Dogs and More Dogs, Another Murder

by Christa Nardi

  Brett shook his head. “No will? Just ‘this is the way it was supposed to be’?”

  “No will that any one knows of. If generations inherited father to son, can that be interpreted as legally binding and excluding the wife and sisters?”

  “I guess if, at some point, there was a trust fund set up that stipulated it. But that would be filed some place. Maybe there are some old papers in the house that specify it. As long as they’re executed and witnessed, and say what he thinks they say, then I guess he would have inherited at the time of Herman’s death. Huh.”

  “He mentioned some company – JJ Properties. He said they wanted to buy the land. And he’s prepared to sell.”

  “Well, that gives him motive. It won’t sit well with Blake Buchanan for sure. I guess the courts will have to figure it out.”

  My phone chirped I muttered, “It’s the chief.”

  “Hello, Chief.”

  “Hello, Sheridan. Mrs. Wharton called and wanted your number. She and Jacob are going to try to go through boxes and stacks to get to the safe in the downstairs closet. She wanted to see if you could be there with her. I’ll be more comfortable if more people are there. And I did arrange for the dumpster. They plan to go to the bank first. Can you make it by noon?”

  “Yes, that’ll work. I planned to help out at Pets and Paws in the morning. I can go to the Stoneham place right after.”

  Brett mouthed “Tell him about the tire.”

  “One more thing, Chief. Someone slashed a tire on my car this afternoon.”

  “Any witnesses?”

  “None that I know of. Brett got it taken care of – the tire is in my trunk.”

  “Okay. I’ll make a note and see you tomorrow.”

  When I got off the phone, Brett was busily doing something on his phone.

  “Okay, my calendar is fairly clear tomorrow. Paperwork can wait and I can be a good citizen and help out over there, too.”

  CHAPTER 20

  When I let Charlie and Bella out, the wind and lower temperature reminded me it really was winter and I dressed accordingly. Brett decided to come with me to Pets and Paws after we finished breakfast and both our dogs were all set. His explanation was that it would be easier for us to go to the Stoneham place together. We arrived and parked. I got out of the car and listened.

  “It’s a nice day for sure, although a bit chilly. What are you waiting for?”

  I laughed. “The last few days when I got here? I could hear the yelling from out here. And the garage is closed and dark. And I don’t see Mrs. Chantilly’s car. All good signs in my book.”

  He smiled and we went in. We found Mrs. Chantilly in the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Sheridan, Detective. What brings you here today, Detective?”

  “Nothing official, Mrs. Chantilly. Sheridan and I have some errands to run after helping out this morning so I came along. How’s it going?”

  “Organized chaos as usual. Lacie’s a good girl and she’s helping out. We’re a little over capacity here. Of course, an adoption day is the way to go. Do you know Lacie, Detective? She is so good with dogs and technology. Oh, and Dr. Barksdale cleared all the dogs, though she’ll check back in especially on Horatio and Ghost – broken legs, you know. Lacie, she still doesn’t deal well with death. You’ll help her Sheridan, I know you will. Time to make biscuits.”

  She walked away and I risked looking at Brett for his response to her usual dialogue of sorts. He shook his head. “Interesting to say the least. Is anyone else here helping right now?”

  I shrugged. “Luke should be at school. I’m not sure about Lacie. The other volunteers are all back at work so they come in when they aren’t working. There’s usually a schedule in the kitchen. Let’s take a tour and see where help is most needed.”

  Coffees in hand, we started with the side room with mamas and puppies. The room was relatively quiet and only the mamas’ heads could be seen above short barriers around each group, four in all. I smiled.

  “What’s the smile for?”

  “I mentioned to Blake the need for some way to partition the mamas to keep the pups with the mama – either large enough crates or some kind of walls. Magically, they’re here. And just the right size for mama to see out and to be able to get the pups out as needed or keep the pups inside.” I tilted my head. “They remind me of baby play pens.”

  “Maybe that’s what they were to begin with.”

  I nodded. “Let me check the clipboards. Can you walk around and get a head count of puppies?”

  That information was on the clipboards, but I needed to find something for him to do. Luke had already been in and checked them. I made sure there was water and removed any soiled blankets, replacing them with clean ones.

  “Okay, let’s go check the ones in the back room. Those are the ones who were here before Christmas and still haven’t been adopted.”

  “I counted twenty-eight puppies – they move so fast I may have counted the same ones twice though. Only two have red ribbons. That’s good, right?”

  “Yes.” I walked into the back room and stopped. “Good morning, Lacie. This is my husband, Brett.”

  She glared at me and then addressed Brett. “Good morning, Detective.” She emphasized the ‘detective’ part and glared at me again.

  “So what can we do to help?”

  With a side glance to me, she hissed, “Stay away from me.”

  Ignoring her tone, my response was task oriented. I wasn’t going to take her comments personally. “We’ll go check on the dogs on the other side, then.”

  I turned around and walked away. Brett hesitated before he followed me. I sighed with relief as I took a mental check on who was there. What had been smaller dogs was now a mix of small, medium, and large. I recognized the medium and large dogs from the garage. Progress. Checking the clipboards, I directed Brett to take dogs out and cleaned up everything inside the crates, refilled bowls, and added to the laundry pile.

  “Aren’t they just beautiful? All my babies here and looking for new homes. Justine would be pleased, Lacie too. Here’s some fresh dog biscuits for them. Be careful of Horatio and Ghost over there.”

  She handed me the biscuits and flitted back out. We worked as a team. When we got to Horatio, a Dane mix with his leg in a cast, he didn’t bound out of the crate like the others had done. A notation on the clipboard explained his condition. Ghost, a smaller dog, also had a cast.

  “I guess we’re done. Luke and Blake are taking care of those two. They have to be carefully lifted up and then taken outside. Horatio’s a big boy.”

  We stopped back in the kitchen area. “Mrs. Chantilly, I think you’ve got it all under control. We did notice a couple of pups with red ribbons. Is Dr. Barksdale tending to them as well as Horatio and Ghost?”

  “Vanna is such a wonderful person. She let Lacie work in her hospital for a while. Great opportunity for a young person, you know. Those pups are doing better but need more hand feeding than others. They’ll make it. You’ll see, Lacie, too.”

  I wasn’t sure if she meant Lacie would also see it or if she’d also make it. I opted not to ask.

  “We’re going to take off now. We have those errands to run.”

  “You do that, dears. I hear Justine’s children are in town. That Jacob? The dogs don’t like him and neither do I. Never calls his mother either. Good for nothing, if you ask me.”

  She turned back to her baking and with another “good bye,” we left. We had a quick lunch at Al’s. After we ordered, I waited to hear Brett’s observations.

  “How’d Lacie know I was a detective? Could be from Mrs. Chantilly. Did you fill out any paperwork to volunteer?”

  “Sure. Basic information, but not what you did for a living.”

  “I bet it included your address? And both she and Lacie would know what your car looked like.”

  I nodded, realizing his train of thought. Lacie did have access to my address and would recognize my car.

  “What w
ould her motive be?”

  “For killing Justine? No idea. For resenting you and your involvement in the case? Jealousy? You’re working with the chief, not her. You took over how to handle all the dogs and Mrs. Chantilly counts on you for that.”

  I picked at my burger before I answered him. “But she barely talked to Mrs. Chantilly in the past several years? And at least twice she’s gotten angry with Mrs. Chantilly that I witnessed. And… and, she’s certainly not doing anything to help prove she’s innocent.”

  Our conversation was cut short as Blake Buchanan walked in and sauntered over to our table, all smiles.

  “Well, well, they give you a day off, Detective?” His tone was tempered with sarcasm. Twice now, Brett had been involved in legal situations with Blake’s youngest son, Shane. He was doing time for murder as a result.

  “Took some personal time to enjoy Sheridan’s company. And help out with the Stoneham place.”

  “Sheridan has been a great help at Pets and Paws, for sure. What’s happening at the Stoneham place today?”

  Not liking to be talked about or around, I interjected, “Helen and Jacob are in town. They’re going to try to clean it out, part of it anyway. I offered to help and Brett’s adding another pair of strong arms for all those boxes.”

  “That’s very neighborly of you. Have they figured out what they’ll do with the property, yet?”

  “No, they haven’t found the will yet. Your family has real estate. Ever heard of JJ Properties?”

  His face turned red and he opened his mouth and shut it. We waited and after a few seconds, he finally answered.

  “They’re an arm to a big conglomerate. They buy up properties to create a mega complex with high rises, townhouses, strip malls, and such. They put small family-owned businesses out of business and make a fortune doing so. They wanted to buy up all that land where you folks live when I was mayor, you know. Different realtor company and different name, but same people behind the corporation. Clover Hill has too many zoning requirements and I refused to budge for exceptions on any of them. They popping up again?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure. I heard the name mentioned and just wondered who they were.”

  I could almost see in his eyes as he looked from me to Brett and back how he was processing the conversation. I was not surprised by his next comment.

  “Those zoning regulations don’t apply to the Stoneham place. Not with all the confusion on the property lines. I have some free time this afternoon. And I’m their nearest neighbor, after all. I’ll stop by and see what I can do to help them out.

  CHAPTER 21

  We arrived at the house and Brett stood outside the car and looked around. He nodded to the officer and approached him.

  “Good thing the sun’s shining. It’s pretty cold out here.”

  “Yes, sir, it is.”

  “We were supposed to meet Chief Peabody here. Any idea when he’ll be here?”

  “He’s on his way, sir.”

  “Anyone else been here yet?”

  The man grimaced. “Yes, sir. Mr. Stoneham showed up early. Said he wanted to look for something. I told him he couldn’t go in without the chief. He wasn’t happy. The chief came and straightened him right out. After Mr. Stoneham left, the chief left to get some breakfast. He should be back shortly.”

  Brett nodded. “Okay if Sheridan and I take a walk around the house?”

  “That should be fine. Inside is a crime scene. Not outside. Mr. Buchanan brought an all-wheel vehicle out and rode the perimeter of the property earlier this week. Found some more dogs in a shed. I’m glad he found them. Not sure they’d have made it otherwise.”

  “We won’t be going that far. Just to get perspective from the outside of the house.”

  The officer nodded and I joined Brett as he strode to the side of the house.

  “Be careful. The ground isn’t as flat as it looks. It’s kind of uneven.”

  “I guess they didn’t clear the land and put down grass back when they established the ‘yard’ and the driveway. Any idea how far into the woods their property goes?”

  “No. If Blake rode the perimeter, he must have gotten a copy of the plot map and guessed. There’s no sign a surveyor has actually come out and marked the property line.”

  “Why would there be a shack back there?”

  Brett shrugged. “They may have left the woods with hopes of being able to hunt in their own backyard. Used the shack when Herman and Jacob went hunting. If they took dogs with them to hunt, the dogs might have known how to get there? If you think of it, mention the shack at some point. Maybe Jacob will volunteer the information.”

  “Ha! I doubt that. It might prompt the chief to ask about it or Helen might say something about it. Jacob mentioned a rifle. Would that be for hunting and possibly in that shack?”

  Brett stopped and shook his head. “Hopefully not. Blake might know since he collected the dogs.”

  “Obviously, Dan only kept this part cleared and mowed. How much land is this?”

  “From the mailbox to the woods past the pile of dirt and out to both sides? Easily a half-acre, maybe more. And that doesn’t include any of the woods.”

  I looked at the woods and thought I saw movement in the trees. Probably a trick of the sun and shadows, but I hoped Blake’s dogs had checked the woods. Brett turned around and stared at the rear of the house. We could see the back door and the windows. From this side, it looked like they were boarded half-way up – I was pretty sure the brown wasn’t boards, but boxes.

  Brett turned back around, his hand out to the side. We both waited and then heard the engine of what sounded like a truck. Brett shook his head.

  “I thought I saw movement. Did you see something, too?”

  “Maybe. It’s gone now, whatever it was. Come on. Let’s see who just arrived.”

  As we circled around the house, we saw a truck with a dumpster in tow. Brett joined the driver and the officer. After much discussion, the driver in a hurry, the dumpster was deposited a couple of yards from the porch. With a good arm, maybe they could throw boxes into the dumpster from the porch. As the driver left, three cars came in – the chief, Helen, and Jacob had arrived.

  The chief got out of his car and nodded in our direction. If he was surprised to see Brett, he didn’t let it show. Helen next and then Jacob.

  “What are they doing here? If I couldn’t go in…”

  “Hi, Chief. We’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” Brett turned to Helen and Jacob. “I’m Sheridan’s husband, Brett. It sounded like you might need some muscle to move boxes, so I came along to help.”

  Helen smiled and glanced at me. I smiled back. Jacob bristled. He trembled head to toe. “Fine. You’ll do as I say. Let’s go.”

  He stormed off and didn’t wait for the chief to give him the go ahead before walking in. The chief and Brett followed him.

  “Helen, how about you and I check the boxes out here and clean off the porch?” I for one was looking to avoid going inside. It had warmed up a little and the stench was not so putrid on the porch.

  She nodded and we easily established that most of the loose stuff was ads and junk mail. We quickly sorted out what might be bills or bank statements and placed them to one side, held down with a rock. Loose pieces of paper, I couldn’t throw them and expect them to all land in the dumpster. I called to the officer.

  “Excuse me. Could you give us a hand? If we give you stuff, can you put it in the dumpster for us?”

  He nodded and we handed off what we could. The boxes were more of the same. It looked like she’d used boxes from the deliveries until she ran out of boxes and then just stacked everything on top.

  “Helen, now that you have everything out of that box? How about we use it to put the ‘save for later’ stuff in?”

  She nodded and put the papers we’d loaded down with a loose rock into the now empty box. The next box we each emptied, we left empty. That way we could sort from one box to the other and throw the whole b
ox out. We worked pretty steadily and after an hour or so, more of the porch was clear. Brett came out and whistled.

  “You ladies have a system and you’ve made a dent. Sheridan can I take you away from this – for the sake of all our sanity?”

  I looked at him not sure what he was talking about. “Huh?”

  “Can you make a quick run to the nearest convenience store and pick up six coffees – get them all black with cream and sugar on the side to make it easy. Unless Helen wants something else?”

  “No, coffee would be wonderful.”

  “Got it, and I’ll grab some waters, too.” No one ever needs to suggest a coffee run to me more than once.

  CHAPTER 22

  He handed me the keys and I left. Within twenty minutes I was back and the first coffee went to the officer who’d been helping us. Then Helen took one and what she needed. Mine was already fixed and I set it on a box.

  “Our table. Now to venture inside.”

  Helen nodded and I walked in the doorway. What had been a clean path was now a mess. No other way to describe it. I could see the top of Brett’s head midway into the stacks.

  “Coffee service here.”

  “Coming.” Brett answered and I watched his head as he side-stepped to where the path had been and came toward me.

  “Not as efficient as your method. We’re just rearranging boxes to check out closets. So far, the one near the front door didn’t have the safe he thinks he remembers. Thanks for the coffee.”

  I nodded and tilted my head as someone else approached.

  “Here you go. I’ll keep working with Helen.” I’m not sure why, but I reached up and kissed him before I went back outside. Helen was working on a box close to the door, and I picked up a stack of loose mail from the floor and handed it to her as I came out.

  “Loose stuff all over the floor in there. Might as well add it to the box you’re on. I’ll keep working on my end.”