a lot of things I wished for, right then, not the least of which was that Raela hadn’t been murdered by anyone. Not that I’d have liked her still hanging around, especially with her new veterinary clinic. But even so, things would certainly have been a lot simpler than they were now—we would just have had to work harder do a better, more economical job than she did treating pets.

  Billi and I had become close enough friends that she read my thoughts. “You wish this latest murder hadn’t happened, but you still worry about how things would have gone with Raela running a competing veterinary clinic. Am I right?”