Witch Doggone Killer

by Paula Lester

  I nodded and scooped up the puppy. “Okay, Dragon. Time to settle down and go back to sleep.” I rubbed my cheek on his and glanced at Aunt Dru. “I think you just named the little guy.”

  “Dragon. I like it.” As we ascended the stairs, she used the railing to steady herself. “You know, there is one piece of advice I want to give you about the dog show, honey.”

  “Oh, yeah? What’s that? I can use all the help I can get.”

  “I think you should go easy on how you judge the dogs.” She opened the door and let me go in with Dragon first.

  “Easy?” I put the pup back in the box he’d arrived in and adjusted the soft blue blanket inside. He immediately plopped down, put his chin on his paws, and closed his eyes. I straightened and grabbed my mug of tea off the end table, taking a sip and then making a face. “Got cold again.” I headed for the microwave.

  Aunt Dru followed me. “It’s just that I’m afraid if you judge the dogs too harshly, you may put yourself in danger.”

  I punched the microwave’s buttons and considered her words. “So, you think Arthur was killed because of his judging duties?

  She shrugged. “I don’t think we can rule anything out yet. It’s definitely possible.”

  I nodded and chewed my bottom lip. The microwave beeped, and I took the mug to the table to sit across from my aunt. “You may be right. I’ll be careful. But Crosby thinks Arthur’s death has to do with his real estate holdings. Oh! I forgot to tell you. Rocky, Arthur’s dog, was stolen out of his kennel on Catherine’s back porch this afternoon.”

  She sucked in a breath. “So, Arthur’s death does have to do with the dog show.”

  “That’s what I thought it meant. I don’t know if Crosby is ready to concede that or not.” I took a sip and sighed. Finally, some nice, hot chamomile. Maybe it would make me sleepy.

  Aunt Dru gave me a sly look. “Oh, well, I’m sure you can convince him. He hangs on your every word.”

  My head snapped up. “What? What are you talking about?”

  “Crosby, of course. He’s always thought the world of you.”

  “Oh. Well, yeah, we’re best friends.” My heart had sped up a bit at her words, and I couldn’t figure out why.

  She shook her head. “No, that isn’t what I mean. Crosby’s feelings for you go beyond friendship.”

  I was shocked. “Beyond?” My voice was squeaky, and I cleared my throat and took another sip of tea, trying to calm my racing pulse. My heart had gotten enough of a workout that evening that it was probably okay I’d missed my cardio workout. For the two hundredth day in a row.

  Aunt Dru looked amused. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. I mean, he’s always put you on a pedestal. But lately . . . well, his feelings are growing, that’s all.”

  She said it like it was known fact and not just her opinion. I had no idea what to make of it. “I think you’re reaching,” I said finally. “We’re just friends.” But I remembered how strange Crosby had acted when he asked me about the rumors concerning Jeremy and me. My stomach shifted. Was Aunt Dru right?

  I popped out of my seat. “I’m going to bed. I’ll take the puppy’s box with me.”

  She raised one eyebrow, obviously amused at my sudden desire to end the conversation. But she didn’t say anything about it. “I’ll take Dragon tonight,” she said instead. “You need your rest for the dog show tomorrow. Goodnight, honey.”

  I stopped to kiss her soft cheek before heading upstairs to my room. But I didn’t know how she figured I’d be able to sleep after what she’d just said to me.

  IT WAS CHAOS AT THE arena the next morning. And I definitely hadn’t had enough sleep to deal with chaos. Caffeine was going to have to pick up the slack.

  I’d stopped at Stroves’ Bakery, said hi to Julia, and grabbed a to-go mug full of the good stuff. She’d pressed a baggie of dog-shaped cookies into my hand and hurried back into the kitchen. Julia, usually cool and calm, looked a mess. Red hair stuck out of her hairnet at odd angles, and her pixie-like features were drawn. I hadn’t wanted to slow her down with questions. It was obvious she’d worked most of the night baking for dog show preparations. Not only would the bakery be extra busy with people coming in directly, but they also provided the goodies for the judges’ and dog handlers’ break rooms and the desserts for the awards show and after-glow reception.

  Even though I didn’t stop by the flower shop, I knew Alyson would be similarly busy doing arrangements for the arena and the reception as well as building corsages for the show folk and judges.

  The dog show was a major source of income for Superior Bay, and it must go on, whether or not one of the judges was murdered and his show quality dog stolen.

  When I got to the arena, there were so many people there it looked like they were crawling over the space like ants. I felt uneasy as my eyes darted from person to person, seeing suspects everywhere instead of the neighbors and friends I’d known my whole life.

  Of course, some of the people there weren’t from Superior Bay. Folks from other cities, states, and even Canada had started arrive, both those who planned to show dogs and those just there as spectators. It was like Christmas for my hometown, when the local businesses made much of their yearly money.

  But instead of dollar signs, all I saw were potential killers.

  Especially when Mike Gentry walked in.

  What was he doing there? As far as I could remember, I’d never seen him show a dog. Then again, I hadn’t really known who he was until recently, so maybe he did show or own a dog, and I just never noticed him.

  But he didn’t have a dog with him at that moment. And he was talking to the guard outside the room that held the medications. I frowned. What did he want with that room? He wasn’t a judge or a vet, so he had no business trying to get into it.

  Before I could think about it too much, I found myself walking in Mike’s direction. I arrived next to him before I’d formulated an excuse for being there. He glanced at me, a question on his face, but I just stood gazing back at him.

  The guard’s eyes moved from my face to Mike’s and back. Then he cleared his throat. “Like I was saying, you don’t have clearance for this room, sir. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave.”

  Mike narrowed his eyes at me before returning his attention to the guard. “But I need medicine for my friend’s dog. A supplement. I guess she needs to take it every day, and my friend asked me to come pick it up. She’s with her dog at the groomer and can’t get it herself.”

  But the guard was already shaking his head. “Sorry. That’s not how it works.”

  “Who’s your friend?” Oh, great. My voice had finally decided to work and, instead of making small talk and trying to get into Mike’s good graces to learn something, I’d just blurted out a totally obvious question. There was no way I’d get any useful information now.

  Mike regarded me with a cool expression again. Then he smiled and stuck out his hand. “Mike Gentry. And you are?”

  My skin prickled like a cool gust of air had skidded over it. If Mike was a killer, I’d just put myself on his radar. Should I give him a fake name? “Willow Morgan, DVM.” Ach! My mouth seemed to be working without the benefit of input from my brain. And it was saying much braver stuff than I wanted it to.

  “Ah. The vet.” He shook my hand a little too firmly, and I was relieved when he released it.

  I tried to be surreptitious about flexing my fingers to work out the soreness from his grip. “The one and only!” I said too brightly. “Well, not the only. There’s my associate, Jeremy Miller, too.”

  He looked amused. “Okay. Well, thanks for the information. I have to get going now. But it was nice to meet you.” He turned to leave.

  I felt panic for a second as my quarry made to disappear, and I blurted out, “You didn’t say who your friend is.” When he turned back around to face me, I hurried to continue, “Maybe I can help.”

  “Oh. That’s okay. How bad could it be if a dog doesn’t get its supple
ment for a day?” He shrugged and disappeared into the thickening crowd.

  I bit off a curse. I’d had one of the main suspects in Arthur’s murder right in front of me and managed to learn exactly nothing.

  I was a terrible detective.

  “Willow, dear!” Jane’s sing-songy tone drew my attention through the crowd, and I picked my way over to her. “Time for your first judging!” She clapped her hands like an excited kid. “Oh, this is so exciting.” She grabbed my arm and started weaving through people and dogs, heading toward the closest entry to the main arena.

  A guard waved us through, and when we got inside, I drew a deep breath, relieved to be out of the crowd and have some more open space to breathe in. In fact, no one else was in the arena except the other judges, all seated at a long table on one side of the large oval room.

  “This pre-show is just practice for the younger dogs and newer owners.” Jane smiled widely. “And brand-new judges, of course. So, you don’t have to be nervous. Just remember everything you learned yesterday and have fun.” She led me to an open seat at the end of the judge’s table where a pad of paper and pen sat waiting for me. Then she hurried off to talk to the announcer in a booth behind the judges.

  A moment later, people began pouring into the arena. Noisy spectators made the room sound like an echoey tin can as they made their way to seats in the bleachers. It took fifteen minutes to get everyone settled, and then the announcer began calling out the names of handlers and dogs.

  One by one, the pairs jogged out into the arena and then around the oval to stop right in front of our table. All the judges scribbled furiously on their notepads.

  All I could think about during the pre-show was what Aunt Dru had said about not judging anyone too harshly for fear that I may find myself in the killer’s sights. My nerves jangled, and I couldn’t remember anything I’d learned from the president of the board or the rule books I’d scoured over for the past few days. Instead, I could only think about Arthur and how he may have been killed because of the dog show.

  I gave all the dogs top or near-top marks. Whenever it was my time to shout out a score, all the judges’ heads swiveled toward me, their eyes seeming to bore into my skull. It made me want to squirm out of my seat. I didn’t want to be a judge anymore.

  After the mock show was over and everyone had clapped and cheered, the spectators started filing out. I thought about trying to find Mike again, but then I caught sight of him near one of the exits, head bent low as he talked with a blonde woman. I couldn’t see her face, but I was willing to bet it was Angelique Johnson.

  I got up and took two steps in the couple’s direction, but then Sarah appeared in front of me, blocking my way. “You judged way too generously.” Her tone was accusatory.

  I blinked at the woman, who seemed to have just added foundation to what she’d already had on the day before. “Um. What?”

  She crossed her arms. I realized several other judges had gathered around us, so I was in the center of a small throng. What was going on?

  “You can’t judge so generously,” she repeated. “Why are you doing that?”

  Did she mean that I was giving everyone high marks? I shifted my feet and glanced toward where Mike and Angelique had been, but they were gone.

  Carl nudged Sarah to the side and smiled kindly at me. “Don’t pay her any mind,” he said. But then his smile faded. He sniffed and leaned in closer. “But you aren’t on the take, right?”

  “On the what?” I felt baffled. These people seemed to be speaking a different language. I looked around at the other judges in the circle around me, and they all stared hard at me.

  Jane pushed past the rest of the judges and glared at them until they dispersed. Then she grabbed my hands. “Dear, did anyone pay you to judge the dogs higher than they should be?”

  I shook my head vehemently. “No. What? No!”

  She nodded and patted my hands. “Okay. I didn’t think so.” She glanced at the other judges, who had walked ten feet away and stood whispering to each other and watching me and Jane. “They’re always on the lookout for a judge who’s been purchased. It happens sometimes, you know. The other judges will root that out and kick the corrupt judge off the panel faster than they can say boo.”

  “Really?” My mind was racing. I couldn’t very well explain that I’d been judging on the kind side because I was trying to avoid getting bumped to the top of a killer’s victim list.

  Jane nodded. “Really. See, there are a lot of perks to being a dog show judge. I mean, besides the salary, even.”

  I’d been watching the other judges, but at her words, my eyes jerked back to Jane’s face. “Did you just say salary?”

  Jane’s eyes got wider by a fraction. “Didn’t I tell you about that? Oh, my. My mind just hasn’t been where it should be since Arthur died. I’m so sorry. Yes, you’ll get quite a hefty salary for doing this job for our show.” She leaned in and whispered an amount to me.

  My eyes got much wider than Jane’s had been.

  That amount of money would be enough to keep my clinic afloat for at least six months, even if appointments didn’t pick up for a while.

  “Yes, plus we all get some other concessions. You know, free timeshare occupancy and that sort of thing. I’ll get you a complete list.” She clicked her tongue. “I can’t believe I forgot to do that.” She patted my hand again and then let go. “Anyway, don’t take any bribes. It’s not worth what you’ll be losing. Just judge fairly, and all will be right as rain.” She winked and walked away, the other judges trailing behind her.

  I swallowed hard. I’d thought being a judge was a voluntary position, but it was far from it. There was no way I could risk being kicked out now. The money would keep my clinic going and my employees . . . employed. I’d have to do my best to judge the dogs fairly.

  Like I would if I weren’t in fear for my life.

  Chapter 12

  After a full morning of pre-show work at the arena, I went to the clinic to unwind, check on things, and have lunch. I was in my office going through payroll spreadsheets when Catherine brought Aunt Dru and Dragon back. I jumped up to greet them and take the puppy from her.

  “I figured he could use a good once-over and some vaccinations,” Aunt Dru explained and then blushed. “I mean, since we’re keeping him, we need to make sure he’s as healthy as possible.”

  I held the beagle in front of my face and wiggled him back and forth. “So, we’re keeping you, are we? Well, welcome to the Fairtree-Morgan family, little guy.” I gave him a tight squeeze, and he tried to wriggle out of my arms. Laughing, I set him on the floor, and he darted out of the office toward the treatment room. There were no appointments in the building and nothing going on, so I let him go explore as I gave Aunt Dru a report on what had happened at the show that morning, ending with news of how I was to be paid and receive other benefits for being a judge.

  Aunt Dru patted her loose bun, pushing a stray piece of silver hair back into it. “Oh, yes. I hadn’t thought about the compensation.” She frowned. “You’ll have to walk a finer line than I thought between judging fairly, so the other judges don’t think you’re taking bribes, and not judging too roughly, so the killer doesn’t target you.”

  I shuddered at the words and leaned back to sit on the edge of my desk. “It just rubs me the wrong way—thinking about needing to judge a certain way to keep someone happy. I agreed to be a judge, and I feel like I need to do it the right way, not the way others want me to do it.” I crossed my arms. “You know, I think I’m starting to get tired of being afraid of this faceless, nameless person who killed Arthur. He or she is the criminal, not me.”

  She pursed her lips and looked amused for a moment. Then she nodded once. “I figured you’d come to that conclusion eventually. You are my Willow, after all. You’ve never done anything halfway, and you’ve never done it any way but the right way.” Pride was obvious on her face, and it made me feel warm inside. “But you can’t blame an old lad
y for trying to protect her pride and joy, can you?”

  I shook my head. No, I couldn’t blame her for trying to protect me. But I didn’t really agree with her assessment that I’d never done anything halfway. The truth was that I’d only been a partial witch. I had never taken the time or had the interest to study my powers more. “You know, I’ve been thinking,” I said in a low voice. “I’d like you to teach me some more things. You know . . . some of those things that are gifts in my family?”

  Her whole expression brightened, as though a lightbulb had come on behind her skin. “Yes, I know just what you mean. I’d love to teach you, honey.”

  I gave her a hug. “Thank you,” I whispered. “We can start tonight when I get home.”

  She nodded and swiped a hand under her eye. I didn’t see a tear, but I knew there must have been one there. That shocked me. I’d never known it was so important to my aunt that I learn more about my power. She’d made the offer to teach me dozens of times but always gently, and she’d never acted disappointed when I blew it off.

  I felt a stab of guilt. Poor Aunt Dru. She’d basically given over her life to raising me after my parents disappeared, and I couldn’t even be bothered to let her teach me about my magic.

  Well, that was going to change. My power was part of me, and it was time I got to know it better. Oh, I could do small things, of course. Move stuff from here to there and give my hearing a boost to listen to something farther away than I normally could. But I knew there was a lot more to learn.

  “We’d better check on Dragon,” Aunt Dru said. “Beagles can follow their noses into all kinds of trouble.”

  But when we got into the treatment room, we didn’t see the puppy. My eyes scanned the area, and I realized the door leading to the kennels was open. I hurried across the room, imagining the puppy head and shoulders into a bag of dog food.

  But he wasn’t getting into trouble. Korbin was holding Dragon in front of his own face, giving the puppy an intent look and whispering something in an urgent tone. He saw me approach out of the corner of his eye and lowered Dragon to hold him next to his side. The tech shifted his feet, and his eyes darted between me and my aunt.