Bark Up and Smell the Coffee

by Stella St. Claire

  “That was your evil plan all along, wasn’t it?” Willow teased.

  “What is?”

  “Taking up Lady Valkyrie’s session with chit-chat so she has less time to practice?”

  He chuckled. “You caught me.”

  Willow unhooked the dog from her leash and let her run. Telescope joined her, and the two dogs ran the perimeter of the room.

  She watched them go and then turned back to Truman who was finding a place to sit.

  “You don’t care if I watch, do you?” he asked. “Terry didn’t seem to mind.”

  Willow would have preferred that her archrival for the championship wasn’t watching her every move, but it appeared as if she didn’t have a choice unless she wanted to come off as very rude. Also, it was true that Truman had done Terry a big favor by bringing her dog here today.

  “It’s no problem,” Willow said brightly.

  She began editing the mental checklist in her head of what she should accomplish with Lady Valkyrie now that they had an observer. She didn’t want to show off her special tricks, but she didn’t want to focus on the obstacles that gave her little trouble either. Willow’s original plan had been to work on agility trials and place cones at different distances from each other to allow Lady Valkyrie to adapt to the various amounts of space to swivel around. However, now she decided that she wanted to do something that would allow Lady Valkyrie to show off a little pizzazz.

  “I’ve got it,” she said, before calling the dogs over to her. “Let’s practice the seesaw today.”

  This obstacle was still new to Lady Valkyrie, so it would show off her natural balance and boldness. She needed to run up a board that was diagonally pointed up, but as she moved across the board, it would swing down so she could continue right on to the ground.

  Willow was very impressed with the dog’s work, and Truman appeared to be too.

  Terry appeared at the very end of the session and clapped as she saw Lady Valkyrie race across the seesaw. After she’d completed it, the dog raced to see her master, and the humans and Telescope followed her.

  “Thank you for bringing her over here today,” Terry said to Truman. “I really needed that nap. But I can take over now.”

  He nodded. He opened his mouth and closed it several times before finally asking, “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m feeling better. Thank you.”

  He gave a wave to Willow and then left the gym. When she was sure that he was gone, Willow turned to Terry.

  “What did you find out?”

  “Firstly, Kaitlin’s dog, Polly, is all right. She’s staying with a young detective named Denton. He is taking care of her until they track down Kaitlin’s extended family.”

  “That’s good news,” Willow agreed. “And about her death?”

  “Kaitlin was definitely murdered,” Terry said. “It was rat poison.”

  Willow raised an eyebrow. She remembered police procedure. “It seems pretty early to get those sorts of test results back already.”

  “They could see some of the pellet residue in the bottom of Kaitlin’s coffee mugs. There were several of them in her apartment.”

  “So, she was poisoned multiple times?”

  “Apparently in humans, the poison needs to build up in your system to become deadly. And that’s what happened to Kaitlin.” Terry swallowed nervously. “They said that it looked like she had been poisoned since the day that I arrived in town.”

  Willow placed an arm around her. The two events happening on the same day was probably more of a coincidence than anything else.

  “If someone poisoned Kaitlin’s coffee grounds, then the poison could have been added before you arrived,” Willow said. “It was just brewed after that.”

  She wanted to reassure her client. However, she also wanted answers. Willow couldn’t help thinking that Terry was still keeping something from her. The police had questioned Terry for hours. There had to be another reason that they thought she was guilty.

  “What sorts of questions did the police ask?”

  “The sort of things that you would expect,” Terry answered.

  Willow waited to see if she would say anything else, but she remained quiet. Willow decided to switch gears.

  “So, why did you ask Truman to bring Lady Valkyrie here?”

  “Oh that,” Terry said, shrugging. “I figure you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And the more time he spends with Lady Val, the less time he’ll have to train his own dog. He probably thinks he gained some knowledge from watching her, but I’m sure you didn’t show anything that could give him an advantage.”

  “I tried not to,” Willow said.

  “And besides, I was really tired this morning.”

  Willow led her to the side so they could sit down and finish their conversation. Maybe if Terry were more comfortable, she might be willing to open up more. The dogs laid down at their feet, ready to relax after their work with the obstacles. Willow had to admit that she felt like she was on a seesaw too. She felt like she never quite knew where the facts stood in regard to Kaitlin’s death.

  “I don’t blame you for being tired,” Willow said. “I know that my dad can be pretty persuasive and sometimes terrifying. I remember the battles of trying to borrow the car from him in high school. I imagine he’s even scarier when he thinks you might have committed a crime.”

  “I’m afraid they might really think that I did it.”

  “But why?” Willow asked. “If you’ve told me everything, then your problems with Kaitlin during your pageant days were ancient history. And the two of you made peace recently. You did tell me everything, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Because,” Willow said pointedly, “Truman mentioned that you and Kaitlin had a big fight a few months ago. People must have heard you yelling.”

  Terry hid her face in her hands. “Yes. Okay, I guess I didn’t mention that. But that was only because of what happened after…”

  “And what was that?”

  Terry looked at her. “The fight was a few months ago. It was when I first visited Pineview right when your gym was opening. That was when I was in the market for a trainer but didn’t have a competition in mind.”

  “I remember.”

  “Well, there’s only one bed-and-breakfast in town that allows dogs. I didn’t realize that Kaitlin owned it, and it caught me by surprise. I guess some of the emotions I’ve kept bottled up for years broke through.”

  “Unfortunately, people heard you.”

  “I was very angry to come across her like that. I almost didn’t want to train here because I knew I’d have to live there. But then I decided I wasn’t going to let her dictate my life anymore. You were the best trainer, and I wanted to work with you.”

  “Thanks,” Willow said with a slight blush at the compliment. “But what about Kaitlin?”

  “Because we were forced to be in the same town, we had to speak to one another again. That’s when we cleared the air, and she told me about losing the baby. And that’s when I started to feel bad about what I was going to…” She covered her mouth instead of speaking.

  “Terry, if you want my help, you’re going to have to level with me,” Willow said, rising. “What are you hiding?”

  “After the fight outside the B&B, I was approached by a businessman. He had a birthmark on his face and a really expensive watch. He said his name was Benny Gene. He wanted to buy Kaitlin’s building, and she didn’t want to sell. And well, since he found out about my troubles with her, he asked if I could help him sabotage her business.”

  “What did you tell him?” Willow asked.

  “I agreed,” Terry said, turning red. “But I didn’t actually get a chance to do anything. And after Kaitlin and I made up, I told him that I wasn’t going to help him. I was too embarrassed to tell the police this.”

  “And it does make you look guiltier,” Willow admitted.

  Terry groaned and reached for her dog. />
  “But,” Willow continued, “you might have given us another suspect to look into too. If Benny Gene really wanted that piece of real estate, he might be willing to kill for it.”

  8

  Willow lay in Savasana pose on her yoga mat, willing herself to relax and find her inner peace. She wanted to forget about the drama surrounding her new charge’s owner for a little while. She was almost successful until she remembered that “Savasana” translated to “corpse pose,” and then her mind was drawn back to Kaitlin Janes.

  She didn’t mind when the class ended and she was able to get to her feet again. She rolled up her mat and told Wednesday that she was going to get a drink of water. Her sister nodded but was already happily reaching for her cell phone.

  Willow grabbed her reusable water bottle and headed towards the water fountain to refill it. She was glad that Wednesday had convinced her to become a member at Namaste A While Studio. It was a friendly place and the drop-in classes offered were ideal for her busy schedule.

  After hydrating, she headed back to the exercise room she had been in because Wednesday still hadn’t come out. As she entered the room, she saw why. Linda, who owned the shy Yorkshire terrier, had cornered Wednesday and was giving her an earful on her opinions about Kaitlin’s death.

  Linda wasn’t wearing her pearl necklace today, but she did have on pearl earrings and was wearing an outfit that perfectly matched her sneakers and scrunchie. Willow wasn’t sure how much Zen the woman had found in class because she was sounding very catty as she spoke.

  Wednesday was nodding patiently, but her eyes kept drifting down towards her cell screen.

  “And you know I would never want to speak ill of the dead,” said Linda.

  “Of course,” Wednesday agreed.

  “But I do believe that she brought this upon herself. The way she lived,” Linda said, shuddering. “Well, you know all about that after logging my complaints. And I do appreciate that.”

  “That’s my job.”

  “Well, I think it all caught up with her. Kaitlin was a menace. She’s endangered lives, and I bet she caused some deaths too. That’s the sort of person she was.”

  Willow felt that she couldn’t stay out of this conversation any longer. She walked up to the pair and smiled at them both.

  “Hello, Linda. Hi, sis,” she said a little too jovially. “Did I just happen to hear you talking about Kaitlin Janes?”

  “I’m not one to gossip,” Linda said. “I was just checking in with your sister in an official manner. As the police secretary, she handled an ongoing matter for me. Though perhaps it is finally resolved now.”

  “By Kaitlin’s death?” Willow asked.

  Linda allowed a slight shrug. “I thought she died of an illness, which would have made sense. But Wednesday here tells me that she was murdered. Somehow that seems to make even more sense.”

  “Wait,” Willow said. “Are you saying that you have some idea who killed her?”

  “Of course not. That’s for the police to figure out. What I’m saying is that Kaitlin was dangerous,” Linda said as a dark expression came over her face. “But, again, I’m not one to gossip. And I better get going. There’s a sandwich shop that I heard had an employee who isn’t wearing a hairnet. I have to see this for myself.”

  “And then I’m sure I’ll hear all about it,” Wednesday said.

  Linda stared at her as if she was trying to decide if this was an insult or not. She appeared to opt to take it at face value and said her goodbyes. Willow said that she hoped she would see her and Pattie again soon.

  “Wow,” Willow said after Linda walked away. “Can you believe everything she said?”

  “I can because I have to take down all her complaints at the station. Half of them are nonsense, and the ones against Kaitlin were too. You’ve seen that bed-and-breakfast, right? You must have visited it to see a dog at some point.”

  Willow nodded.

  “Did it look run-down and filthy to you?” Wednesday asked.

  “No. Actually, it was spotless. And I know it’s won awards as a dog-friendly hotel. It was praised for its attention to detail.”

  “Exactly,” Wednesday said. “There’s nothing to it. And this is Linda’s schtick.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She always has a vendetta about something or someone. This time it had been Kaitlin. I guess next it will be that poor kid at the sandwich shop.”

  Willow was still focused on the possible complaint. “Well, have the police looked into the B&B yet when investigating the death?”

  “They must have,” Wednesday said. “But I haven’t seen the report yet. I guess I haven’t been keeping regular hours lately.”

  Willow kept her comments to herself, and the sisters headed out of the room and towards the lobby. There they ran into the studio’s owner, Miranda. She was a sweet, middle-aged woman who was more flexible than Willow thought she would ever be.

  She beamed at them. “How was your photo shoot before the class?”

  “Honestly, it was amazing,” Wednesday said. “I got all the shots I needed in about five snaps with a light filter. Hashtag – Yoga Journey. Hashtag – Finding Zen. Hashtag – Sisters Bonding.”

  “Hashtag – Namaste A While?” Miranda suggested.

  “Hashtag – Duh!” said Wednesday.

  Willow laughed.

  “Of course, I’ll include a shout-out to this studio,” her sister said. “We love it here.”

  “And do you think that mentioning my studio in your online feature will attract some new customers?”

  “It definitely should.”

  “Well, then why don’t you two enjoy a smoothie at the juice bar? My treat in exchange for the advertising.”

  They thanked her and headed over to the bar. Wednesday was practically skipping.

  “I should have thought about this before,” she said. “Besides being delicious, the smoothies will look great in my pictures. Choose a flavor with bright colors.”

  Willow indulged her and told the man behind the juice bar that she would have the “brightest” smoothie they had. Wednesday chose a pineapple flavor, saying the yellow would look nice next to her hair.

  Willow smiled at her sister. “This ‘Week in My Life’ project seems to be going really well.”

  “I feel like I’m killing it,” she agreed, beaming back at her.

  Their smoothies were handed back to them, and Willow was impressed to see that hers was almost neon blue. She wasn’t sure what was in it, but she was willing to try it.

  “Smile,” Wednesday said.

  Willow obeyed the instructions, trying to keep her drink’s straw out of her face. Wednesday kept snapping pics and changing filters. Willow was dimly aware of movement behind her but couldn’t see what was happening because of the flash from the photos.

  When they were finished, Wednesday assured her that they had gotten some great shots. Willow looked behind her to see what was moving and noticed Miranda was looking a little embarrassed. She held a painting of a scenic beach behind her back, but it was too large to be hidden.

  She smiled reassuringly at the woman as she realized what had happened. Miranda had been changing the calming artwork on the walls to flyers and signs that displayed the studio’s name and logo so they would be captured in the photos. That wasn’t a bad trick. Maybe she should consider doing that when Wednesday visited the doggie gym.

  Willow tried her blue smoothie. She still couldn’t identify all the flavors, but she found it tasty. Wednesday was scrolling through the pictures as Willow asked, “Are you sure there’s nothing to Linda’s complaints?”

  “I don’t think so,” Wednesday said. “She liked to complain about everything.”

  “But this time the person she complained about was poisoned.”

  “Let’s not talk about poison while we’re drinking.”

  “I’ll talk suspects instead,” said Willow conspiratorially. “They’re adding up. The police seem to sus
pect Terry, but I think there are other options. Linda was unhappy with Kaitlin. Benny Gene wanted to buy her building and she refused. And Jack Grim was her ex-boyfriend who didn’t want her to reveal secrets about their relationship. Benny might not have been in town, but the others definitely were.”

  “Are you officially investigating?” Wednesday asked, sipping her smoothie.

  “I just don’t like seeing Terry accused of a crime when there are other possibilities.”

  Wednesday pouted. “You know that I’d love to help with another round of sleuthing. But I do have an awful lot on my plate right now. I have a lot of paperwork at the station this week, and I have to write Dad’s bio which I haven’t even started yet, not to mention that I have to keep this week in my life exciting. Oh, but that last part will be easy. You know what it’s time for now?”

  Willow frowned as she listened to what her sister had on her plate. “You haven’t been avoiding doing Dad’s bio, have you?”

  “You’re not avoiding setting up your Tinder account, are you?” Wednesday retorted.

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then, let’s get started!”

  Wednesday excitedly explained how she would record short videos or “Instastories” of Willow setting up her Tinder account and if she got matched with anyone. They would be on SnapChat, Instagram, and a part of Wednesday’s “Week.” There would be subtle differences in what they filmed for the different platforms, and Willow just hoped that in one of these short videos she looked cool, or at least sympathetic.

  “Stand by that wall,” Wednesday instructed. “The barn wood texture will make your outfit pop, and it can be a picture we add to your profile.”

  Willow agreed with her sister’s eye about the outfit and hoped that she was right about using Tinder too. After the picture was taken, she realized that one of Miranda’s logos for Namaste A While was in the background. Great. Now everyone would know where all the embarrassment in her life was taking place.

  Wednesday began filming videos of them setting up her profile.

  “This might be embarrassing to have filmed,” Willow began. The filming didn’t stop, so she continued. “But, tell me a little more about what I’m signing up for. I’ve heard about Tinder, of course. But I guess I didn’t always pay attention. It wasn’t something I thought I’d ever use.”