by M. A. Owens
“We can’t stop getting dragged into things we didn’t ask to be dragged into. Thanks for being willing to save the city one more time, pal.”
“No need to be so dramatic. Come with me. Let’s dust off these old tools and get to work. I’m making you two help me, that way if the police do come knocking on my door, you two are going down with me as my accomplices.”
Petey laughed, apparently finding the joke a lot funnier than I did, as we followed Harvey to his basement in our work.
20
In the next few hours, Petey and I learned more about making counterfeit documents than any dog (or cat for that matter) had any business knowing. It impressed me that Harvey had kept all his tools and not just thrown them out, the way he seemed to have thrown out that old life in every other way.
“Okay, ‘Marley’, here’s everything you’ll need to have on you. Of course, one thing some seem to forget is that it doesn’t just stop there. Marley needs some history. Work history. Sometimes a minor criminal history, just to throw others off your scent. In your case, I simply had you investigated for trespassing charges that you were later exonerated from. You were set up. See how these little webs of distraction we weave can work to put someone off from why they were looking into these records in the first place?”
Petey scratched the back of his neck, grinning. “You’re an artist, Harvey. You know that?”
Harvey shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Well, I’ve had many people tell me that in my life. Let’s just say you’re the first who said it that I’ll take as a compliment.” He turned his attention to me. “You really think this is that dangerous, like maybe even another Mr. B situation?”
I took a deep breath and hesitated. “I sure hope not, Harvey. But if I’m being honest? Yeah, I think so. He has too many paws tied, and almost no one will be able to do anything about it until it’s too late to do anything about it at all. By the time the police can get involved with the political party, he may already have too many cops on the payroll. Even if Patches does something about it, he may have unreliable officers feeding him false information or judges dismissing the cases he sends before them anyway. Same old story, just a different cat. I’d bet my good eye that he’s done things that would give Mr. B pause. There’s nothing more dangerous than getting on the bad side of an ideologue, and I think he’s given me my last chance to make what he believes is the right choice.”
Harvey half smiled, not sure what to say, and looked back down at his work.
Petey patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. We won’t let that happen. Well, we’ll do our best, anyway.”
After what felt like an eternity, Harvey slid the last document into a manila envelope and handed the stack to Petey.
Harvey pointed to the one on top. “This first one goes with you. It’s all the identification you need to travel unhindered. Be sure to memorize it, but not better than your real one. Nothing more suspicious than someone who knows every number and letter on every corner of every page by heart. No one knows all that stuff, so you shouldn’t either. The one below it is your recent work history. Don’t worry, I didn’t include more than one because nobody cares. Trust me, if they verify the first one, they will not spend all day calling everyone else. The last will be easy for you. That’s your police record.”
Petey looked concerned about that one. “Is it really smart to leave that there? At the department, I mean. I don’t want them getting dragged into this.”
“It’s impossible to tie this fictional character to you. Even if they look right at it, there’s nothing they will know that they don’t already know.”
Petey nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. “I can’t thank you enough for this, Mr. Harvey. I’ll not breathe a word of this to anyone, you have my word.”
I echoed the sentiment. “Yeah, we really owe you one… two… or maybe more than that. I’ve lost count. You’re one of the unsung heroes of the city. I’m not pulling your leg, either.”
Harvey smiled. “I know you’re not, Trigger, and thank you for saying so. This is the least I can do for both of you. With you helping me get that nice job with Rick over in Adria and you, Petey, for helping so much with the Second Chance Foundation, we shouldn’t be looking at one another as all that different. Just friends helping friends.”
“All the same,” I said, “Thanks. Guess we’ll be going now.”
We exchanged paw shakes and did our best to avoid Priscilla’s glare as we left their house. Petey took a deep breath as we stepped back out onto the street and exhaled slowly. “Well, that was a bit nerve-racking. Ready to head back to your office?”
I shook my head. “No, you go on without me. I’ll meet you back there shortly.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind going with you if you need to-” He suddenly stopped and grinned. “Oh, right. Sure, I’ll meet you back at your office. Mind if I look through some case records while I wait?”
“Knock yourself out,” I said.
Petey and I headed in different directions and I wondered what I would say to Lily. Last time we saw each other she told me to come by and see her again soon, and this wasn’t soon. Maybe I was too much of a cynic, but I always worried that if certain cats and dogs thought Lily and I were close, they might think they could hurt her to get to me. They could, and that terrified me.
I knocked on the door and waited for a moment, but no one answered. I turned around and walked back down the sidewalk between her door and the street, when I heard a voice call behind me. “Wait, Trigger!”
I stopped and turned around to face her. “Hey there, Lily. I thought maybe I’d missed you.”
“Sorry. Sometimes I like to turn up the radio when I’m cleaning. Why don’t you come in?”
I pointed down the street. “Nah, I better not. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would swing by and say hello.”
She put both paws on her hips and gave me an incredulous glare. “You’re telling me you don’t have five minutes for a slice of hot strawberry pie and some fresh-squeezed lemonade?”
“I really…” I could already see the disappointment covering her face. I couldn’t bring myself to finish that sentence. Besides, Petey needed time to look through those records anyway. Wouldn’t do much good to tell him he could look through them only to then show up ten steps behind him. “Did you say strawberry pie?”
“Barely cooled enough to eat,” she said, smiling.
“And lemonade? Fresh squeezed?”
“Just put it in the refrigerator half an hour ago.”
I took off my hat and tucked it under my arm, walking toward her. Her expression immediately brightened. “Well, if you’re going to twist my arm like that, I suppose I can’t say no.”
It only just occurred to me that I had never actually been inside Lily’s house before. “Right this way. Let me take your hat and coat.” She took my trench coat and fedora, and placed them on the rack next to the door. “Please, have a seat at the table. I’ll get everything ready.”
It felt… wrong, somehow, having someone bring me food like that when I hadn’t paid for it. “Need some help?”
She smiled her usual, kind smile. “Thank you, but I know how hard you work. You just relax. It’ll only take a moment.”
She stepped through the dining room, which was already visible to me and into the room left from there, which I assumed was the kitchen. I followed her as far as the dining room and took a seat at the table. There was only a partial wall between the dining room and the kitchen, so I could see her working inside. I tapped my paw on my knee nervously. “So… I’ve heard you’re organizing parties in the neighborhood, and other parts of the district. You enjoy that?”
She laughed. “Well, Mr. Trigger, fortunately I am a very lucky dog. The inheritance my father left me is enough for me to live out my days comfortably in the Rose Garden Estates, with no need to work. It also means that I can choose only the work that I like.”
“Must be nice,”
I said, laughing. Of course, as soon as I said it I couldn’t help but feel like I’d just stuck my foot in my mouth. “I didn’t mean… Not that there’s anything wrong with…”
She only giggled louder. “It’s alright. I’m not so easily offended. You are absolutely adorable when you get all flustered like that.”
I nearly choked and unfortunately didn’t have the lemonade yet to blame it on. I cleared my throat. “So… things have been peaceful in the neighborhood here?”
She walked into the dining room with two plates of pie, setting one in front of me and the other across from me. She stepped back into the kitchen to retrieve the lemonade. “Remarkably so. Then again, trouble here is quite rare. As you can imagine. You’ve seen most of it firsthand, after all.”
She returned with the lemonade, placing the two glasses on the table and taking a seat across from me.
“Yeah. I think some dogs here believe I bring it with me.”
“Oh dear. You mean Rover?”
I nodded. “Yep.” I stuffed the giant spoonful of the pie into my mouth, then stopped, raising my brow. I almost opened my mouth, but remembered my manners just in the nick of time and thought better of it. Instead, I pointed to the pie with my spoon, made an mmm sound, and smiled.
“You like it? I knew you would. I’m always baking things like this just for me. See, you need to come by more often.” She peered at me, and must’ve picked up on my discomfort, because she changed the subject back to Rover. “Anyway, Rover is actually a much nicer dog than he lets on. He’s just giving you a hard time.”
“Oh, I figured that. I wonder how much of it he believes, and if he’s the only dog in the neighborhood who feels that way.”
“I have to say, it seems a bit out of character for you to worry about such things.”
I scooped another enormous spoon of pie into my mouth and took the time to chew and swallow it before answering. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“Would you be interested in coming by again this Friday?”
I had just put the last spoonful of pie in my mouth and nearly choked on it. I quickly washed it down with most of the lemonade. “You mean for lunch or dinner? That sort of thing?”
“That’s right. Would that be alright?”
I’d gotten so used to making excuses for questions like this that I almost forgot that there was a genuine reason this time why I couldn’t. This Friday was the big fight over in Adria, and I was certain Petey and I would have some kind of angle for going there..
I started to speak, but she interrupted. “Work, right? Sorry, I should have realized you can’t just drop everything and come see me like that. Sorry for putting you on the spot.”
I finished the last drink of lemonade, set it on the table, and raised both paws into the air. “No. No, not at all. Sometimes I can. I won’t be in the district again for a little while yet, so I couldn’t even come by late. Could I…” She brightened, expecting what I might say. “Could I… maybe have a rain check? I can’t say for sure, but maybe next Friday?”
“That would be wonderful. Oh, but you have somewhere you need to be, and I’ve kept you for too long! Let me help you with your hat and coat.”
She helped me with my coat, and I put on my hat, tipping it to her as we said our goodbyes. I looked at my watch. Holy cow, an hour? Petey had time, plenty of time, to look through everything he wanted to by now, and time to get carried away to boot. Of course, I’m sure he wouldn’t waste the opportunity to tease me as much as possible the moment I stepped back through the door.
21
I arrived back at my office and rushed inside. Zelda was pacing frantically in front of my office door, from inside the lobby. “Detective! Thank goodness you’re back. That… that wild animal you call a friend is making a terrible mess. I told him to only take one file at a time. He insisted on dumping everything out and spreading it all over the floor so he could look at everything at once. He said it helped him think better! He eventually shut the door in my face and he’s locked himself up in there ever since! He’s making a mess of everything!”
I sighed. I could understand that if you didn’t already have complete faith in Petey’s methods, he came across as a bit of a weirdo sometimes.
“It’s alright, Zelda, I’ll take care of it.” I knocked on my door. “Petey, you in there? I’m back.”
“I unlocked it when I heard you come in. Door’s open.”
I opened the door, and Zelda and I stepped in. Sure enough, he was sitting in the middle of a pile of files, with most of them open. There were even footprints on some. Zelda scoffed and started shaking her paw at Petey, but before she could say anything I placed a paw on her shoulder. “Now, now, Zelda. No need to be upset. Petey will clean all of this up himself before he leaves.” I looked over to Petey. “Isn’t that right?”
Petey looked up, his eyes wide. He held up one of the files.
“This one may be useful. I take back what I said before about how exciting this work seemed. Man, this has got to be a collection of some of the most boring doggone stuff I’ve ever seen. But…” He tapped on the folder he was holding in his paw. “You’ve also got some real gems in here.”
“Petey, Zelda worked real hard to clean this place up.”
Petey seemed to snap back into reality. “Oh… right. Sorry about that, ma’am. I think I’ve got what I need, so I’ll get the rest of this cleaned up. I just get absorbed into my work, you know? I like to stay on the trail until I’ve seen it through. Avoid distractions.”
Zelda took in a big breath and looked as though she was about to scream, but she swallowed her frustration and let out a slow, cool breath. “I’ll let it slide this time.” She started to walk away, but turned back around, shaking her paw again. “But if I find one file out of place, I’ll pull you in here by the ears and have you sweeping and dusting in here every weekend for a month!”
Petey grinned, half surprised, half impressed.
“So, what did you find?”
“You know, I’m sure we were already on the same page about the tickets to that big fight this Friday.”
“Sure. We’re not going to miss an opportunity like that. What’s it got to do with that file, though?”
He patted a spot on the floor beside him. I obliged and took a seat next to him. He pointed to the name on the folder, raising his brow.
“Brutus, huh? Can’t believe I worked with that dog. Wonderful guy, too. Played a big part in ousting the corrupt colonel in Adria, Bones. His theater is the whole reason I had the opportunity to visit Adria in the first place. That was my first case there. When I was little more than a pup, I was one of Brutus’s biggest fans. I used to sneak a peek at his fights on the picture box, sometimes in the shop windows when I was supposed to be out on patrol. He retired and used his savings to open up that theater in Adria. Anyway, long story short, he’s a friend.”
“A friend. That’s good. He a good enough friend to pull some strings for us? Can we trust him?”
“Yes to both. I think.”
The gears in my brain turned. I didn’t want to make any guesses since Petey was obviously waiting patiently for me to ask him what his plan was.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked.
Petey cleared his throat. “Well, bear with me for a moment. Big championships make for quite the spectator sport, that much is a given. But what else does it attract?”
I thought for a moment. “Gambling. Lots of dogs and cats looking to make big bucks quick.”
“And what does gambling, especially when big bucks are at stake, attract?”
I didn’t even have to think about this one. “Big shots and corruption.”
Petey grinned. “And what group will be practically teeming with corruption?”
I laughed. “Why, aspiring politicians, of course. I get where you’re going with this, but do you really think we’ll be that lucky?”
Petey shook his head. “Who says we have to go in blind and rely on luck?”
>
“Okay, so care to fill me in on the rest of your plan?”
“First, you ring up Brutus and see how involved he still is in the fighting world. If not, see how easily he can get involved. I’ll have Buddy send over a list of names of registered FLP members in Adria. Also employees of the First Bank of Adria.”
I tilted my head. “Okay, I get the FLP. But why employees of the bank?”
“Let’s call it a hunch. If we can catch someone off guard here, we can turn this around in our favor.”
I shook my head and gave Petey a big pat on the shoulder. “Not bad, Petey. Not bad.”
“Good enough you think you can convince that secretary of yours to let me borrow the phone so I can make that call?”
“You can use mine, but after-”
He tilted his head. “After, what?”
“After you clean up this mess and apologize to her for making it in the first place.”
He laughed. “Alright, dad. You call Brutus, and I’ll get to work on cleaning up these folders.”
I rang up Brutus, and it surprised me how happy he seemed to hear from me. I gave him the entire story, and he promised to have a list of the registered bets sent over to me first thing in the morning. Apparently he’d been doing some moonlighting as a trainer on the weekends. His fighter would be in the fight this Friday. The main event, no less. He offered to get us in to meet the fighters and said he would help us work in our insurance investigator angle if necessary. Said they had to deal with them all the time anyway, on account of the fraud. He said after a few visits from Buddy the bookies were mostly straight shooters these days, but that didn’t change the fact that there would always be dirty bets when big money was involved. I didn’t want to get into specifics over the telephone, so we agreed to go over the remaining details in person.
By the time I hung up, Petey had almost everything in tip-top shape.
“You know, I should probably do this for my office,” he said.
“You think?”