All Bark and No White Knight

by Stella St. Claire

  Olivia’s chest hurt as she watched him go. “Did you notice that he didn’t confirm that we’re in a relationship?” she asked Janelle.

  “I noticed that he told you to stay out of it. You either trust him, or you don’t. Which is it?”

  Olivia trusted Andrew. At least, she trusted him enough to know that he wasn’t a killer. But someone had left that rose on the murdered woman’s body, which meant that someone might be out to frame Andrew. And, boyfriend or not, she wasn’t going to let him take the fall.

  She’d find the real killer, and she’d figure out what was going on with their relationship. When it was all over, he’d thank her.

  And maybe, finally, everyone would quit telling her to mind her own business.

  “You’re not cheating on me, right, Fender?” Olivia eyed the old dog and sighed. She was walking the basset hound and Clyde, the arthritic pug, together because they were always in the same mindset. Both were rather indignant at being forced to exercise and were not shy about showing it. It was a hassle when she had a stronger dog with her and Clyde and Fender decided to lie down in the middle of the sidewalk as if they’d decided to take a nap, but when the two of them were together, at least they had each other to grumbled to.

  As usual, Fender didn’t even bother to maintain eye contact. It was just as well. Olivia was in her own little world today. Andrew’s words still haunted her, and part of her wondered if maybe it was time to give it up. Maybe she and Andrew just didn’t work the way they used to—or the way they did in her head.

  When was the last time that he’d told her he loved her?

  “Okay, I really need to start thinking about something else before I drive myself insane.” She dragged the two reluctant old guys as fast as they’d allow her to go for the rest of the walk.

  After dropping Clyde off at his house, Olivia returned Fender to the apartment before double-checking her schedule. She had a round of walks right after lunch and a group of dogs coming in for daycare in the afternoon.

  Avoiding Janelle, Olivia headed back downstairs and next door to Shelfie’s, stopping in the doorway to get her bearings. The small bookstore spanned two stories, but the way Jackie had things arranged was always changing. She often liked to switch things up and move genres around. She claimed that it helped readers discover new books, but Olivia just found it plain annoying.

  Jackie was stacking books behind the desk and grumbling to herself.

  “You’re having a bad day, too?” Olivia asked as she threw herself into the old leather seat next to the desk and crossed her legs.

  “The worst,” Jackie sighed. “I’ve been vandalized!”

  “Vandalized?” Olivia looked around the bookstore and frowned. Nothing looked out of place or destroyed. “Like—your person? Did Brett do something? I will kill him.”

  “It’s nice that you’re in my corner, but it’s not Brett.” Tossing her red hair over her shoulder, the bookstore owner threw a book down on the desk. “Twenty of these. Twenty books defaced. I can’t sell them, and I can’t send them back. I know it’s not a huge chunk of my profit, but I’m an indie bookseller. Every penny counts.”

  “When?”

  “Yesterday, I guess. It was the only day that I wasn’t here. Josh was behind the counter, but he said that it was busy. Lots of people were in here, and no one mentioned anything weird happening.”

  Puzzled, Olivia reached up and snagged one of the books. Most of them were romance books, but some were mysteries, and some were fantasy books. The faces of the females on the covers had been angrily crossed out with a red pen.

  “Uh, Jackie? Did you notice a pattern here?”

  “Yeah, someone has a problem with women,” her friend grumbled.

  “Not just women.” Olivia reached over and grabbed another book. Holding two books side by side, she peered at the covers, and then glanced over the other books. “They’re all redheads.”

  Gasping, Jackie spread the rest of the books out on the desk. “Oh my God, you’re right! Someone really hates redheads.”

  “Okay, you’re usually not this slow. Jackie, someone is sending you a message. They’re pissed at you.”

  “Me?” Jackie looked up and frowned. “I know that I can be a little irritating at times, but I don’t think I’ve pissed anyone off lately.”

  Olivia cocked her head. Jackie could be a little sassy, but she didn’t really go out of her way to upset people or hurt them. “Fired any employees lately?”

  “I did, actually.” Jackie’s shoulder’s slumped as she made the admission. “I didn’t want to, but I had to let Trish go. She was late for nearly every shift, and the one morning I arranged to let her open the store, I came in at ten to find it still locked.”

  Putting the books down, Olivia grimaced. Trisha was in her late thirties and going through a crisis after her divorce. Jackie had hired her because she’d had such glowing references from previous employers, but it sounded like the woman had turned out to be completely unreliable. “I really don’t see her as the type to deface books. Are you going to call the police?”

  “No, maybe I’ll just try to talk to her.” The bookstore owner sighed. “So, what’s going on with you?”

  “I think Andrew and I are over, and he’s a murder suspect. Also, Janelle is crazy off her rocker. Like, I think Patrick must be putting something in her morning coffee because she’s developed like six different personalities, and I never know which one I’m going to get, but I can certainly tell you that none of them are helpful.”

  “Whoa.” Jackie held up her hand. “Back up. Andrew is a murder suspect? That waitress?”

  “His date at End Game.”

  Vandalism problems forgotten, Jackie’s eyes grew round. “Seriously? Did Nick arrest him?”

  “No, although no one could blame him if he did. Not only did witnesses see him following her out of the bar, but the rose that he was carrying was found on her body.”

  Jackie narrowed her eyes and studied her. “Olivia, you weren’t the witness that came forward . . . I mean, I know that you two are having problems, but you wouldn’t want to see him jailed, would you?”

  Picking up a book, Olivia gently flung it at her aggravating friend. “No. I’m pissed at Andrew, but I know that he would never kill anyone.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “Stay out of it. He found out that I was trying to crack the password on his computer, and he was livid. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions, and he told me to mind my own business, so that’s what I’m going to do. I just need something to distract me.” She brightened. “Hey, maybe I’ll go talk to Trish and see if she was the one who doodled on your books.”

  “Destroyed,” Jackie corrected her dryly. “She—if it was her—destroyed my books. Sure. It could be like I hired you, except that I don’t pay you because I don’t have any money, and we’re best friends.”

  Olivia blinked and shrugged. “Works for me.”

  “And actually, I need you to do me another favor as well. I’m making a Lexingburg Town Picks shelf, and I’m asking a handful of people to read a book and tell me if they would recommend it. Here is your book.” She reached under the desk and pulled out another paperback.

  Olivia leaned over and studied the cover. “Matchmaker Mutts,” she read slowly. “Jackie, is this a romance? I don’t do romances.”

  The bookseller snorted. “I’ve read those Rose Palmer books. There are plenty of steamy scenes, so don’t tell me that you don’t do romance. Besides, it’s dog-themed, and it’ll be super cute if you recommend a dog-themed book. I’ll load the audio book onto your phone.”

  “Why not get Dr. Roberts to read it? It says here that the main character is a veterinarian.”

  Jackie grinned. “I tried that, but apparently our cute little vet has a taste for bloodthirsty novels. I gave her a thriller to read. Come on, if I gave you a mystery, then you’d be itching to investigate the waitress’s murder, and you just told me that you were
n’t going to do that.”

  Jackie had a valid point. Olivia sighed and surrendered her phone. “Okay, but since I’m now reading a book against my will and investigating your vandalism—”

  “It’s not investigating. You’re just going to talk to Trish,” Jackie reminded her.

  “Then you need to do me a favor,” Olivia finished.

  “A favor?” Jackie pouted. “I thought we were friends.”

  Olivia crossed her arms. “Last month you made me steal half a dozen muffins before you’d special preorder the next Palmer Mystery Files book for me, and it’s your job to do that. Janelle didn’t speak to me for two days.”

  “Fine. You want me to talk to Brett about Andrew, don’t you?”

  Olivia put on her most pleading face and clasped her hands together. “Please! It’s not like Andrew is even trying to hide these dates, so Brett has to know something.”

  “True, but he doesn’t like to get involved in other people’s businesses. Don’t worry.” Jackie winked. “I’ll catch him at a weak moment and get him to spill all the beans.”

  “Oh. I miss those days,” Olivia sighed with jealousy.

  Hopping around the desk, Jackie gave her a big hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Andrew said. Right after he refused to admit if we were in a relationship or not. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do. But at least now I’ll have this wonderful dog-themed romance to read—” she frowned at her friend as Jackie rolled her eyes, “and your little mystery to solve. So at least that gives me something to do.”

  “Happy to be of service. And if it is Trish, just tell her to pay me for the damages, and I won’t press changes. I really do like her. Actually, I just can’t see her doing something like this.”

  Olivia thought back to all of the recent mysteries. It had always been the person she would have least suspected to commit a crime who’d done the deed.

  6

  “Whoa,” Olivia cried out as Lily the dachshund banked left while Tucker banked right. Fender yawned and sat down in front of her feet so that she had to scramble not to trip over him, and Goodwin, confused, started lunging in all directions, running from one companion to another and getting them all entangled in the leashes. “Goodwin, stop! Sit!”

  Exasperated, Olivia untangled them and tried again. The city park was full of people on their lunch break, and while seeing so many people around sometimes excited the dogs, she knew that Lily was probably misbehaving because there was a stray cat lounging under one of the benches. Cats drove the dachshund nuts. “We should’ve gone to the dog park,” she muttered under her breath. “No self-respecting cat would be caught dead there!”

  When she’d finally untangled everyone, including herself, she started walking again. Her mind was a jumbled mess as she tried to sort through her rest of the schedule for the day (she really did need to hire someone to help her), Hannah’s murder, and Jackie’s mysterious new enemy. She couldn’t imagine why someone would want to annoy Jackie. A few years ago, Jackie had caused a scandal when she’d started stocking steamy romance novels, but after thumbing through a few, all of the women who had been opposed to her were now buying the books.

  So who would have it in for her now?

  Privately, even though she’d seen the defaced books, Olivia couldn’t help but wonder if Jackie was exaggerating the seriousness of the matter. It was probably just some prank. Some teen at the high school had gotten mad at a redheaded vixen who’d stolen her boyfriend, and so she was taking it out on every redhead she came across. Even browsing in the bookstore could have set off an immature teen’s jealous rage. Hell hath no fury . . .

  Goodwin suddenly barked happily and tugged at the leash, tail wagging in anticipated greeting. Looking up, Olivia sucked in her breath as the earth dropped out from underneath her.

  Andrew was strolling across the park. He wasn’t alone. At his side was Jennifer, the waitress from End Game.

  There was a rose in Jennifer’s hand.

  Really? Right here in the park for all to see? He was going to flaunt his dates at the very park where Olivia walked the dogs? At the park where he’d proposed to her?

  “I’m just as shocked as you are,” a woman piped up from the bench. “She claims to be so in love with Tommy. You know—I bet she killed Hannah.”

  “What?” Distracted, Olivia forced herself to look away from the strolling couple. She didn’t recognize the woman talking to her. “I’m sorry, did you just say that Jennifer killed Hannah?”

  “I’m sure of it. Surely you know that Hannah stole Jennifer’s fiancé. That’s all she could talk about for weeks. Whenever I went into End Game, I had to hear that woman complaining over and over again. Personally, I think Tommy broke up with her because she’s annoying.”

  Flabbergasted, Olivia stared at the woman. Had their small town become so used to the idea of dead bodies that it was okay to gossip about it now? She wanted to reprimand the woman, but she also wanted to know more. “Was it true? Did Hannah steal Tommy away?”

  The woman shrugged. “I don’t know. I think they went on a date or two, but I don’t really keep up with the young people in this town. I can say that Jennifer’s new man is about twenty steps up from Tommy. Look at him. Handsome. Clean cut. That’s the type of guy that you try to keep around.”

  “Yes, it is,” Olivia murmured as she turned her attention back to Andrew. It suddenly occurred to her that maybe Andrew was testing her. Before, he hadn’t been sure if she was committed. Maybe now he was testing to see if she loved him enough to fight for him.

  She certainly loved him enough to make sure he didn’t go to jail.

  “She was at End Game the night that Hannah was killed,” Olivia murmured. “She was talking to two guys. Someone named Rafe.”

  “Oh, Rafe. Poor guy. He’s just beside himself.” The woman shook her head with a sympathetic clicking of her tongue. “That’s Hannah’s cousin. They were so close when they were young.” She looked at her watch. “Excuse me, dear, but it’s time for my cat’s lunch. It was nice talking to you.”

  “You, too,” Olivia murmured. She waited until Andrew and Jennifer were out of view before Lily’s whine reminded her that she was supposed to be walking dogs, not solving a mystery.

  What were the odds that Andrew was dating both Hannah and Jennifer? If Jennifer did murder Hannah, or even if she didn’t and she just blamed Hannah for her broken engagement, she had definitely seen Andrew with Hannah. Maybe Jennifer wanted to exact revenge by stealing Hannah’s boyfriend.

  “Except that he’s my boyfriend,” Olivia grumbled. Jealousy filled her, and she took a few deep breaths. She really did need to confront Andrew.

  After she cleared him of murder.

  Coward, her inner voice hissed at her.

  Ignoring it, she finished the walk and dropped Lily and Tucker back off at their respective houses. She had two dogs coming in for daycare, not right away—she had an hour to kill, so she headed back down to the bakery. There was a huge line, but only Miranda was at the counter, and she looked stressed.

  “Where’s Janelle?” Olivia asked as she waved to get Miranda’s attention. Miranda jerked her head toward the office.

  Janelle was hiding in the office with that many people waiting? That didn’t sound like her sister.

  The door to the office was closed. Olivia knocked on it sharply before opening it.

  Janelle jerked up from the desk. There was a tiny amount of spit in the corner of her mouth, and what looked suspiciously like wing sauce clung to her cheek. “There’s not enough chicken!” she yelped.

  “Chicken?” Olivia frowned. “You make pastries. Why are you worried about chicken?”

  “Catering,” Janelle murmured. “I’m trying wing recipes. I think I fell asleep.”

  “Uh, you did. Miranda is outside, and the bakery is jumping. What is going on with you? Are you not sleeping?”

  “I’m sleeping,” Janelle snapped. “I’m sleepi
ng just fine. Everything is fine. Why are you bothering me? I’m busy! I have a business to run!”

  Bewildered, Olivia stepped back, and Janelle hurried to the front. “Whatever,” the younger sister sighed. If she couldn’t get Janelle’s attention, she’d go work on Jackie’s little mystery. She could start by reading the new romance.

  Wynona stared in horror at the open door that led out to the side yard. Even before she reached the opening, she knew that the yard was empty. That gate had been broken for months, and no one was supposed to use it as an exercise area unless the dogs were on leashes. Heart in her throat, she pushed the door open the rest of the way and scanned the gate.

  “Eleanor,” she said, trying for calm. “You didn’t let any of the dogs out here, did you? The door was standing open.”

  “No, Dr. Glenn. I know that it’s off limits until the gate is fixed.” The young woman gave her a wide-eyed, guileless look.

  “Can you double-check the kennels and make sure that all of the dogs and cats are accounted for?”

  “Of course, Dr. Glenn. The x-rays for the Carters’ pit bull just arrived, if you want to take a look.”

  Trying not to worry, Wynona nodded and headed to her office. One of her long-term dog patients had fallen while on an out-of-town hike, and she wanted to double-check the x-rays from the vet who’d treated him to make sure of the proper diagnosis. Pulling the records that the distant clinic had sent, she opened the envelope with the x-rays and held them up.

  The break was clean and would heal well, but she didn’t like the look of the joint. Too much fluid and swelling. She jotted down a note to call the owners that afternoon and see if they wanted to bring the dog in, now that they were back from out of town.

  As she headed out to the first exam room to take a look at a coughing calico, Eleanor returned with a panicked look on her face. “Dr. Glenn, Godiva is missing.”

  Wynona inhaled sharply. Godiva was her own beloved chocolate lab, and while the dog was microchipped, she wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed when it came to cars. “Anyone else?”