by B R Snow
“Is there a problem?” she said, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Maybe,” I said. “Can you join us for lunch?”
“Yeah, I can make that work,” Chef Claire said, then called out to Charlie who was standing in front of one of the stoves stirring a pot of soup. “I’m going to take a break and have lunch with Suzy. I assume you’ll be able to handle things by yourself.”
“Geez, I don’t know, Chef Claire,” Charlie said, glancing around the empty kitchen. “That’s asking a lot.”
“He thinks he’s a comedian,” Chef Claire said to me as we headed for the swinging doors that led into the dining room. “It’s the door on the right.”
“I knew that,” I said, slowly pushing the door open. “Let’s eat in front of the fire.”
We headed for the lounge and found it empty except for Millie who was sitting on the customer side of the bar watching TV.
“Hey,” she said, lowering the volume. “I can’t believe it. Real human contact. What can I get you guys?”
“I’ll stick with coffee,” Chef Claire said.
“I’m good for now, Millie. Thanks.”
Rooster and Josie entered through the front door and stomped snow off their feet before removing their coats. Rooster, as usual, was underdressed for the weather, and Josie was still wearing her scrubs. Chief Abrams arrived about a minute later, and he joined us in the lounge.
“Nice day, huh?” he said, glancing around.
“Yeah, if you live in the Arctic Circle,” Josie said. “How’s it going, Chief?”
“Better now that Suzy has offered to buy me lunch,” he said. “What’s good today, Chef Claire?”
“I’d go with the Reuben,” she said. “And wash it down with a mug of the tomato bisque.”
Everyone glanced at each other and nodded. Chef Claire called out to Millie.
“Millie, could you please buzz Charlie and let him know we’ll need five orders of the soup and sandwich combo?” Chef Claire said.
“Okay, Suzy,” Chief Abrams said. “I know you didn’t get me down here just so you could feed me. What’s up?”
“Something weird is going on,” I said, frowning.
“Well, I figured that,” the Chief said, glancing around with a big grin.
“Funny.”
“But I’m going to need a bit more,” the Chief said.
“I just came from a meeting with Sofia Rossi,” I said.
“I have no idea who that is,” the Chief said.
“She’s the woman who was working with Skitch Friendly producing the Otterhound litters,” I said.
“Okay,” the Chief said. “But as they say in the old country, what does that have to do with the price of fish?”
“Her entire business seems to be acting as a broker for people looking to acquire rare dogs,” I said.
“And you think she is somehow breaking the law?” Chief Abrams said.
“I’m not sure,” I said, frowning. “She’s very open about what she does, but since I was ostensibly there on Paulie’s behalf, maybe she thought she didn’t need to be secretive about it.”
“She’s somehow connected to organized crime?” the Chief said.
“I’m sure of it,” I said. “In fact, she openly admitted it.”
“Rossi?” the Chief said, frowning. “The name doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Her maiden name is Carlucci,” I said.
“Her father is Mikey the Mechanic?” the Chief said, surprised.
“Yeah, Michael Carlucci,” I said. “You know who he is?”
“Sure. He’s a heavy hitter in the City. At least, he used to be. I think he’s pretty much retired these days. What the heck is his daughter doing around here?”
“She said she needed to get out of New York, and her father set her up in the dog business.”
“Okay. But I’m still not following where you’re going with this,” the Chief said.
“Me either,” Josie said as she tossed another log on the fire.
“I could be wrong, but I think she was working with Friendly just to help him out a bit financially. It was like she had a soft spot for him.”
“A soft spot for Skitch?” Rooster said. “That’s a stretch.”
“When I mentioned that the five thousand she quoted for an Otterhound puppy was a lot of money, she waved it off like it was nothing. I got the feeling she did those litters as a favor to him.” I looked at Josie. “What are some of the numbers you’ve heard that rare dogs can go for?”
“Well, lately, the Tibetan Mastiffs have become a major status symbol. Especially for rich Chinese. If I wanted to get into the rare dog business, that would be the breed I’d be looking at. I read about one going for a million and a half about a year ago.”
“A million-five?” the Chief said. “For a dog?”
“For a very rare dog,” Josie said. “That’s obviously an outlier, but it wouldn’t surprise me to hear about Mastiff puppies going for a hundred thousand.”
“Man, I’m in the wrong business,” the Chief said. “So, she’s a high-end breeder?”
“No, she made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t like to work with breeders,” I said. “She said they tend to stick their nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“Then she’s definitely working the black market,” Josie said. “With no breeder involvement, you’d have a lot of problems getting the dog’s lineage records.”
“A dog’s lineage is important to a lot of people, right?” the Chief said.
“It’s vital,” Josie said. “At least, if you’re breeding purebred dogs or have any plans to show them. If you just want a cool dog, it’s not a necessity.”
“She said she guarantees that all her dogs are one hundred percent purebred,” I said.
“Well, if I was paying that much, I would certainly hope so,” the Chief said, shaking his head.
“Did she have a lot of dogs at her place?” Josie said.
“No, just one. A Rottweiler named Stinky.”
“That’s cruel,” Josie said, laughing. “The poor dog.”
“This is all very interesting, Suzy,” Rooster said. “But what does it have to do with me? Not that I’m complaining about the free lunch.”
“That’s the really interesting part of the story,” I said, giving him a small smile. “I met someone who works for her, and you’ll never guess who it is.”
“For the sake of saving time, let’s assume you’re right,” Rooster said. “Who was it?”
“Your cousin. Walter.”
“What?” Rooster said, his voice rising.
“Coke Bottle?” Josie said.
“That moron who stole Al and Dente?” Chef Claire said.
“And don’t forget the Dandie Dinmont,” Josie said.
“That’s the one,” I said, turning to Rooster. “I thought you banished him to Florida.”
“I thought I did too,” Rooster said. “What the heck is he doing working for her?”
“They didn’t say,” I said, shrugging. “But I do have a working theory.”
“Here we go,” Josie said, laughing. “This is always my favorite part.”
“Shut it,” I said, making a face at her. “Since Sofia doesn’t work with breeders, that means she somehow needs to find available females capable of producing litters.”
“Nothing gets past you,” Josie said, still laughing.
“But she doesn’t actually keep the dogs on site,” I said. “So, we can assume that she is paying those people to take good care of their dog and the puppies until they’re ready to go.”
“And those people wouldn’t have to deal with the problem of trying to sell all the puppies individually,” Josie said, nodding. “Yeah, I can see where that might appeal to some folks.”
“Especially if Sofia is paying them big bucks,” I said.
“But what about the other half of the transaction?” Chef Claire said. “She still needs to find a male to breed them with.”
�
�That’s where Rooster’s cousin comes in,” I said, tossing my line into the water to see what sort of reaction I got.
“Coke Bottle is stealing the males?” Chef Claire said, frowning. “He should have learned his lesson by now. If he’s stealing rare dogs, their owners would be reporting it to the cops immediately.”
“No, he’s not actually stealing the dogs,” I said, glancing around with a grimace. “Just a part of the dog.”
I waited out a long silence as they pondered my comment.
“Oh, no,” Josie said, scowling. “That’s disgusting.”
“My cousin is a dog semen thief?” Rooster said.
“Well, this is a lovely conversation to have over lunch,” Chef Claire said.
“Think about it,” I said. “It would be easy enough to find out where some of the top-end, rare-breed dogs live. Especially if the owner shows the dog or advertises stud services.”
“And then Coke Bottle does what?” Chef Claire said. “Sneak into where the dog lives and collect samples?”
“Yeah.”
“We really should have had you checked for a concussion when you got hit by the door,” Chef Claire said. “That’s nuts.”
“No, just think about it,” I said, glancing over at her.
“Suzy, I’m doing everything I can not to think about it,” Chef Claire said. “Yuk.”
“I’m sure breeders do it all the time,” I said.
“Good for the breeders,” Chef Claire said.
“Well, given what we know about Coke Bottle’s social life, I’m sure he’s immensely qualified for the job,” Josie deadpanned.
Everyone, including me, laughed long and hard.
Millie approached carrying a large tray.
“You sure you guys don’t want to sit at a table?” she said.
“No, this is good,” Josie said. “And the fire feels great.”
“Okay, just try not to spill it all over yourself,” Millie said, shrugging as she passed out our soup and sandwiches.
“Hey, I haven’t spilled in at least a week,” Josie said, reaching for her sandwich.
I took a sip of the bisque from my mug and nodded at Chef Claire.
“Good?” she said, taking a sip.
“A total knee-buckler,” I said, then gave my Reuben a loving stare. “I think I might have an idea why nobody knew that the Otterhound was pregnant.”
“Was Sofia still talking about a spring litter?” Josie said through a mouthful of corned beef as a trail of Thousand Island dressing dribbled down her chin.
“You’re leaking,” I said, tossing her a napkin. “She specifically mentioned the spring. Which means she’s completely out of the loop about Gabby’s condition.”
“So, what’s your theory?” the Chief said.
“I’m wondering if Coke Bottle got his hands on some Otterhound semen and decided to inseminate the dog,” I said, refocusing on my bisque and turning toward Rooster. “Your cousin ended up hiding in your cabin out in the woods both times we dealt with him.”
“He did,” Rooster said, nodding. “Chef Claire, how do you this? It’s just soup and a sandwich.”
“Thanks, Rooster,” she said, beaming at him. “You’re so sweet.”
“And your property bumps up against the Friendly’s at some point, right?”
“Yes, it certainly does.”
“Would your cousin know that? I mean, would he be familiar with the Friendly’s property?”
“Sure, that’s definitely a possibility,” Rooster said. “Walter loves to hike in the woods. At least, he used to. You think he inseminated the dog and has plans to steal her at some point?”
“I can’t think of any other explanation,” I said. “Nobody at the house and probably not even Skitch knew that the dog was pregnant.”
“Maybe Skitch figured out what was going on and confronted Coke Bottle about it?” Chef Claire said.
“And then Coke Bottle shot him?” Josie said, frowning.
“Not with his eyesight,” Rooster said. “He can’t see a foot in front of him.”
“How about with a powerful scope?” Chef Claire said.
“Maybe,” Rooster said, frowning. “But it’s highly unlikely.”
“He did only hit him in the shoulder,” Josie said. “Maybe he was aiming for something else.”
“Walter is a hunter,” Rooster said, shrugging. “But he’s just not a very good one.”
“No, I don’t like it,” the Chief said. “If Friendly’s death wasn’t accidental, I still like acquiring the gas lease rights as the motive.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said. “But something about this dog operation is bothering me. It has to be connected in some way.”
“I don’t see how,” the Chief said. “I think we’ve just got two parallel situations playing out. So, what now, Snoopmeister?”
“Well, I’d like to take a look around when we go back to the Friendly’s place,” I said.
“Why are you going back there?” Chef Claire said.
“We’re going to buy it,” I said.
“You’re going to buy hundreds of acres of land in the middle of the woods?” Chef Claire said.
“Well, my mother and Rooster and I are,” I said.
“She does keep us on our toes, doesn’t she?” Chef Claire said to Josie.
“She certainly does,” Josie said, laughing. “Let me guess, you’re going to buy it just so 3E can’t get its hands on the lease rights?”
“That’s the plan,” Rooster said, draining the last of his bisque.
“Won’t that upset Mr. Billows?” Josie said.
“We can only hope,” I said. “If he’s somehow involved in Friendly’s death, then he must be desperate to acquire the lease rights. Us buying it just might get him to tip his hand and do something stupid.” I noticed Chef Claire and Josie staring at me. “What? Did I spill?”
“I’m just sitting here thinking about what a uniquely weird person you are,” Josie said.
Chef Claire snorted.
“You got something to add?” I said, glaring at her.
“Great minds think alike?” she said, laughing.
“Okay, Snoopmeister, knock yourself out,” Josie said. “But that really doesn’t get you any closer to what’s going on with the dog operation.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said, glancing over at Rooster. “But Coke Bottle did mention that he was heading to Scranton. Does that mean anything to you? Do you have any family in that neck of the woods?”
“Nope,” Rooster said.
I sat quietly for the next few minutes munching on my sandwich. My neurons were working overtime, but nothing coalesced.
“Well, how about that?” Josie said, staring down at her phone.
“What is it?”
“Take a look,” she said, handing me the phone.
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head.
“What is it?” Chef Claire said, leaning forward to read from the screen. “Purebred Tibetan Mastiffs. The breeder is located right outside of Scranton.”
“Yes,” I said, scrolling. “And the breeder’s male is the top-rated Mastiff in the country.”
“I take it all back,” Chef Claire said. “When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”
“An annoying overeater with no fashion sense?” Josie deadpanned.
I tried to scowl at her but ended up laughing.
“Okay, I gotta give you that one,” I said. “That was good.”
“You think Coke Bottle is headed there?” Chef Claire said.
“I can’t think of any other reason he’d be going to Scranton,” Rooster said. “Do I see a road trip in our future?”
“You’d be willing to go with me?” I said.
“Absolutely,” Rooster said. “I need to have a little chat with my cousin.”
“If the weather clears a bit, we could go tomorrow.”
“No, tomorrow is no good,” Rooster said. “We need to pay a visit to Jessie Friendly before she decide
s to sell those lease rights. I already talked to your mom, and we’re heading out there first thing in the morning.”
“But that walk from the car to their house is going be brutal in all this snow,” I said, shaking my head.
“Yes, it would,” Rooster said. “That’s why we’re going to ski in.”
“We’re going to go cross-country skiing in the morning?”
“We are.”
“Crap.”
Chapter 15
I sat down in the Otterhound’s condo and gently placed Gabby’s head in my lap. I rubbed her ears while Josie examined the bandage on the dog’s front leg.
“That’s good for at least another day,” she said, sitting down next to the dog and inserting her stethoscope into her ears. “See if you can get her to roll over onto her back.”
I began scratching the Otterhound’s side, and soon she rolled over in my lap. I worked on her extended belly for a few moments then moved my hand to give Josie room. She listened closely as she moved the stethoscope around the dog’s stomach.
“I think I’m picking up six heartbeats today,” she said, sliding the instrument into her lab coat. “Maybe the little guy is moving around.”
“That’s great,” I said, hugging the Otterhound. “She has to be close to delivering, right?”
“She has to be,” Josie said, removing a bag of bite-sized from her coat and holding it out.
I grabbed a small handful and opened one with my good hand.
“No, these aren’t for you,” I said to the Otterhound who was paying close attention to what was in my hand. I reached into my pocket and removed a plastic bag of Chef Claire’s dog jerky and gave her a piece. “This is your snack.”
“If she doesn’t deliver soon, we’ll need to get her moving around,” Josie said. “I hate to do it given that leg.”
“She doesn’t seem to be in pain.”
“Yeah, I know, but she’s not moving around on it much,” Josie said, climbing to her feet. “I’m gonna give her a few more days and trust that she’ll know when it’s time. When are you leaving today?”
“Rooster and my mom are going to swing by to pick me up,” I said. “They said around nine.”
“Is that what you’re wearing?”
I glanced down at the thick pair of sweatpants I had on over thermal underwear along with two flannel shirts and a bulky sweater.
