Bark Up and Smell the Coffee

by Stella St. Claire

  “It’s very easy,” Wednesday explained. “The app knows your location.”

  “Creepy.”

  “Useful. And it shows you potential dates in the area. It suggests matches based on common interests. You can see pictures and profiles to determine if you think you’d get along. If you like the person, you swipe right, and if you don’t like him, you swipe left. If you both swipe right, then you get to chat with one another. Simple, right?”

  “I don’t know,” Willow said, starting to get cold feet. “This sounds like a hookup app.”

  “Maybe some people use it that way, but there are also a ton of people who found the person they married on Tinder.”

  “And if I’m looking for something in between those two options?”

  “Come on, Wills. Swipe right for this and finish setting up your profile.”

  “Fine.”

  She figured it would probably look worse if she backed out of it now since this was all being recorded. Besides, she didn’t have to meet with anyone that she didn’t think she might actually like, and there was also the possibility that she would be matched with someone really great. She wanted to get back in the dating game, and this was apparently how people did it nowadays.

  She finished her profile and took a deep breath.

  “Great job,” Wednesday said. “Now you get to see your matches.”

  “This is the part that scares me,” Willow admitted. “What if all the people I’m matched with I don’t find attractive? What if they all remind me of Benjamin? What if I’m accidentally paired with someone who doesn’t like dogs?”

  “It’s going to be all right. You don’t have to meet anyone you don’t think you’ll like. And a bad date isn’t the end of the world.”

  “It feels like it right now.”

  Wednesday grabbed her phone. “Look, here’s your first match. Benny. He’s a businessman and a fellow yoga devotee. The app says he’s used this studio before.”

  “That doesn’t sound too bad,” Willow said, turning the screen so she could see it. The man had slicked back hair and a professional suit on in his picture. There was something else about him. “Does that look like a birthmark on his face?”

  “He’s still pretty cute,” Wednesday said. “But if you don’t like him, we can swipe left.”

  “No!” Willow said, grabbing the phone.

  “You don’t have to like the first person you’re paired with,” Wednesday said, practically cowering from the outburst.

  “It’s not that,” Willow said. “I think that this Benny is Benny Gene.”

  “One of your potential suspects?”

  Willow nodded. “You said that this app is based on location?”

  “Right.”

  “So, we’d only be paired if he was in the area?” Willow said. “That’s very interesting. Because then it seems like he might have been in Pineview to poison Kaitlin after all.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll accept the match and see if we can go on a date. Then I could interview him and see what he really knows about Kaitlin’s death.”

  “So, you’re using your dating app to try and interrogate a murder suspect?”

  “I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” Willow said.

  “This might be why you’re still single,” Wednesday teased.

  Willow ignored her and swiped right.

  9

  “Concerns About Dating is taking the lead, but now it’s Business Woes,” Willow said to herself as she were announcing horses racing instead of the thoughts running around her head. She gave her kitchen counter a hearty scrub as she concluded. “And finally, it’s Who Really Killed Kaitlin? They’re turning the corner. It’s a photo finish!”

  “Who’s racing?” Griffin asked.

  Willow dropped her sponge in embarrassment. She hadn’t realized anyone was in the room, but Griffin had walked in carrying a box of donuts, and Telescope was standing next to him.

  “Traitor,” Willow whispered to the dog. He just wagged his tail, not seeming at all concerned that he hadn’t alerted her to another person’s presence and let her embarrass herself.

  “So, what’s going on?”

  “I was just giving the commentary on which thoughts were in my head.”

  Griffin held back laughter in his smile. “I’d say that’s funny, but you only clean like this when you’re stressed.”

  “I clean,” Willow said defensively.

  “Yes,” he said. “But not with so much scrubbing vigor. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing and everything.”

  “Would a donut help?” he asked, opening the box to showcase the colorful treats he’d selected. “I thought they might go well with our coffee today.”

  “Sounds perfect. Just let me wash up so I don’t have a Clorox-Flavored Donut.”

  She took off her gloves and washed her hands while Griffin poured them their morning cups of joe. She accepted her mug and selected a Boston cream.

  “So, what’s bothering you today? It sounded like there were a few contenders.”

  “Well, first I was worried about my business.”

  “About that doggie spa?” Griffin asked.

  “If Lady Valkyrie doesn’t win, I won’t be able to afford the renovations for it. And I know you’d need to start it soon so it would still fall under your current contract.”

  “Let’s not talk about contracts,” he said, focusing on his coffee instead.

  “And I’ve also started worrying about online reviews. After all this week in Wednesday’s life stuff, I’ve realized how important they are. So, I made sure that my doggie gym was on Yelp, but now I’m freaking out about potential reviews. What if Linda decides to make a complaint?”

  “What could she complain about?” Griffin asked, sounding reasonable. “I’ve never seen an unhappy dog at your gym.”

  “Thanks,” Willow said, smiling. He had a way of making her feel better. “Plus, I guess I shouldn’t worry about Linda too much. She might even end up in prison for murder.”

  “Murder?” he asked, almost spitting his coffee out.

  “I guess I am jumping a bit too far ahead,” Willow admitted. “But she is on my list of suspects.”

  Griffin set his coffee down. “Why do you think she could be a killer?”

  “She made a lot of complaints against Kaitlin Janes,” Willow said. “And the way she was talking about her at the yoga studio made it sound like she was not at all sorry that Kaitlin was dead.”

  “Could she have done it?”

  “If she was making complaints about the B&B, then she needed to have been inside it at some time before. Maybe she could have poisoned Kaitlin’s coffee grounds on that visit.”

  “And then Kaitlin was poisoning herself every time she brewed herself a cup of coffee,” Griffin said.

  Willow set her coffee mug on the counter and stared at it.

  “What a mean way to kill someone.”

  “Agreed,” said Griffin. “Not that there’s ever really a nice way to murder someone. But I love my morning coffee, especially when it’s with someone you like to talk to. It would be cruel to kill someone that way.”

  “And yet, someone did,” Willow said. “And I want to figure out who.”

  “We made a pretty good team the last time we investigated a case together,” Griffin said, leaning on the island counter and getting closer to her.

  “I had to drag you kicking and screaming to help me,” Willow teased.

  “That was a complicated situation. There were things I couldn’t tell you,” he said in protest.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said, pretending to push him away.

  “But now I tell you everything.”

  Willow wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that. She picked her coffee mug up again, sniffed it and declared it poison-free. She took a big swig.

  “Who else do you have as a suspect?” Griffin asked, retreating back to his own cup.

  “Jack G
rim. He was Kaitlin’s bachelor ex-boyfriend.”

  “Huh?”

  She recapped Jack and Kaitlin’s history, but then added, “If they were an on-again, off-again relationship back then, it’s possible they still were up until her death. I bet she would have let him into her apartment if he asked to come in. And that could have given him an opportunity to add the poison to her coffee grounds.”

  “Anyone else?”

  “For right now, I’m trying to believe that it wasn’t Terry,” she said with a sigh. “And I should know more about Benny as a suspect later tonight. That’s everyone right now.”

  “Let me know if you need the help of a handsome contractor at all on this case.”

  She chuckled. “I will. Even though I know you’re not paid enough to go on all these dangerous adventures with me. Stakeouts and questioning.”

  “I like going on adventures with you,” he said simply.

  Willow looked down at the donut box. She picked up a strawberry sprinkle one and took a bite.

  “Anything else bothering you?” he asked as he selected another donut too.

  “Well, the third thing was about dating,” Willow said, playing with her food.

  “Really?”

  “Because the other areas of my life have started to get on track, I was thinking I should start dating again. You know, it’s the final thing I have to do to feel like I’ve really kicked my ex to the curb.”

  Griffin nodded. “I get that. You’ve made a new home for yourself. You’ve started a successful business and are training another champion dog.”

  “Even if there have been some bumps along that road.”

  “You’ve done great for yourself, and if dating is the final step you feel you need to take, then I say go for it.”

  “You think so?” she asked. “I’d been feeling confident about it until it was actually time to do it. It’s like I climbed up to the top of the diving board, but now I don’t want to jump.”

  “That’s a perfect metaphor because I was going to say that you’ll need to take a leap of faith. So, leap off of that diving board.”

  “Into the deep end?”

  “Exactly.”

  They both laughed. Telescope joined in with a hearty bark.

  “Hey,” Griffin said suddenly. “Remember the pool that they had at the high school?”

  “I’ve tried to forget it,” Willow said. “And let’s not start reminiscing about our time in school. Wednesday has been reminding me about the terrible dates I went on then.”

  Griffin looked thoughtful. “Maybe you should have dated someone else.”

  “Maybe,” Willow said, not committing to anything. “But I’m trying not to dwell on the past. I’m all about moving forward.”

  Griffin sat on a kitchen stool next to her. “Are you looking for ideas on what to do for a date?”

  “I guess I could accept suggestions.”

  “I have a few thoughts on the matter,” he said. “I’m a big fan of picnics. But there’s also an Italian restaurant that opened up after you first moved away. For a casual dining experience, there’s a bar called Frankie’s that has live music every Friday night. I also know a few places where you have an uninterrupted view of the night sky.”

  “I bet you’re a better dating coach than Jack,” Willow said. “Those all sound like a lot of fun.”

  “Of course, on a date, it really just matters who you’re with.”

  He was staring at her and Willow needed to get away from that gaze. She brought her mug over to the sink and began to rinse it. He followed her and picked up the dish towel to dry.

  They fell into an easy pattern with the two dishes.

  When the water was off, Willow said, “I should tell Terry about those dating ideas that you suggested. She was trying to get into the dating game too. Of course, things haven’t been going her way recently.”

  “Yeah,” Griffin scoffed. “I remember being the prime suspect in a murder case. It’s not fun.”

  “Then again, she’s had bad luck in relation to Kaitlin before too. Apparently, they had problems when they did beauty pageants together. Kaitlin was Terry’s coach, and they had a falling out.”

  “Wait a minute,” Griffin said, taking a step back. “What’s Terry’s full name again?”

  “Gib.”

  “Could she have shortened her name?” Griffin asked. “Could she have been a Teresa Gib?”

  Willow nodded. “I think so.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection before,” Griffin said. He covered his face with his hand.

  “What connection?”

  “Um, when Terry spoke about her pageants, did she ever mention the Miss World competition?”

  “Not specifically. She did mention the semifinals for something though. Why?”

  Griffin was turning red. “Because I’ve seen her performance. I think it’s still making the rounds on the internet.”

  “What happened?”

  “A wardrobe malfunction. A major one.”

  “Oh no,” Willow said, covering her mouth. “Poor Terry.”

  “It must have been really embarrassing. It took her a moment to realize that anything was wrong with her dress. And then she went berserk.”

  “And you watched this?”

  “About a dozen times.” He cleared his throat when he saw the glare that Willow was giving him. “When I was in high school. It was just when I was in high school.”

  “I’m glad we’re not reminiscing about those days,” Willow said. “I can’t imagine wanting to watch someone embarrass themselves like that, especially more than once.”

  Griffin looked abashed. “I want to do what I can to help her and you.”

  “Well, I’ll keep that under consideration,” she said. “But I think I should let you get to work. I have things I need to do too.”

  She closed the box of donuts and began to leave the kitchen.

  “Wait, Wills. Don’t be mad at me.”

  “I’m not mad,” she said, and she wasn’t – not exactly. “But I do have things that I need to do. I have to talk to Terry about this, and then I need to get ready for my date tonight.”

  “Wait,” he said, looking shocked. “You already have a date set up?”

  “That’s right. With a businessman.”

  “Well, I hope you have a really great time,” he said, not sounding like he meant it at all.

  “Thank you. I bet I will,” she said defensively.

  She felt no need to tell him that the main reason she was going out was to interview a suspect. No, there was no reason to do that at all.

  10

  Willow had called Terry immediately after speaking to Griffin, and Terry agreed that they should meet to talk about the pageant sabotage in person. She had been planning to take Lady Valkyrie for a walk in the park anyway and suggested they meet there in twenty minutes.

  It would only take half that time to ready Telescope and drive there, so Willow offered to take Wednesday’s cat, Rover, for a walk as well. She felt she owed her sister something for her help picking out outfits, both for her meeting with the dating guru/suspect and for going on a date/talking to a suspect.

  She called Wednesday and made the offer. Her sister gratefully accepted, but also warned, “Rover has been pretty grumpy lately. She’s almost all recovered, but the stitches in her tail have been messing with her mojo.”

  Rover had injured herself drinking out of the toilet. She had been so enthusiastic that she had bumped some of Wednesday’s decorations off of the top shelf of the toilet, including a potted plant. The ceramic had broken, and Rover had been so frightened by the noise that she fell while scampering away. Luckily, she had survived with only a cut on her tail, but Wednesday said it inspired her to make sure that her bathroom door always remained closed.

  “Maybe this will help her feel more like herself,” Willow suggested. “She loves going on walks.”

  They agreed, and Willow promised to be there s
hortly. She put Telescope in his harness, and they headed out to pick up his “cousin.”

  Willow drove to Wednesday’s house and used her spare key to unlock the door. Rover was waiting at the door. The cat stared up at them expectantly.

  “Want to go for a walk?” Willow asked.

  Rover wagged her tail, but that seemed to hurt her because then she mewed.

  “Don’t worry,” Willow said. “We know you’re excited to see us.”

  She put a leash on Rover and put the two animals in her car. Telescope didn’t always have patience with the cat who thought she was a dog, but he seemed to understand that she was feeling poorly. He sat close to her on the ride to show his support.

  Willow started leading them around the park. There was a path that led around the outskirts of a pine forest and allowed Willow to keep an eye out for Terry’s arrival.

  She hoped that she wouldn’t run into anyone else that she would have to make small talk with. Luckily, the only people she saw at the park were a young couple that were too interested in each other to notice her, and Mr. Wenderson who was using the techniques he had learned from Willow to convince his large dog to heel.

  Rover seemed to enjoy the walk. Willow noticed that the cat only seemed distracted when she tried to wag her tail, but Telescope kept pace with Rover, making sure she didn’t feel alone.

  When Willow saw Terry and Lady Valkyrie, she led the walk right towards them.

  “Thanks for meeting me here,” Terry said. “I think the animals will like the fresh air.”

  “I think they will,” Willow agreed. “But I wish this meeting wasn’t necessary. It seems like you keep hiding things from me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Terry said. “I’m used to trying to forget that Miss World ever happened.”

  She started leading Lady Valkyrie down the path, Willow sensed it was so her client wouldn’t have to look at her. However, Willow quickly caught up with her two animals in tow.

  “I could understand that under normal circumstances,” Willow said. “But this is a murder case now. If you keep something a secret, when it eventually comes out into the open, it makes you look even more suspicious.”