Pooches, Pumpkins, and Poison

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

  Allie stretched and slowly pushed her way up to stand next to me. I smiled and rubbed her ears. Why would anyone be afraid of such a loving soul? Pit bulls were originally used as nannies for children in Europe. They were kind and gentle animals by nature, but like humans, could be raised wrong, and that impacted who they became.

  If I could adopt every one of them, I would.

  Bandit, on the other hand, was a big mush ball of drool and hair, and though he was smart in many ways, he’d lacked dog sense, as I liked to call it. Bandit thought every living being was his friend—except worms—and wanted nothing more than to love on them all. He did not understand that his eighty-pound bundle of love intimidated other animals. He also thought he was a lap dog, and even though he was a lab, a breed that loved water, he couldn’t swim. And he snored. Loudly.

  He made me laugh on a daily basis, and I was thrilled to call myself a complete foster failure.

  Bandit dragged himself from the ground and came over to see what Allie thought was so great over by me. He nudged my leg with his snout and rubbed the side of his muzzle against me, his way of saying hello.

  “You two ready to head back? I’ve got to figure out who’s trying to stop us from adopting out your buddies.”

  They wagged their tails and took off galloping through the grass. They got back to the house faster than me, though in my defense, I only had two legs to their four, and I was several years older. We headed in through the back and they immediately emptied the water bowl. As I filled it, my Ring doorbell chimed on my phone. I checked the video and saw Gina Palencia standing there with a plastic food container in her hands and groaned. Surprise visits weren’t something I enjoyed.

  I answered the door via my phone. “Hey Gina, I’ll be right there.” I switched off the video and headed to the front door. I smiled. “Modern technology. Sam installed it before he—” I stopped myself. Everyone knew Sam was dead, and I knew it made people uncomfortable when I brought it up.

  “Oh, Missy, I was so worried about you. I heard about the cyanide on the pumpkins, and I watched the police take away the turf. Whatever will you do?”

  The turf. Darn it, I totally forgot to order more. I’d do that as soon as she left. I just hoped that would give them enough time to deliver it. The roll wasn’t too big, but it was large enough that I’d had to have people tie it on the top of my car to get it anywhere.

  I opened the door further. “Would you like to come in?”

  She hesitated when she saw Allie and Bandit, who were both standing behind me. Allie’s ears were down, and Bandit, God bless him, wagged his tail because he’d never once met a stranger.

  I smiled at her. “Don’t worry about them.” I escorted her in as I scooted the dogs to the large keeping room attached to the kitchen. I’d added a portable kids fence there for times like this, when someone appeared uncomfortable with my dogs, or when one of the fosters needed a warm up time around strangers, or I just needed to get something done without a snout where it didn’t belong. Bandit knew the drill, but Allie was a little put off by having to be fenced in. Her slightly slanted eyes widened, and she barked her disapproval.

  “I know, baby but give me a few minutes with Gina. You’ll be fine.”

  Gina tilted her head and pointed toward the dogs. “Do you think he understands you?”

  “I’m pretty sure she does. It might just be the tone or volume of my voice, but I think she understands the meaning if not the actual words.”

  “Wouldn’t that be great if that worked with humans, too?”

  I laughed. “A miracle, for sure.”

  She set the plastic food container on the counter. “I wanted to bring you something. You’ve been through a lot recently, and I thought you might not want to deal with making yourself a homecooked meal.” Her eyes studied my kitchen. “It must be hard cooking for one after so long.”

  I nodded. “It was an adjustment, but it’s not as hard as people think.”

  “Oh, well.” She waved her hand and shook her head at the same time. “I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s taco soup. Really, it’s a spicy Mexican flavored chili, because of its thickness, but the recipe is called taco soup.”

  I opened the container and the heavy spicy aroma flowed out. Cumin, one of my favorite spices, burst from the dish and enveloped my nose, and I was immediately hungry, but already had a plan for my dinner. “It smells wonderful, Gina, thank you.” I placed the container in the freezer.

  She smiled. “So, they’ve released Jake Fielding.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard.”

  “I guess since they found cyanide on the fake grass, they decided he couldn’t have killed his wife.”

  “Did they make it public that they found cyanide?” I assumed they would since it was on my jeans, but I hadn’t heard anything official.

  “It’s not public, but you know how these things go. Everyone knows already. Good for Jake though, isn’t it?”

  I shrugged. “He could have paid someone to do his dirty work. Who knows?”

  “Do you think that?”

  I filled my coffee pot with water from my refrigerator. “Would you like a coffee? I have decaf since it’s after five o’clock.”

  “Yes, that would be lovely. Thank you.”

  I made a full pot, placed two cups with saucers and spoons and cream and sugar on the counter. “Have a seat.”

  She pulled a barstool out and sat.

  “I’m not sure who killed Traci,” I said as I poured coffee into the two cups. I’ve been considering possibilities, and there are a few.”

  “You’re considering possibilities? Why is that?”

  I stirred the cream in my coffee. “Because they made it personal when they tried to harm my dogs.”

  She added a spoonful of sugar to her coffee, but no cream. “Do you really think Rick Morring is responsible?”

  Her comment, bold as it was, came out of left field. “What makes you say that?”

  “There’s been talk. I guess someone saw the two of you discussing something about the pooch parties, and neither of you looked happy, so you know how it goes. It just spun into that from there I guess.”

  “That’s kind of a stretch, don’t you think?”

  She set her coffee cup down. “Oh, I don’t know. I just meant—” She exhaled. “Well, as the new head of the festival, several of the volunteers have come to me, you know, with their thoughts, ideas, suggestions, that kind of thing.”

  She’d been the festival head for all of a day, but I guess I could see that happening. “And they’re talking about Rick Morring and I having a private discussion?”

  “Nothing’s private in festival planning, Missy.”

  I half-laughed, but only because it was obnoxiously true. “And what are they saying?”

  “That Morring made it clear to Traci he wanted your part of the festival removed, and he said as much to you.”

  I swallowed a large gulp of coffee. “Has he said anything to you?”

  She stiffened. “Well, he mentioned it the other day, but not since I’ve been in charge.”

  “And what exactly did he say?”

  She glanced at my pups lying on fluffy dog beds on the floor and chewing on Benebones. “Just that he thought it was dangerous for the community.”

  I exhaled as I smiled over at my babies. “Do those two look dangerous to you? Did they threaten you in any way when I let you in?”

  She hesitated but smiled. “Oh, no. Of course not. They’re darling, really.”

  “I’ve worked hard with the shelter dogs, had many of them successfully trained and adopted out. I’m even working on a training program with the inmates at the county jail which will benefit the dogs and the people. We’ve been to dozens of events, and not one dog has harmed anyone. Unless you count possibly being kissed to death, my dogs aren’t threatening at all.” I felt the blood boiling in my veins,
and a wave of red heat rose up my neck. “It’s unbelievable to think people believe I would risk their safety.”

  “I agree. That’s why I’m wondering if you think Rick is a potential suspect. He did make it obvious he wanted the dogs gone, and Traci wanted nothing to do with that.”

  “Well, I appreciate Traci’s devotion.” And I wished I could tell her that, too.

  “Who do you think did it, Missy?”

  “I’m not sure, but what I think doesn’t matter. The police will investigate, and they’ll find out.”

  “But you want to know, don’t you? Isn’t that why you went to the jail to talk to Jake?”

  My eyes widened. “Is anything in this town private?”

  She leaned back on the barstool and laughed. “Are you kidding? You know the saying, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.”

  I played hide and seek with the dogs, something that every dog I’ve had loved. It helped work on their training skills for stay and come, and it kept their minds busy, which always wears dogs out. And, it was fun for me, too.

  I commanded them to sit and stay in the keeping room and then I tiptoed to the office at the front of the house and hid underneath Sam’s desk. Bandit would likely know where to look and Allie would follow suit, but only because Bandit and I had played the game before and Allie was new to the program.

  “Come find me,” I whispered. Humans probably wouldn’t have heard that, but the dogs took off running, their nails tapping on the wood floors as they rushed toward the office. Allie ran right past me, not even bothering to give me a glance, but Bandit bent down on her front legs and wiggled the back half of her body like she’d discovered a long-lost toy. I crawled out of the cramped space and patted them both on the head.

  “Good babies.” I handed them each a small treat. “Okay, you ready to go again?”

  I put them in places on opposite sides of the office, where of course I had dog beds. I had dog beds in every room of the house leaving out the guest bedrooms because in there, they didn’t need them. All the dogs thought the empty guest beds were theirs.

  They both stayed, their little tails sweeping on the beds with excitement and anticipation as I tiptoed again out of the room, down the hall and into the pantry of the kitchen. I left the door cracked open.

  “Come find me,” I whispered again, and they took off once more.

  They searched the keeping room, the bathroom, and the formal dining room, finally coming back to the kitchen. Before they checked the pantry, they did a quick sweep of the cooking area and then Allie, bless her heart, caught a glimpse of the pantry door open and made a beeline for it. Probably because she knew the treats were in there, though I couldn’t be sure.

  She popped the door open further with her snout and peeked behind it.

  “Good girl,” I said, cheering her on for her win.

  Bandit came in and wiggled his back half again with joy.

  “Aw, you two are the best puppies!” I handed them both another treat, which they took to separate parts of the house and ate.

  I dropped onto the couch and flipped on the TV. “Okay, mommy needs a little break. I’m not as young and vibrant as you two.”

  I searched through the channels and clicked on something that looked interesting, a remodel show on HGTV, but I didn’t really pay attention. Instead, I thought about what had transpired over the past day.

  It struck me as odd that Gina knew the things she knew. I understood that people gossiped, and I realized word traveled swiftly, but it all seemed off. Had she approached people for their thoughts or to find out what they knew? What was Gina up to? Her actions didn’t feel like curiosity to me. They felt like they had purpose attached to them, though I wasn’t quite sure what that purpose could be.

  I shuffled to the kitchen and opened the freezer. I pulled out the chili and set it on the counter even though I’d already had tuna salad prepared for my meal. I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and as I went to scoop some of the wonderful smelling mix into it, I stopped.

  Both dogs sauntered over, and Bandit drooled on my left while Allie’s nose twitched on my right. I eyed the taco soup and groaned. I took the container and scooped it out, but into the sink instead. I turned on the water and stuffed it all into the disposal and then flipped the switch to turn it on. The chili went down the drain.

  “Sorry babies, this might smell delicious, but I promise you, your tummies won’t be happy.” I wanted the spicy smelling treat too, but something stopped me from having it. That something was the fear that it might be laced with cyanide. I gave them another dog treat, though we all knew that wasn’t the smell they wanted, and made myself a tuna salad sandwich.

  The next morning, I followed my morning routine. My routine was different than when Sam was alive. Everything was different than when Sam was alive, and though I knew that logically, it didn’t always matter. I wasn’t much of an early breakfast eater, but I’d created a routine to provide myself stability. The thing about grief was that it never ended. It lessened, and was less frequent, but it still came, and often when we least expected it. That simple small routine change had almost broken me, but I’d accepted it, discovered my new normal, and found ways to keep my life full, though they never quite filled the hole in my heart.

  I scooped enough kibble into the dog’s bowls to feed a small horse and laughed at that because weight combined, Bandit and Allie were not at all light. They were the size of a small horse, and they ate like one, too.

  Max called while I was in the shower, so I finished getting ready, got the dogs into the car, and returned his call on my way to the shelter. I had to work with a few of the trainers and dogs at nine o’clock but wanted to say hello to the rest of my dog crew beforehand.

  “Hey, I saw that you called. What’s up?”

  “Jake’s out, and it looks like the police are working on a few other leads.”

  “That’s great. I had an interesting conversation with Gina Palencia last night. She said people have been talking and—”

  He interrupted me. “Missy, I think it’s best you stay out of things now. You know, lie low, don’t ask questions.”

  I turned off a back street and onto the main road that would take me straight to the animal shelter. “What do you mean?”

  I heard papers rustling on his end. “I mean you don’t need to be involved in this. It’s dangerous, and I shouldn’t have asked you to look into any of it.” He coughed. “Besides, Jake’s been released, and there’s really no need for you to be involved. There wasn’t in the first place, and I apologize for dragging you into it.”

  “What? Why are you…what’s going on? Is it because they did something to the pooch party turf area? Is that it?”

  “Yes, and no. I’ve put you in a—”

  “Max, maybe before I didn’t have reason to be involved, but first of all, if I didn’t want to look into it, I would have said no. I’m capable of making a decision for myself, and secondly, this is personal now. Whoever did that to the turf, least case scenario, was trying to make a point, and worst case, was trying to hurt the dogs or me. Whether I want to be involved or not, I am, and I’m not going to lie low.”

  He grunted. “Sam would never want you in any kind of danger.”

  “I know that, but Sam also knew that I was fully capable of taking care of myself, and that if someone messed with my family, my claws come out. These dogs are my family, and regardless of whether this is about me or them, it impacts them, and I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure they’re safe, and they all have the opportunity to find loving homes.”

  Huh. I’d surprised even myself with the amount of passion in my feelings and my determination to get to the truth.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he said.

  “And I respect your opinion, but I’m going to do what’s necessary to keep my program going, Max. I hope you can understand.”

  He sighed. “I do, and I’m going to help you because someone has to kee
p an eye on you. It’s what Sam would want.”

  “There’s no need of course, but thank you.”

  “Are you on your way to the fairgrounds?”

  “No, I’m heading to the shelter. I’ve got dogs to train and retrain. I’m setting up some new volunteers. If nothing, the training program has opened the eyes of people that want to volunteer, so the dogs are getting a lot of people time.”

  “That’s excellent. You should be proud of what you’re doing. Can I bring you by a coffee? It’s been a while since I’ve been there, and it’ll be good for the program to have a city council member supporting it.”

  “Especially since one has been verbal about basically killing off a part of it entirely. I’d love a coffee.”

  “Great. And we’ll discuss that when I see you. Be there in a few.”

  Max beat me to the shelter, and he wasn’t the only city council member to do that.

  Chapter Six

  “Mr. Morring, what a pleasure to see you.” Allie pushed her ears down and back and kept her body low to the ground. She was clearly not a fan of the man, and I trusted her judgment completely.

  He nodded as a slick smirk appeared on his face. “Always a pleasure, Mrs. Kingston.”

  I grabbed my messages from my small box in the main office and went on with my business while Max, Rick and the shelter manager, Mary Aberdeen chatted.

  Max followed me into the back room and handed me my coffee. “I had no idea he’d be here.”

  I nodded. “I didn’t think that you did.” I took a small sip of the hot liquid and thanked him. “This is perfect.”

  Sara, the front desk person that morning stepped into the back room with us. “Missy, we’ve got three volunteers here to train. Where would you like them to go?”