“Well, let’s think about where else we’re going to start,” Po said. “Ideas?”
“They’re the same ideas I had when I was trying to think about who might have taken Fitzgerald,” Maggie said. “And I probably don’t have enough of them.”
“We’ve got to start somewhere,” Kate said.
“Well, we’ve got the lead that perhaps Jack Francis and Melanie are short on money,” Po said thoughtfully. “Leah and I heard that from Marla—remember the canceled flower order? And we’ve got some confirmation from Ambrose at Brew and Brie and also from your reconnaissance at the dealership, right, Kate?”
“Yeah, I think that’s fair,” Kate said. “But how does that help us? Fitzgerald disappearing doesn’t help Mercedes’ family’s finances, does it? And Mercedes disappearing seems to hurt them, too. No?”
“Well, they actually have quite a pack of dogs,” Maggie said. “I see them all for routine care. I think there are eight. And eight dogs bring a lot of expense. Especially at this level.”
“Like how much?” Po asked.
“I’d hate to guess,” Maggie said. “But Mercedes is for sure my biggest client. And dog food for eight big dogs is substantial. I could look up the general costs of dog ownership and start to give you an idea. And then you have to tack on the additional costs of these dogs.”
“Because they’re show dogs, you mean?” asked Kate.
“Exactly,” Maggie said. “Mercedes always has a trainer working with them. Usually, but not always, that person will also show the dog or dogs. You have additional grooming costs. And travel costs. And the entry fees. And sheesh, if you breed a bitch with a champion dog, that will cost you for sure.”
Po looked down at Hoover, who, true to form, was lying across her feet. “Makes you look like a bargain, doesn’t it.” He obligingly opened one eye at the sound of her voice and closed it again, when it was clear she didn’t require anything more.
“So, what we’re saying is that cutting back your team by one dog doesn’t save you much,” Po said.
“Right,” said Maggie. “Plus if you were going to get rid of a dog, it wouldn’t be Fitzgerald. Of all the dogs they own, he may have the highest earning potential.”
“But if you got out of the dog business entirely, you could potentially save a bunch of money, right?” asked Kate.
“Yes, I think so,” Maggie said. “But really, most people don’t do it for gain. They love dogs and love the breed and love the spectacle of shows. They do it because they like it.”
“But,” said Po thoughtfully, “it’s Mercedes who loves it. Maybe the rest of the family isn’t so keen.”
“Could be,” Kate agreed. “We might be able to find that out. Whether Jarrod Richardson and Jack Francis supported the dog show scene.”
“Angela said she used to train and show Fitzgerald,” Po said. “I bet she knows more about the family dynamics.”
“That’s right,” Maggie said. “I’ll ask her about it.”
“Would you mind if I listened in?” Po asked. “I’d like to hear what she says.”
“Sure,” Maggie said. “Why don’t you just come by the clinic in the morning.”
“Do you know why she quit working for Mercedes?” Po asked.
“No, not really,” Maggie said. “She did get busier at the clinic, I think. But I never really asked. We can talk to her about it tomorrow though.”
Just as she finished her sentence, the doorbell rang again, and Po opened the door to find lanky Aaron Whitaker on her doorstep, looking tired and a bit uncomfortable.
“Hi, Mrs. Paltrow,” Aaron said.
“Thanks for coming by, Aaron,” she said. “Maggie and Kate are here, too.”
They made their way back to the comfortable cluster of sofa and chairs where the trio had settled earlier. The two-sided fireplace separated the seating from the kitchen, and a huge, rustic coffee table gave them an ample platform for their small plates and glasses. Aaron settled on a Coke, and armed with a small plateful of food, he somewhat hesitantly joined them by sliding his large frame into a large leather club chair.
Kate glanced at the other two and then took the lead.
“So, Aaron,” she said. “What a mess. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the police had questioned Maggie today. And then I heard they’d come by your place, too.”
She paused, and Aaron nodded.
Kate hesitated, thinking about how to go on.
“Well,” she said, “we’re a little worried that they think you or Maggie had something to do with Fitzgerald disappearing—and now it seems Mercedes is gone, they think the two incidents are related. Is that what it seems like to you?”
Aaron’s face looked a little pinched. “But I just wanted to help,” he said. “I know Mrs. Richardson was all mad about that day with the cat. And then her ritzy dog disappeared. I knew she’d be furious.”
“You were great, Aaron,” Maggie said. “I appreciated your help looking for Fitzgerald. And you found him, which was awesome. But it looks like we might be running into more trouble.” Now Maggie looked worried, too. “We need to do anything we can to head it off.”
She made an effort to smile at Aaron, whose upset showed through more clearly now. “I don’t need anymore trouble. And you don’t either, right?”
He managed a ghost of a smile.
“What exactly were the police asking about when they came by?” Po asked. “Maybe that will give us ideas.”
“Well, they asked about how Fitzgerald could have gotten out and where I found him and when. I told them I’d looked in the same places before. I just got lucky. But I’m not sure they believed me.”
He paused, and Po nodded at him to go on.
“I told them someone had him tied up for a while. He had the end of a rope tied around his neck.”
“Interesting,” Po said. “But he was loose when you found him?”
“Yes,” Aaron confirmed.
“Then what?” Maggie asked.
“Then they asked all about what happened when I took him back to Mercedes’ house.”
“What happened?” Maggie asked.
“Nothing,” Aaron said a touch impatiently. “I didn’t see anybody. I don’t think there was anyone home.
“I called the clinic when I found him,” Aaron said. “Luckily Angela was there. I took him in, and we gave him a bath. And then she called Mercedes and you to say we found him.”
Maggie nodded. “I got the call from Angela. I wanted to go straight to the clinic to give Fitz a once over, but Angela convinced me he was fine. She and Aaron had given him a bath, and she said Mercedes was expecting Aaron to bring Fitz by. She didn’t think it was worth the delay at that point.” Maggie smiled. “I’m sure she was right,” she said. “She always is. I had to do something to burn off my excitement a little, though. So I went to buy champagne and I came over,” she said with a nod at Po.
“Mercedes said she’d come right home to meet me. And she said that if I was there first, I should put Fitzgerald in the house. She said she’d left the back door open. So that’s what I did.”
“You didn’t see anyone?” Kate asked.
“No. There was no one home,” Aaron said. “I knocked. No answer. The door was open, and I stuck Fitzgerald inside.”
“Did the police ask you about anything else?” Po asked.
He hesitated.
“They asked me not to leave town,” he said.
He hesitated again.
“What is it?” Kate asked.
“They said they’d checked with the neighbors and I was in there too long for my story to be true,” Aaron said.
“How long were you there?” Maggie asked.
“Not long,” Aaron said, looking defiant. “But I did go in.” He stopped and looked at all of them, then his words came out all in a tumble. “Fitz walked through a muddy puddle on the way to the door, and I just couldn’t let him get yuck all over the floor and get in trouble again. Not after everything
. And we worked so hard to find him. That was supposed to make everything better. But she’s got these white tile floors.…” He trailed off.
“So you cleaned up his feet and wiped up the floor?” Po asked gently.
He nodded.
“And did you tell the police all that?” Kate asked.
Aaron nodded again. “Like I said,” he said. “I’m not sure they believed me.”
He looked at three women, and suddenly they saw his face get firm. “I’m sick of this,” he said fiercely. “And those guys are wrong if they think they can intimidate me. I didn’t do anything wrong.” In that moment, Aaron looked twice as big and 10 times as intimidating as any of them had ever seen him.
“Well, we believe you,” Maggie said firmly.
“And we’ll get it all figured out, too,” Po said. “You don’t have to worry.”
“Thanks,” Aaron said, but he looked somehow older than he had when Po’d seen him at the clinic. And there was a certain stiffness in his gait as he left, which made Po think that they’d really only seen the crest of what was a much deeper wave of anger.
“Do you think we made him feel at all better?” Maggie asked after he left. “Poor kid. Can you imagine how he’s feeling? And none of this is his fault.”
“I’ve certainly never seen him react to anything with that kind of fire before, so he’s really worried,” Kate said. “And we know he’s innocent, but apparently not everyone does. It is so maddening to think that the police questioned Aaron today. That means that if Mercedes really is missing, they’re talking to the wrong people!” Kate gave her often-unruly hair a toss over her shoulder, a characteristic “I’m taking action” gesture from the tall young woman. “P.J. will be off in an hour or so. I’ll see if I can learn anything else.”
Maggie followed Kate out, thanking Po as she went. “See you in the morning.”
When they’d gone, Po thought over everything they’d talked about. Aaron could clearly be fiercer than she’d realized. And one other thought bothered her. When Aaron dropped off Fitzgerald, no one was home. So, where were they? “It seems like Mercedes would have dropped everything,” she thought. “I wonder what could have held her up?”
CHAPTER 9
When Po woke up, her thoughts turned immediately toward her plans for the day, starting with another trip to Maggie’s clinic to talk with Angela. When Maggie had arrived the day before, Po had been studying the list Angela had given her of people who had access to the clinic during the time that Fitzgerald had escaped or been stolen. “I have to admit, I’m leaning toward stolen,” Po muttered to herself as she drank a quick cup of coffee and eyed the list that was still stacked on the table.
Thirty minutes later, she headed back out, dressed in a comfortable pair of cocoa pants and a brown-flecked black turtleneck. And when she arrived at Helmers’ Animal Clinic, she found Maggie in her office, poring over a set of spreadsheets.
“The month-end reports,” Maggie said with a grimace. “Thank goodness for Angela. I can barely get these out of the computer without her. And that consultant Max set me up with is coming tomorrow. What terrible timing.” She shook her head. “Still, I have to do something. I am just barely keeping this place out of the red.”
“I’m sorry, Maggie,” Po said with sympathy. “I know that’s got to be frustrating. And not what you need on top of these other problems.”
“You’re telling me,” Maggie said. “And yes, wildly frustrating. We’re so busy. It seems impossible that we’re not making money.” She sighed. “I’m sure it will all work out. It always does. And anyway, that’s tomorrow’s problem.” She managed a wan smile.
“Good thinking,” Po said. ‘Today’s problems today; tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.”
Maggie laughed. “Otherwise I might not make it,” she said. “I’ve always had this theory. I can handle any problem if it comes on its own. Problems a la carte — no problem. Earnings are down. That’s a taco. A dog disappeared. Side of beans. My employee is suspected of kidnapping. A big burrito with cheese sauce. But all of it together gives me indigestion.”
Po laughed. “Genius,” she said. “We’ll just deal with appetizers today. Those are my favorite anyway.”
She grew serious again. “Before we talk with Angela, can you look at this list with me, Maggie?”
“Sure,” Maggie said. “What is it?”
“This is the list that Angela gave me of the people who have codes to get in,” Po said. She spread it on Maggie’s desk, and the two of them looked at the lists.
“First of all,” Po said, “is there anyone missing?” Maggie thought for a second.
“I see everyone on the team here,” she said running her finger down the list. “And the plumber, electrician and contractor.”
She paused. “Of course, there’s no way to know if any of the people on this list brought someone along or gave the code to someone else.”
“That’s true,” Po said thoughtfully. “But I’m not sure what to do about that. I think we’ll just have to go with this until we learn something different.”
“How are you thinking the list can help,” Maggie asked.
“Well, if it’s OK with you, I guess I’m thinking I should talk with everyone on the list. It’s probably a waste of time, but it’s one of the only concrete steps I can think to take.”
“I appreciate that you’re trying to help, Po,” Maggie said. “Of course, you can talk to anyone you want.”
“Do you mind letting everyone on your team know?” Po asked. “I don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable. Then maybe I could come back tomorrow.”
“Of course I can talk with them,” Maggie said. “We get together for a few minutes every morning to make sure we’re on the same page about the patients we’ve got and look at the schedule for the day. I’ll mention to them that you’ll be around.” She grimaced again. “And I’ll remind them that the consultant will be here.” She sighed.
“You really are not looking forward to that, are you,” Po said.
“No,” Maggie admitted. She gave Po a small smile. “I know I should be. I need the problems fixed. But I know there’s a problem. And I hate for other people to know.”
She smiled again. “Silly, I know.”
“It’s not silly,” Po said. “And you’ll be fine.”
“Oh, I know,” Maggie said. “In fact, getting some advice could set me up to enjoy my practice even more. But still …” Just then Angela came in.
“I asked Julie to cover the front desk and Tess is backing up on the phones,” she said. “Mrs. Linder called and said she can’t make it, so we actually have a little breathing room this morning.”
“That sounds perfect,” Maggie said. “Thanks, Angela. I wouldn’t be stopping to talk about this, but we’re thinking maybe the disappearance of Fitzgerald and Mercedes’ disappearance could be related.”
“Really?” said Angela, looking surprised.
“Well, that seems like the only thing that makes sense,” Maggie said. “Why else would the police come here first?”
“So, Mercedes is missing for sure?” Angela asked.
“We don’t know a lot about it,” Po said. “We’re trying to learn more. But the police did come here yesterday to talk to Maggie. And they’d only do that if they thought there were a connection, I think.”
“You know me, Dr. Maggie. If I can help I will,” Angela said. Maggie smiled. “Yes,” she said. “I know.”
“We’re wondering if you could tell us more about the time you spent training Fitzgerald,” Po said. “If we can learn more about who might have taken Fitzgerald, maybe we’ll learn more about where Mercedes can be.”
“I can’t imagine who would want to hurt Fitzgerald,” Angela said. “He really is a wonderful dog.”
“I was more thinking that having Fitzgerald missing might hurt Mercedes,” Po said. “She really does seem attached to him.”
“I think just in the way you’re attached to Hoover,”
Angela said with a smile. “Our pets can have a very special place in our lives, can’t they.”
“What about Jarrod?” Maggie asked. “Is he just as fond of Fitzgerald as Mercedes is?”
Angela hesitated a moment. “I’m not sure he was exactly,” she said finally. “I mean, he liked Fitzgerald fine, I think. But it’s a lot of work to have eight dogs. And that was the last count at Mercedes’ house. Of course, some of them are just fostered. They go away eventually. But many are theirs, and the dogs are getting training, and eating and needing exercise. It’s a lot of work.”
“Who took over the training when you cut back?” Maggie asked.
“Oh, it’s Samantha Herron,” Angela said. “She’s very nice. She works with lots of dogs, and has done it for ages. Fitzgerald was in good hands.” Angela got very serious. “I really couldn’t have quit if I hadn’t been sure that someone great would be stepping in. But I knew she’d do a great job.”
“Why did you decide to quite training him?” Po asked.
“I just got busier. I was starting to work more hours here,” she said, “and that made it harder to give him the time he needed. And I got tired of the travel.”
“Did you have to travel much?” Po asked.
“It was quite a bit,” Angela said. “To get enough points to be considered for Westminster, a serious owner wants you to be showing almost every weekend.”
“That must have been stressful,” Po said.
“Now that he’s not showing as much, it’s an easier job. I’m sure Samantha is loving it,” Angela said.
“Does she take care of the other animals, too?” Po asked.
“Yes, I’m sure she works with all of them at least a little,” Angela said. “But still, there’s lots of work left over for the rest of the family.”
She dropped her voice and leaned a little closer. “The truth is, I thought Jarrod was about done with the dogs when I moved on. I just don’t think he can change much about what Mercedes does. Especially not when she’s got her heart set on it. And Jack Francis was always complaining about the money they cost.”
“Jack Francis and Melanie live with Mercedes and Jarrod, right?” Maggie asked.
Dog-Gone Murder Page 6
