Dog Gone

by Shannon Esposito

  Hearing the shower running, I rolled over and draped an arm over Buddha. I tried to cuddle him but he squirmed happily and licked beneath my chin. Petey must’ve sensed we were awake and ran into the bedroom, leaping in the air and landing on us.

  “All right,” I giggled, fending off his long, wet tongue. “I’m up! Outside!” It was the only word that had the power to interrupt Petey’s determined affection. He jumped down and scrambled to the sliding door. “Well, come on. You, too.” I gave Buddha one last kiss on the snout and slid out of bed.

  Reluctantly, he followed.

  After letting the dogs out and feeding them, I started some scrambled eggs. By that time, Devon was out of the shower. We went over our plan for tonight during breakfast. My stomach was threatening to revolt, but I needed the energy so I forced the eggs down. My chest was already beginning to tighten. I thought about the anti-anxiety medication my doctor had prescribed. Maybe today would be a good day to take one. In the end, I decided I needed to be alert so I’d just have to deal with the anxiety another way.

  We stood outside in the driveway, ready to part ways for the day. The salty air and endless expanse of blue-gray water spread out before us was a balm on my nerves. I turned from the view and slipped my arms around Devon. “Last day to change your mind about bringing Mom here tomorrow.”

  He laughed, tucking a stray wave of hair behind my ear. “It”ll be fine, don’t worry.”

  Tilting my chin up, I searched his eyes for the strength I needed to get through this day. “Nothing is fine.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose. “It will be. I promise.”

  I knew he couldn’t promise that. But at the moment, I’d take it.

  ***

  Lulu waddled in before my second class of the day. She’d been showing up a lot this past week. Even though she didn’t have a dog, her changing body still benefited from the stretching and relaxing. I knew it was hard for her not to be working, and she seemed more and more depressed every day. That couldn’t be good for the baby, either. I had to do something.

  “Hey,” she whispered as I hugged her, being mindful not to squash her growing belly. I could hear the suppressed tears in her voice.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, searching her face. “Is the baby all right?”

  She blinked at the ceiling and shoved a finger under her bottom lashes like she was trying to dam up the tears. “The baby’s fine. I just ... I think I’m losing my mind.”

  I squeezed her shoulders. “Oh, Lulu, you need time to heal. Stop being so hard on yourself. You just went through a horrific ordeal. It’ll take time. Here.” I grabbed the dish of homemade raisin cookies off the shelf, courtesy of Nova, a maid here at the Pampered Pup. Devon had helped her sister beat a false murder charge and her family hadn’t stopped bringing us food since. “Have one of these, guaranteed to make you feel better.”

  “Thanks, I’ll try anything.” She lifted an oversized cookie from beneath the Saran wrap.

  Beth Anne and Violet made a beeline for us when they walked in and spotted Lulu staring at the cookie in her hand. “What’s happened?” Beth Anne asked, wrapping an arm around Lulu’s shoulder. Shakespeare gave Lulu’s legs a good sniffing. “Did something happen?”

  Lulu half-laughed as she lost control of her emotions and the tears spilled over and rolled down her face. “Now look what you did with all that caring. No, nothing new. I’m just falling apart.” She bent over and gave Shakespeare a loving scratch with the hand not holding the cookie.

  Beth Anne rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, sugar. Things will work themselves out, you’ll see. All you need to worry about right now is keeping that baby fed and healthy, and we’ll help you take care of the rest. You’re not alone in this.”

  “That’s right,” Violet chimed in, her hand on her small hip. “Whatever you need, we’re at your service. Heck, we don’t have anything better to do. We’ll start with lunch after class. How does that sound?”

  Lulu wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled sheepishly. “Y’all are the best. I’ll be fine, just stupid baby hormones have me blabbering all over myself.”

  “Lunch it is,” Beth Anne said firmly.

  We all nodded in support. We all knew baby hormones weren’t the whole story. Cooking at her restaurant had been Lulu’s one joy in life. Now that had been taken away from her. I’m sure she felt unmoored and scared for her future. I remembered that feeling well.

  Before I started class, I made a quick call to Talia. I was surprised when she answered the phone. She must not be sleeping at all. “Hey, Talia, it’s Elle. How are you holding up?”

  “I’m somewhere between numb and panicking.” Her voice was shaky.

  I bit my thumbnail. Don’t screw this up, Elle. “I’ve got something I need to talk to you about before tonight. Can I stop by after my four o’clock class finishes?”

  “Actually, I’ll come to you. I need to get out of this house and need some company.”

  I glanced around at the full class, conversations buzzing, dogs sniffing each other. “Well, if you don’t mind the crowd, the girls and I are having lunch here inside the Pampered Pup at Café Belle after class. Do you want to join us?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  ***

  Lulu, Beth Anne, Violet and I managed to score a window table at Café Belle as we waited for Talia to show. As the hostess led us through the crowded dining room, and around the large Banyan tree adorned with twinkling white lights, I noticed all the dogs at their owners’ feet and hoped it wouldn’t be too painful for Talia. I scolded myself for not being more sensitive to how dog-friendly this place was. Oh well, too late now.

  Buddha and Shakespeare—already used to this routine and the treats that would be coming their way—plopped themselves down on the dog beds beside the chairs. But Ghost, Violet’s emotionally needy Weimaraner, pressed his lean body up against Violet’s chair, his brows twitching up and down as he eyed the crowded dining room.

  “He’ll be all right when the raw bone comes,” she assured us, a loving smirk directed at her dog.

  By the time we had our drinks ordered, a small woman in a pale green dress and dark, short-cropped hair was weaving her way through the tables toward us. She smiled as she approached. “Sorry I’m late.”

  We all gaped at her. “Talia?” I finally asked.

  She slipped into the empty chair and slid off her sunglasses. The walk and hair was different, but there was no hiding those large blue eyes, smudges of dark circles beneath them, and doll-like face. “In the flesh,” she quipped.

  “Looks like you’ve perfected the art of hiding in plain sight.” Beth Anne’s gold eyes danced as she tilted her head with a grin. “Impressive.”

  “Well, it’s a bit easier on a private island without the paparazzi jumping out at me from every corner. They tend to bring attention to me.” She suddenly glanced down at the floor between her and Beth Anne. “Hello, Shakespeare. I love your pretty blue hair bow.”

  Beth Anne beamed at her dog as Talia bent over to scratch under his chin.

  “He’s so sweet.” Talia’s words caught in her throat, but she quickly recovered and turned her attention to Violet and then Ghost, who was still pressed against her. At least he wasn’t shaking. “He doesn’t like crowds I take it?”

  Violet stroked his velvety ear. “Not really.”

  “I understand.” Talia cocked her head. “His eyes are just the most stunning shade of blue. And so soulful. I sometimes wish dogs could talk. I bet they’d have so much to teach us.”

  “Oh, Lordy.” Violet laughed, her green eyes glowing with good humor. “Maybe but I’m sure most of the conversation would be centered around bones and treats.”

  “Speaking of,” Beth Anne chuckled.

  The waiter approached and handed out the treats to our dogs. Then, noticing the addition to our table he said, “Can I get you a—” When Talia looked up at him, he seemed startled. To his credit, he recovered nicely. “A drin
k, ma’am?”

  She smiled warmly, probably appreciating his discretion. “Sparkling water with lemon, please.”

  “Of course.” He glanced down at the empty dog bed beside her and I held my breath, but he didn’t say anything, thank heavens.

  When he left, there was an uncomfortable silence.

  Finally Violet broke the ice. “Talia I’m so sorry for what you’re going through right now. I can’t even imagine the stress of not knowing where your dog is.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll have her back home.”

  Violet looked surprised. “Really? That’s good news. Right?”

  “We’ll see,” Talia said, not looking very hopeful. “I’m supposed to pay a ransom demand tonight and hope the person who has her keeps his word and returns her.”

  “I hope so, too.” Violet’s jade and gold bangle bracelet clanked on the table as she rested her forearms there and stared at Talia thoughtfully. “Do the police have any leads?”

  Her gaze shifted to me. “That’s one of the things I wanted to tell you, Elle. I called Detective Vargas this morning to let her know about Rose blackmailing me previously, which she said they would look into. But, she had also some news. They got what she called “touch DNA” off of Ginger’s collar and it didn’t match mine or Diggs’s. They’re getting a sample from Sammy today to rule him out, too.” She clasped her hands together. “By the way, Detective Vargas told me you and Devon found Sammy, thanks. Where’s he staying?”

  My face warmed. “Oh, under his fake name like you said.” I hated to lie to her, but I didn’t think her frail state could take one more blow. And Georgia Waters would be a hefty sucker punch to any woman. “But that’s good news about the DNA. You don’t look very excited about it. Is there bad news, too?”

  She loosened the dainty, silver chain around her neck with one slim finger. “Well, the DNA didn’t match anyone in their local DNA database so they’re trying to convince whoever they need to convince that it’s eligible evidence to request a search of the national database.”

  Which takes time. Time we don’t have.

  Talia took a breath and forced a smile. “But enough about my problems, how are you feeling, Lulu?”

  Lulu shrugged and tried to match her smile. “These baby hormones are really kicking my butt. I can’t seem to shake the blues.”

  “Pregnancy isn’t all glow and sunshine?” Empathy softened Talia’s expression.

  “No, not this one, anyway.” Lulu laughed.

  “Well, you did just go through a terrible ordeal,” Violet said, resting a freckled hand on her arm. “You have to give yourself time to heal without pressure.”

  “Violet’s right,” Beth Anne said. “Time is a great healer.” Then she flashed a grin. “And so is the chef’s chocolate mousse.”

  “I’ll second that,” Violet chuckled.

  We ordered our food and then it was time for me to bring up the elephant in the room. “Talia, Devon and I came up with a plan for tonight. But I need you to keep an open mind.”

  She was very still as I explained about the tracker, how Devon would wait on the mainland so he could follow the signal once the dognapper took the pay-off and started moving, and how this was the best shot at getting Ginger back.

  Everyone was silent after I was done, waiting for her reply.

  Finally she sighed. Her face had gone pale beneath the dark wig, like whipped-cream pale, but she met my gaze with determination. She wasn’t as fragile as she looked. “What if the dognapper finds the tracker and tosses it before he gets back to where he’s holding Ginger? The fact that we tried to track him would just make him angry and then he could ... he could hurt her.”

  “That’s a possibility,” I said honestly. “We thought of that, so we’re going to sew it into the bag beneath the money to make it harder to find if he’s looking. But, if we don’t try to track him, we have zero percent chance of finding out where he goes.”

  That is, if he even still has Ginger holed up somewhere alive.

  The possibilities of her fate were many, but I was choosing to stay positive and believe she was still alive, and believe he’d return to where he was holding Ginger after he got the money. That’s a lot of believing, I knew.

  Talia picked up her water goblet and twirled it, letting the ice clink against the glass. “Okay, I trust you and Devon. Not so much myself lately. So, if you feel this is her best chance, we’ll do it.”

  “We do.” I sat back and felt my body relax under a flood of relief. One hurdle down.

  “And we’ll be glad to be some eyes on the mainland, too,” Violet chimed in. “We can wait in the opposite direction of Devon in case the boat goes that way, tail him until Devon can catch up.”

  “Absolutely,” Beth Anne said, her face lighting up at the thought of adventure.

  “Whatever we can do, of course,” Lulu agreed.

  Talia’s eyes began to shine as she looked at each of us with the first flicker of hope I’d seen from her since the night Ginger went missing. “This could work,” she whispered. “This could really work.”

  “It can and it will. Okay, I don’t know about you all but I’m starving.” Violet glanced back at the kitchen, her mouth twisting. “Where in the world is our food?”

  “They are taking an unusually long time,” Beth Anne frowned. “Ah, there’s Marco.” She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers, her large diamond ring catching the light. Our waiter approached, looking apologetic. “What’s going on with the kitchen today, Marco?”

  The sweaty, balding man wrung his hands. “I do apologize, ladies. Our assistant chef has resigned only this morning without notice, and Chef Pierre is doing his best to keep up with orders. Your meals will of course be comped with our sincerest apologies.”

  “Poor Pierre,” Violet said. Then she waved her hand. “That won’t be necessary, Marco. We completely understand.”

  Sitting up straighter, I glanced at Lulu. I had a great idea. Maybe we could kill two birds with one stone at this lunch.

  As the ladies talked, I called Marco over and kept my voice low. “I know Chef Pierre is slammed right now, but I think I have a solution for him. Can you just ask him to give me two minutes of his time?”

  “No promises, but I will ask.” Marco hustled back through the crowded tables to the kitchen.

  “So, he’s really as short as they say?” Violet was grinning at Talia, twirling a piece of her short red hair around her index finger. She had changed the subject to Matt Sterling, I’m sure to give Talia’s nerves a break. It was a good idea. We all could use a breather.

  Talia took a sip of her water. “Yep. Five-foot-six and very sensitive about it.”

  Our food arrived about fifteen minutes later with an overwhelmed, nervous Frenchman behind it in a white chef’s hat. His face was beet-red but his dark brown eyes were soft. “I’m so sorry this took so long, ladies.”

  “Not to worry, Pierre.” Beth Anne waved off his concern. “Your food is worth the wait.”

  “Thank you.” He bowed. “Someone wanted to speak to me?”

  “Yes.” I held up my hand.

  He hurried around to my side of the table. “What can I help you with?”

  “Actually, I think I can help you.” I held out my hand, gesturing to Lulu. “This is Lulu Dutrey, the owner of The Gumbo Pot, which is temporarily closed due to a silly lawsuit. And she needs to cook. You need a cook.” I motioned between them, letting them put it together.

  “Yes, of course, I know of Miss Dutrey. Hello. I’ve enjoyed many meals in your restaurant. Fabulous menu.” He looked at her, his weariness shifting toward excitement. “You need work?”

  She glanced at me, surprised. Then I could see the wheels turning in her mind, her excitement rising. “I do need to cook for my own sanity.” She moved her gaze to Chef Pierre. “I’m really only good at Cajun though.”

  He grinned and held his hand over his heart. I could see his mind racing, then h
e snapped his fingers. “We can put Cajun on the menu, of course. Traditional Cajun food with a modern presentation. You like?”

  Her face lit up. The radiant smile that had been absent lately suddenly appeared. “I like!”

  He shook her hand vigorously. “You come in tomorrow morning. Eight a.m.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. I’ll be here.”

  One problem solved. One big one to go.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Fifteen minutes before midnight, Talia and I sat in her car in the parking lot of the guest marina. She was chewing on her lip, her eyes narrowed in the direction of the water. I wasn’t sure which one of us was more nervous. The air conditioning was turned on full blast, but I still felt a rivet of sweat roll down my side.

  “I should approach the boat alone,” she said, straightening her shoulders.

  “No way. What if his plan all along was to kidnap you?” I hadn’t thought about that possibility before, but now that I had, my stomach flipped. What if this was her stalker’s way of getting to her? “Besides, he didn’t say anything about you having to be alone, so there’s no reason to do that. Buddha and I are going with you and that’s final.”

  She glanced in the backseat at Buddha and then her shoulders dropped. “Fine. Everyone’s in place?”

  I nodded, feeling my heartbeat ratchet up a few notches. “Devon’s parked near the Clearwater Harbor Marina, which he thinks is the most likely place the boat will dock. But just in case the boat stops in Clearwater Beach, Beth Anne and Lulu are waiting there, between Priority and Municipal Marina. Violet and her boyfriend, Jarvis, are on the mainland about ten miles south in case all those guesses are wrong.”

  My phone vibrated, startling me. Maybe those anti-anxiety pills would’ve been a good idea after all. I checked the screen. “That’s Devon. He has a clear signal on the tracker and says good luck.”