“Hello, stranger,” she said with a grin. “How was vacation?” She motioned to her son, the Barista, to bring me my usual.
“A nightmare.” I spent the next few minutes filling her in on the last two weeks. “I need a vacation from vacation.”
“You do manage to find trouble, don’t you?” She shook her head. “Things have been quiet around here, but that’s probably because you were gone.” She winked.
“I’d tell you to shut up, but you’re right. I have a cloud of doom over my head. Matt stayed behind, boss’s orders, to help local police.” I leaned my elbows on the table. “I don’t think they’ll find the killer. If I was a betting woman, I’d say she followed us home. She might have gotten here before us.”
“Now, who’s paranoid?”
I straightened to receive my coffee. “I’m serious. I have something she wants. Why wouldn’t she come to where I live in a last desperate attempt to retrieve it?”
“Be careful.” She reached across and placed her hand over mine. “I worry about you.”
“I think everyone does. Poor Matt. I’m surprised he doesn’t have a head full of gray hair by now.” I gave her a quick hug. “I’m going to see how Mom is settling back into work. Catch you tomorrow.”
I retrieved Sadie and retied her to another pole across the street in front of Heavenly Bakes. When I entered, Mom was telling Greta of our adventures. As an ex-police officer, Mom’s baking partner usually had insights we missed.
“Girl.” Greta gathered me against her ample bosom. “You are something else.”
I held up my hands. “I had nothing to do with this. A man was killed, his wife hired me to find his killer, she died…voila! Disaster.”
“Have a cupcake.” Greta handed me a chocolate on chocolate piece of heaven.
“Don’t mind if I do.” I took a bite and closed my eyes in sheer pleasure. “Your baking puts things back into perspective. If you could find a way to send this across the world, everyone would be at peace.”
“Oh, go on.” She paused. “No, really, go on. It isn’t every day a woman hears words of praise.”
I laughed. “I think I might be able to write something now. Just needed to walk these streets I love so much and taste heaven. See you at home later, Mom.”
“Stay out of trouble.”
“I’ll do my best.” I stepped outside. Now, where was that dog? I lifted her leash, which looked chewed through. It wasn’t like her not to stay where I’d left her. “Sadie!”
I turned right toward the diner. Maybe her nose led her to the alley where she could scrounge in the garbage. I called her name again, trailing her leash behind me. When half an hour passed, I grew angry. When an hour had gone by, I got worried. Sadie might not listen if she saw a squirrel, but for the most part she was very obedient.
Being a mystery writer, my mind veered off in directions far from calming. What if she had been run over by a truck? What if someone snatched her for lab experiments? I sagged onto the bench in front of the drugstore. What was I going to do? I didn’t know where else to look.
Seth Bridges, the pharmacist, and Betty Rogers, my one time nemesis and now wary friend, exited the drugstore. “What’s wrong?” Betty planted herself in front of me.
“My dog is gone.”
“Write a country song.” She cackled. “Oh, you’re serious. That big beast of yours is missing?”
I nodded. “I’ve looked everywhere.”
“Not everywhere, or you would have found her.” She tapped Seth on the shoulder. “Gather a posse. We need to find a hound.”
His thick eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. “For a dog?”
“For a friend.” She crossed her arms and glared.
“Okay.” He headed back into the store.
“Thank you.” I blinked back tears.
“Don’t start crying. You’re made of tough stuff. Buck up and pound the pavement. We’ll meet you at the park in an hour.”
The park! Why hadn’t I looked there? I took off at a run, stopping next to the fountain in the center of the park. “Sadie!”
Slowly, the townspeople trickled to the park, eager to help. My heart almost exploded with gratitude. I know Sadie was only a dog, but she was my dog, and these were my people.
Mrs. Rogers took charge like an army sergeant, barking orders. “Call her name every few feet. Toss out treats if you have to, but don’t bring home any strays. Stormi wants her dog, not a replacement.” She waved her arms, and the crowd scattered. “Don’t worry,” she said, turning to me. “We’ll find her. They always come home when they’re hungry.”
I hoped so. “I’ll head home and search the woods behind my house. Maybe she went there and caught scent of something.”
“I’ll call you later. Don’t worry. I have everything under control.”
I had no doubt.
Weariness threatened to choke me by the time I got home. Dakota and Cherokee met me on the porch, having been phoned by Mrs. Rogers.
“We’ll find her,” Dakota said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
Cherokee gave me a hug. “That dog is dumber than dirt sometimes, but she knows her way home.”
“Y’all stay here in case she returns, okay? I’m checking the woods.”
They nodded and sat on the back porch. I wanted to tell them to have one person in the front, but Sadie wasn’t dumb, no matter what my niece thought. Front porch, back porch, it didn’t matter. She’d know someone was outside and think it play time. She’d find them.
It was cooler among the trees. The sun broke through the thick branches of pine and autumn leaves to dapple the ground. Pine needles softened the sound of my footsteps. I called Sadie’s name again, hoping for a returning bark. Nothing. I leaned against a tree. She truly was gone. There was nothing left to do but wait and pray she returned on her own.
I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Matt. “Sadie’s gone. She broke free when I was at the bakery, and no one can find her anywhere.”
“She’ll come home, sweetheart. Why wouldn’t she? You’re the best thing anyone can return to.”
I sniffed, encouraged by his words. “I am good to her, aren’t I? When are you coming home?”
“There’s no sign of Cheri. If we don’t catch a break in the next day or two, I’ll be back and she’ll be sent to cold files. It’s a shame to know who the guilty party is and not be able to locate them. I love you. Keep your chin up.”
“I love you, too. I’ll try.” We hung up and I continued my fruitless search.
“Aunt Stormi!” Dakota’s voice rang through the trees.
I turned and charged through the brush toward him. He must have found her. I burst into the backyard and skidded to a halt.
Dakota stood there, Sadie’s collar in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other.
21
“What is that?” I grabbed the note.
“Some kid rode by on a skateboard and said someone paid him five dollars to bring these to us.” Tears shimmered in Dakota’s eyes. “Someone kidnapped Sadie.”
“It’ll be fine.” No, it wouldn’t. I reassured him out of habit as I scanned the note, reading it out loud. “Stop snooping or the dog’s head is next. Instructions coming.”
I would choke that woman with my bare hands when we came face-to-face. Forgive me, Lord, but I wanted to hurt her. “I need to get to the house and call Matt. You call Wayne. Tell him to come asap.” I raced for the house.
I couldn’t help but remember the time I had returned home to find my cats locked in the pantry. Relief flooded through me to see them still curled up on my duvet cover. What kind of sicko threatened harmless animals?
Matt didn’t answer his phone, so I left a voice mail before grabbing my gun. I checked the ammo.
“What are you doing?” Dakota stood in the doorway of my office.
“Checking my gun.”
“Are you going to shoot someone?”
“I might.” I stuffed the Gl
ock into the waistband of my pants as I had seen the cops do on TV. “Did you call Wayne?”
“He’s on his way.” Dakota peered around me. “Guns are never the answer. You said so yourself.”
“Make sure you remember that.” I hurriedly typed some dummy account numbers in case I ran into the dog thief, printed them off, and then pushed past him as I folded the sheet of paper and stuck it into my pocket.
“Where are you going?”
I stopped. “I have no idea.” When a family member was threatened, I tended to leap before thinking.
“Hello?”
“Wayne’s here.” I thundered down the stairs. “Sadie’s gone.” I handed him the note.
“I heard.” He read the note. “Did you make a copy of this? I’d like to have one.”
I shook my head and handed it to Dakota who dashed back to my office. I turned back to Wayne. “What do we do now?”
“Wait for instructions. Is there any coffee?”
I exhaled sharply. “I can make some.” I hated waiting.
As I measured coffee grounds, I thought over every scenario, most of them too horrible to contemplate. What if Sadie caused a problem and Cheri killed her because she was a nuisance? It could happen. Or, what if she ran away and couldn’t find her way home?
“That coffee is going to be thick enough to walk on. Let me do it.” Wayne dumped the grounds back into the canister and took over as my cell phone rang.
I pulled it from my pocket, thankful to see Matt’s picture on my screen. “I need you.”
“Why is it every time I hear those words it’s because something bad has happened?”
“Sadie has been kidnapped.”
“I had hoped that I had misunderstood your voice mail. I’ll be home by dark.”
“Thank you. I’ll wait up for you.”
“Tell her not to carry her gun in her waistband,” Wayne yelled toward the phone. “She’ll shoot off a butt cheek.”
“What?” Matt asked.
“Nothing. Love you. See you later.” I hung up and glared at Wayne. “Seriously? I have a license.”
“That doesn’t mean whoever gave it to you wasn’t missing some brain cells.” He pressed the button on the coffee maker.
“Ha ha.” I took a seat at the table and rested my chin in my hand. My laptop! I bolted to my feet, retrieved the computer, and brought it back to the table. The instructions could very well come in an email.
I checked. Nothing.
The doorbell rang. I froze.
“I’ll get it!” Dakota called out.
“No, you won’t.” Wayne pulled his weapon from his holster and answered the door. “It’s a box.” He set it on the table. “No one was there. Just this.”
“Can we open it?” I peered at a box the size checks would come in.
“I will,” Wayne said. “Stand back.”
I moved back a few feet, my gaze glued to the box. Dakota stood next me and slipped his hand in mine.
Wayne slit the tape holding the box together and slowly lifted off the lid. “What are those?”
I moved close enough to peer inside. Little dark slivers were scattered inside. Under them was an index card that read, “I’m serious. Next time, there will be blood.” I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat. “Sadie’s toenail clippings.”
“Better than her toes.” Wayne shrugged and replaced the lid. “I’ll run this to the station and check for prints. Do not leave the house. Call me if you get anything else.”
I nodded and plopped back in my seat, listening for the door to close. “I can’t stay here.”
“Where will you go?” Dakota sat across from me. “We don’t have any idea where to start looking.”
“She has to be in a motel somewhere. One that allows pets.” I thought of the small places dotting the highway. “I suppose she could be in a warehouse.”
“That might be safer. Sadie doesn’t know her and if she barked…”
“True. The warehouse seems the best place to look.” I knew I wasted my breath in asking him to stay, but he shook his head before the words left my mouth. “I had to ask,” I said. “Grab your jacket.”
“It isn’t cold.”
“The warehouse is by the river. It’ll be colder there.” I clipped my Tazor to my pocket, slipped the cell phone inside the pocket, and grabbed a hoodie from the back of a chair. It was Cherokee’s and had skull and crossbones on it, but at this point, I wasn’t thinking fashion.
We left the house, I set the alarm, and we hurried to my Mercedes. “I wish we had Mom’s van. It wouldn’t stick out by the riverfront like this will.”
“Stop by and get it,” my practical nephew said.
“You know she’ll want to come along.” I cut him a sideways glance.
“As long as I get to ride shotgun, I don’t care.”
“Good boy.” We sped to the bakery.
“Mom!” I burst into the shop, leaving Dakota in the car. “I need the van. I’ll leave you my car.”
She wiped chocolate-covered hands on a towel. “What are you up to?”
I quickly explained about Sadie’s abduction and the warehouse. “I don’t have time.” I wiggled my fingers. “Keys, please.”
“I’m coming.” She untied her apron and tossed it on the counter. “Greta, man the shop.” She raced past me.
“I’m driving, Mom!” No way did I want to ride in the backseat if she was driving. I tended to get carsick with her swerving.
“No time to argue, dear.” She waved at Dakota to switch vehicles.
He grinned and rode shotgun, leaving me the backseat. I groaned and slammed the door shut after me. “Please, mind your driving.”
“What do you mean?” Mom glanced in the rearview mirror. “I’m a careful driver. Ask anyone.” She turned the key in the ignition and gunned the van into reverse. After slamming the gearshift into drive, we sped toward the highway.
Already, my stomach churned. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the window.
“Uh-oh.” Mom said as the van moved to the side of the highway.
I opened my eyes and glanced behind us.
Red and blue lights flashed from the dashboard of Wayne’s car. I groaned and slumped in the seat.
“I wasn’t speeding,” Mom said when Wayne came to the window.
“No, but I specifically told Stormi to stay home.” He wore mirrored sunglasses, but I was sure he glared behind them.
“I had an idea,” I said, opening one eye.
“Spare me.”
“It was my idea,” Dakota said.
“That’s even worse. Your aunt should not involve you kids.”
“I’m sixteen.” Dakota crossed his arms. “I’ll come along if I want. What if someone bombed the house while I was there alone?”
That thought hadn’t occurred to me. “You don’t think the house is in danger, do you?” I loved my old Victorian.
Wayne exhaled harshly. “Where are you going?”
We all looked at each other.
“For a drive,” Mom finally said. “No law against that.”
“I could take all three of you to the station for obstruction of justice.”
“On what grounds?” Mom started to roll up her window, stopping only because Wayne stuck his hand in the way.
“It might take hours to determine the answer to that question.”
“Move your hand.”
“I will not.”
She raised the window a bit more. “Your pain.”
“Threatening and assaulting an officer now?”
“For crying out loud.” I leaned over the seat and moved Mom’s hand off the button. “You’re acting like children.” And it wasn’t helping us find Sadie. “We’ll go home.”
“Promise?”
“Yes,” I hissed.
“Good.” He stepped back from the van.
Mom rolled up her window. “Really?”
“I didn’t say when we would go home. Find an alte
rnate route to the warehouse.” I resumed my slump in the seat. Wayne would have to make good on his threat of arresting us to keep me from searching. I had my PI license. I could do what I wanted, right?
“I gave birth to a very devious child,” Mom said, pulling back onto the highway. “Sometimes, I am rather proud of that fact.”
I smiled and resumed my eyes closed, head against the window, position. I was glad Cherokee wasn’t with us. She wouldn’t have good memories of where we were going. Neither did I, come to mention it. I’d almost lost her and Matt at the warehouses a month ago. I opened my eyes. “Where is Cherokee?”
“At a friend’s house.” Dakota glanced over his shoulder. “She has to work inventory tonight.”
I relaxed. Good. At least she was accounted for and safe. Still, I checked her gps location on my phone. I’d installed the app after our last fiasco, without my families knowledge, and for my peace of mind. My niece was exactly where she said she was going to be.
My cell phone rang. It was Matt. I answered. “Hey, babe.”
“Why is Wayne calling me, angry and upset because you refused to obey a direct order and are heading off with your mother and nephew to find Sadie yourselves?”
“Uh, because it’s true?”
“Is that a question?”
“Yes?”
“Stop asking me questions and answer mine.” He sighed. “Can’t you wait for me?”
“I’ll meet you at the house later. Please, understand.”
“I don’t, but I love you anyway. See you in a few hours.” Click.
We pulled in front of the warehouses along the river. A chain link fence had been erected, sealing off the area. A large lock kept the gate securely locked against us.
I slid from the van and studied the six foot fence. If Cheri had my dog here, they had to have found a way in. “Let’s circle the fence.”
22
My cell phone rang…again. I was going to have to turn the volume off. “Hello?”
“Matt is almost home, and he is pissed!” Maryann’s shrill voice could be heard by the others, judging from the looks on their faces. “Where are you?”
“The warehouse. Gotta go.” I hung up and turned off the volume. I also had gps on my phone, so Matt could find us easily enough. One way or the other, I wasn’t going home without my dog.
Nosy Neighbor: All 7 complete Nosy Neighbor cozy mysteries PLUS: 2 short Christmas stories (A Nosy Neighbor mystery) Page 87