by Tonya Kappes
Her white pom-pom ears perked up like she understood. Her hairless tail wagged.
“That’s a yes to me.” I grabbed a paper plate from one of the cabinets and put a little of the chicken and rice on it just to see if she liked it.
I set it on the ground in front of her to let her sniff it while I got the coffee ready. Before I could even get the eight scoops of coffee can into the filter, Fifi had scarfed down all of the food.
“You must be really hungry.” I pondered whether I should give her more. She must’ve known what I was thinking because she barked, turned in a circle, and wagged her tail. “I’ll give you more.”
I picked up the paper plate, hit the brew button on the coffee pot, and got more chicken and rice out of the refrigerator.
Fifi was busy eating the rest of her breakfast when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and get a little more presentable for Ty. The sight of my frizzed hair in the mirror made me groan. Ty had seen exactly what I looked like when I woke up and it wasn’t pleasant. I’m not going to say I’m a pretty girl, but I could hold my own. I wasn’t the thinnest and I had curves in the right places. I was a little more on the regular size. By today’s modeling standards, I’d be considered plus size. The size of my hair didn’t make it better.
I ran a brush through my hair and pulled into a messy bun on the top of my head. That was one good thing about having long hair. My curls did have some weight to them, pulling them into long curls and not tight to the head like they would be if my hair was shoulder length. Still, the humidity did nothing to make it any better.
The dark roast coffee smelled so good and filled the entire inside of the camper. There was a knock on the door and I heard it open.
“Mae?” Ty called and then quickly greeted Fifi. “Hey, pretty girl.”
It was funny how his voice changed to a high pitch squeak when he talked to her. I guess most people did that to dogs.
“I’m changing.” I called from the bedroom and grabbed a pair of shorts and t-shirt out of my drawer.
“I’m going to make us a cup of coffee.” Ty made himself at home. I smiled to myself.
“Thanks.” I walked down the hall to find him pouring the cups. I got a pad of paper and pen from the one of the kitchen drawers. I put them on the table. “I think we need to write down everything we know.”
“And why would we do that?” He looked at me over the top of his mug as he took a sip.
“Because of Fifi. She’s not happy here and the quicker Tammy Jo gets out, the better.” I took the cup he made for me and sat down in one of the chairs at the table.
“She looks pretty happy to me.” He smiled.
Fifi had licked her plate clean and happily chewed on a pink poodle stuffed animal. When she looked up at me, our eyes met and she wagged her tail, throwing the stuffed animal in the air.
“Show off,” I laughed. “She does look pretty happy.”
“Right. If she had a nanny and this strict schedule, she couldn’t be a dog.” He picked up the list from her that I’d put on the table. “I mean, you have to make sure she gets these vitamins for premium breeding?”
“Does it say that on there?” I admit I didn’t really read through the note. “You should’ve smelled the dog food they want me to give her. I didn’t. She loved the chicken and rice.”
“Oh, Mae. If Tammy Jo does get out of jail, she might go back for killing you for not taking care of that dog.” He smiled. His eyes twinkled. I gulped.
“Then we need to get her out of jail before I do any more damage.” I dragged the paper and pen towards me. “Now. I think we can write down Tammy Jo’s name and the gardener.”
“Why the gardener again?” he asked.
“Because when I was cleaning, I saw Camille watch the gardener. Even before that, I seen them huddled together outside. They jerked apart when they saw me coming.” I talked and wrote their names down.
“It’s not a crime to talk to people you work with. It certainly doesn’t scream murder.” He was playing the devil’s advocate and I appreciated that. I ignored him.
“What about my overhearing them arguing about how she couldn’t be with him? That Fifi relied on her. Tammy Jo relied on her. Then she came back through the house with her head in her hands. I think she was crying.” I wrote down motive under the gardener’s name. “He was rejected by Camille and he killed her.”
“What about Tammy Jo?” he asked.
“I wonder if she and Camille had gotten into an argument. When I got there to clean, Tammy Jo had Fifi. Hank Sharp and Norman Pettleman were there.” I wrote down Norman’s name. “When you and I went back to get the check for Betts Hager, there were two wine glasses. Both had lipstick on them. There was the bright red that Tammy Jo apparently wears all the time; the other was orange.”
“Orange?” Ty’s nose curled.
“Yes. That’s a bold color.” I snapped my finger. “Do you think it was someone with the Kentucky Kennel Association? I mean. . .” my voice trailed off. “The suspect list could be endless.”
“Mae, I think you are truly getting in over your head now. Your imagination is running wild.” He wasn’t amused with my theories. “Maybe the mailman killed her.”
“Why?” I asked with wide eyes.
“Calm down.” He picked up his coffee. “I was kidding. Maybe Fifi did it because she was tired of being bullied by Camille.”
“Shut up.” I couldn’t contain the smile finding it’s way across my lips. “You think you’re funny.”
“I’m pretty funny.” He winked. “Did you want to go to dinner tonight still?”
“Of course.” I looked down at my list because I could feel the red starting to roll up my face in a full blush.
“You look like you’ve got more writing to do.” He stood up. I stood up too. “I’ve got to go check on the boys before Betts comes over to sit with them while I go to work.”
“You’re at the diner today?” I asked and looked over at my phone that was still on the charger on the kitchen sink. I was checking to see if Betts had left me a message to clean today.
“I’m going to be there for the breakfast and lunch crowd before coming back here for the Summer Sizzler. Dottie conned me into donating the pig for the roast.” He stood at the open camper door. The moon’s rays were like a spotlight overtop his head, making it appear as if he had a halo around him.
Inwardly, I sighed.
“Then I’ll see you at the party and for the supper you owe me.” I was careful not to say date even though it felt like a date.
He gave a nod and disappeared into the dawn.
“Fifi, you might be going home quicker than you want to,” I said to the white furball that’d curled up with her paw resting on the stuffed animal. “You are cute.”
There was a slight flutter in my heart. Was her cuteness getting to me? I let out a long sigh, shook my head, sent Betts a quick text about helping out if needed, and refilled my cup with coffee before I headed back to the bathroom to get a shower.
The entire time I got ready, I continued to think about how I could get my hands on any documents to do with the KKA. Maybe someone was there to hurt Fifi and Camille was in the way. It appeared that nothing was too strange for this dog business.
The phone chirped a text while I put the shorts and t-shirt back on for the day. The day was still going to be a scorcher. My hair would dry naturally and hopefully I’d be able to pull it back up in a couple of hours to keep it out of my face. Though, I was planning on fixing it before my date . . .um. . .supper with Ty tonight.
I checked the text and it was Betts. She said that she hated to ask me, but she was on her way to Ty’s to watch the boys and she always cleaned the police station on Saturday morning at six a.m. before they got too busy.
“I figured I’d call you,” I said when Betts answered her phone. “I’d love to help, but how do you clean the police department?”
“It’s easy,” she whispered into the phone. “All t
he rooms have trashcans, those need to be emptied. I sweep the floors with a broom since they are that nasty old tile stuff. I don’t mop this week. That’s next week, but I should be back next week.”
She continued to tell me things I needed to make sure were done and I scribbled them down on the pad of paper where I’d written down my thoughts on Camille’s murder.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked.
“Not at all.” I flipped a couple pieces of paper on the pad back and looked at the list I’d started to make. I needed to talk to Tammy Jo and this was how it was going to happen.
“Great. Come down here and get the van. It shouldn’t take you too long so you’ll be back in plenty of time before the Summer Sizzler,” she said.
“No problem. Dottie took his on herself as the new event coordinator of the campground.” We had a couple of more exchanges before we hung up. I changed again, into a t-shirt that I didn’t mind getting all dirty along with a different pair of shorts. “Fifi, you be a good girl,” I called to her, grabbing my purse on the way out.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Betts asked as the humidity filled around us. She fanned her hand in front of her face. “I even left a detailed note on what to clean on the passenger seat just in case you said yes.”
“Not at all in fact.” I looked around. The dawn had transformed into an orange and yellow tinted sky with Daniel Boon National Park poking up. This was one of the reasons I loved living here. This was nature at its finest and I’d realized how much I’d missed living in the city. “Did you hear about Tammy Jo Bentley’s dog nanny, Camille Braun?”
“I did. Poor Lester got the call.” She shook her head. She drew her hand up to her mouth. “I forgot you cleaned for me at her house. Did you see anything?”
“I found her when I went to pick up your check, which I still didn’t get.” I pinched my lips.
“We probably won’t get it, but I’ll still pay you.” Betts looked over her shoulder at the camper. “The boys are asleep, but I have a second. Tell me all about how you found her.”
I quickly told her how I picked up Ty, which was met with a giggle of glee that came right from Betts’s gut, then I led into how I went to get the check and saw Camille.
“I can’t believe this. This is the second time a dead body has found its way into your life since you moved here,” she said with dazed exasperation.
“Geesh, tell me about it. You’ve not heard anything yet.” I pointed down to my camper. “Tammy Jo thinks I can keep Fifi for her while she’s in jail. Her lawyer dropped her off to me last night.”
Betts seemed to really enjoy me keeping Fifi because she let out a laugh as if I’d sincerely amused her.
“Did you know that watch on the mantle is worth 2.2 million dollars?” I asked her since I knew she had to dust it on a weekly basis.
“I knew it had to be worth something since it’s thought to be the reason Camille was killed,” she said, grabbing my attention.
“What?” There was disbelief in my voice. No wonder she said that she’d told me too much when I went to see her in the holding cell. Maybe it was something Hank had known and told her to keep quiet about. I gnawed on the edge of my lip, listening intently to what she had to say.
“Yeah. Didn’t you know it’s been stolen?” she asked, looking back after a light came on in the camper. “I’ve got to go. Thanks.” She waved me off after exchanging keys, leaving me there with more questions and theories to add to my list.
ELEVEN
“Listen,” I talked to Fifi like the paper said when I tried to put a dog diaper on her. “According to this note, you’re about to have your monthly girly thing. And this says that you need to wear a pad.”
Hearing myself saying this was something I never would’ve dreamed I’d say to a dog. Maybe a future daughter, but a dog?
Fifi squirmed and jerked away as I tried to keep her in between my legs to get the hole on top of the diaper around her tail. Once I had that on, I had to get a leg in each leg hole and then Velcro it around her little waist.
“I’m not going to let you win.” I was so determined, it brought a sweat to my brow. “There.” I patted the Velcro in place and let go. She bounced around the camper, almost walking completely on her front paws with her hiney in the air. I simply shook my head and wondered what on earth did Camille enjoy about her job. “Wait.”
My eyes narrowed, and I looked off into the distance as more conspiracy theories rolled around my head. I pushed myself off the floor and sat back in the kitchen chair. Pulling the notebook close to me, I started to write.
“What did the will say about Fifi if Tammy Jo died?” I tapped the pen on the paper. “What if it was Tammy Jo that was supposed to die, not Camille, and someone from the KKA came into the house and thought it was Tammy Jo in the office.” I gnawed on the edge of my lip. “Why was Camille in the office? What’s in the office?”
Sitting in the camper wasn’t going to get these questions answered, nor was it going to get the police station cleaned before the work day started. But, I thought, some of these questions could be answered if I could see Tammy Jo while I was there.
The edges of my lips curled up. It was a brilliant idea. Tammy Jo just might have a morning visitor.
I grabbed my phone and my crossbody purse.
“You be a good girl,” I said to Fifi, using my foot to keep her from running out the door. We did a little dance around each other until I finally got out the door and locked it behind me.
The early morning burnt orange sun cast a beautiful glow over the campground and a shadow over Bobby Ray, who was putting quarters in the newspaper machine in front of the recreation center up near the office. He gave a wave of the paper when he noticed it was me and I waved back. I looked in the rearview mirror. Bobby Ray had folded the paper and stuck it under his armpit on his way back towards the bungalows. His chin was up in the air like he too had noticed the gorgeous sunrise. I gripped the wheel and smiled. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever see Bobby Ray Bond again.
I took my time driving up the one way street when I reached downtown. The shades of dawn were like one of those sand art projects in those crazy blown glass bottles. Layers upon layers of different yellows and oranges.
The Cookie Crumble Bakery sign flashed OPEN. My mouth watered.
I pulled the van into an empty spot. There was no better place to take donuts than a police station. It was perfect to sweeten them up and distract me if I did get a chance to sneak in to see Tammy Jo.
“Good morning,” the woman behind the counter had a nice and warm smile on her face. Her cheeks were plump and made her eyes squint. “You got here just in time.” She walked down the long, glass case with rows and rows of different kinds of donuts. “The cinnamon and sugar donuts just came out of the oven. I can’t tell you how amazing they are.”
“Then I’ll get two dozen of those. I’m on my way to clean the police department and I can’t think of anything better to bring them.” My eyes glanced over all the different sweet treats.
“You are going to be their favorite person.” She plucked a white piece of parchment paper from the box with one hand and grabbed a cardboard box with the other. “Do you own a cleaning business?”
“No. I’ve been working for my friend, Betts Hager.” I tapped the glass. “Can I get a chocolate donut for me?”
“On the house.” Her nose curled up, squishing all of her freckles together.
“That’s so nice. Thank you. I’m Mae West. I own Happy Trails Campground.” I figured I’d better introduce myself.
“I’m Christine Watson.” She looked up and over the counter, setting the box on top before she turned to pluck another piece of parchment out of the box. Brown strands of hair from her ponytail flew out in silky wisps. “My sister and I own the bakery. We moved to Normal a couple of years ago and decided that Normal needed a bakery.”
“You and your sister are smart people.” I pulled out my wallet fro
m the crossbody and walked over to the end of the counter.
Christine got my donut and put it in a separate little bag.
“Will that be all?” she asked, rubbing her hands down her waist apron.
“Yes - thanks.” I turned when I heard the bell over the door ding someone’s arrival.
A few hikers walked in, followed by a couple of more. They were wearing hiking shorts, long socks, and hiking boots. Christine rang me up while they browsed, pointed at, and discussed which donut they wanted.
“It’s about time for my early morning hikers to get here. I get a couple of waves in here and it’s pretty consistent.” She pulled out an iPad with a Square reader attached to it. “That’ll be twelve dollars.”
I handed her my debit card and she swiped it.
“I put a card in there because I’d like to have Betts call me. We’ve been trying to find someone who can clean for us every night.” She handed me another card. “This is for you in case your campground needs any donuts for the office. We’d love to work with you.”
“That’s really a good idea. I’ll give it to the manager who is in charge of all events and social activities.” I slip my debit card and the business card into my crossbody. “Thanks again for the donut,” I said and left with my treats.
The police station was a little bit outside downtown in the business district. The white courthouse was the tallest building and right in the middle. The police station was attached to the courthouse. The line of police cars told me exactly on which side it was located.
I scanned the parking lot for the black cars the detectives drove. There was relief in my gut when I didn’t notice any and prayed Hank was on park duty today. He was not only a detective for the Normal Police Station, he was the park deputy for Daniel Boone National Park. I didn’t know his schedule, but if he wasn’t here, then he couldn’t be watching my every move.
There was plenty of parking in front at this time of day. I looked over the list of cleaning supplies Betts had written for me. I needed a broom, mop, and feather duster along with the cleaning supplies. According to her note, she really only cleans the offices; there is another service that cleans the cells, bathroom, and anything associated with inmates.