“But, Brett, all the evidence is circumstantial. Two anonymous tips? Where’d he get the gun and in such a short amount of time? What did he have to do with Stories?”
“I know, I know.”
“Maddie asked me to help him.” I left it out there and waited.
Brett exhaled. “First, we need to make sure she is in the clear and safe. Can we agree?”
I smiled. “I already told her that was the first priority.”
***
While I waited for Maddie to wake up of her own accord, I cooked some bacon and scrambled eggs. We were about to sit down to eat, when Maddie stumbled into the kitchen. I pushed the plate in her direction, grabbed some orange juice for her, and scrambled more eggs. Her long hair was in tangles and she had bags under her eyes. My feeble attempts at conversation were met with grunts.
When she finished, she put her plate in the sink. “I’m not going to camp again, am I?”
“Not the best idea. Today is my day to help out at Clover Hill Pets and Paws. I thought you might come along.” I petted Charlie while she thought it over.
“Okay. Does Charlie get to go, too?”
“Afraid not. The dogs at the shelter don’t get a lot of human attention and affection. It wouldn’t be fair to them or Charlie to bring her and then not give the others the attention they need or neglect Charlie. We can take Charlie for a walk later though.”
She nodded in response and looked around.
“Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll clean up in here and feed Charlie.” She hesitated and then disappeared. I took care of the kitchen.
In no time, we were on our way, Charlie reluctantly left at home. Although the sun was bright, there was a nice breeze and it wasn’t too hot. We arrived at the older building that housed Clover Hill Pets and Paws. Originally a colonial home, the downstairs now had concrete floors, sealed and stained in slate blue. The entry way included a small reception like you might see at a hotel. Mrs. Chantilly greeted us.
“Well, look at you both. How are you Sheridan? This must be Maddie. Welcome to Pets and Paws. Our residents will be happy to see you.” Mrs. Chantilly reminded me of what Mrs. Claus would be like. An older, grandmother type, she was all softness and light. Except when someone brought in an injured animal. Then she was all business. I’d only seen that once in the month I’d been volunteering.
“Yes, Mrs. Chantilly, this is Maddie. She’s going to help out today. Where shall we start?”
She smiled and her face lit up. “I’ll see if Susie can give Maddie a quick tour, show her where everything is. Then she can help with the three mamas and their pups in the side room. Those pups love to play.”
She paused. “As for you, grab yourself a coffee and you can work the bigger dogs in the back. Not as cute, but just as much in need of attention. Melina is back there.”
I looked over at Maddie and she nodded. Mrs. Chantilly was already on the phone to Susie, a college student. I knew Maddie would be in good hands and watching puppies was sure to put a smile on her face. Leaving Maddie with Mrs. Chantilly, I made my way into the kitchen. A bit more modern than when the house was first built, it was functional rather than fancy. Cabinets had been renovated to be more like lockers and I shoved my bag and keys in one of them.
I could hear the deep barking of the larger dogs as I walked down the hall to what I guessed was originally a living room or great room. Instead of stately furniture, it now had large dog crates. I set my coffee and phone down as Melina came in the back door with Razor, a beautiful black Newfoundland. About my age I guessed, Melina was down to earth, with shorter dark brown wavy hair and brown eyes. Like me she wore shorts and a t-shirt to work with the dogs.
“Hi, Sheridan. Great to see you! Razor here is all set. Cage cleaned out, he’s had some playtime, and I even managed to get him a bath. The rest of these guys…” She guided Razor back into his space with ease, despite her slim and petite frame. Razor looked to outweigh her, but obviously was a gentle boy.
A quick look around and it was obvious Chloe needed some attention. “I’ll start with Chloe. It doesn’t look like her run has been cleaned out in a while.” A mix of Brittany and something, Chloe’s coloring resembled a brown and white cow. Now spayed, she’d obviously had pups along the way. I reached for her door and she sat quietly, her tail wagging. I got her outside into another run and Melina got Buster, breed unknown outside as well.
As we each cleaned out the dogs’ runs, Melina commented, “Awful what happened in the historical park, isn’t it? That man murdered.”
“Sure is. What have you heard about it? You’re from around here. Did you know him or his family?”
“Mr. Stories was married to one of the Buchanan girls.” She nodded like that said it all.
“Melina, I’m new around here. Who are the Buchanans?”
“Well now, the Buchanans are one of the older families around here. Some historian traced them all the way back to the War, the confederate side, I think. They didn’t suffer any financial hardship though. The Buchanans own the Sleep Softly Inn, as well as two of the other hotels in town, the Steakhouse over in Sleepy Hollow, and pretty much all the real estate business in Appomattox County. Blake Buchanan was Mayor of the town when I first moved here. Probably half the town council members are related to the Buchanan family somehow.”
“So where does Mr. Stories fit in?”
“Oh, Blake Buchanan had three sons and one daughter. He talked on and on about the boys, especially Brandon and Delaney, not as much about Shane, and never about Lila. If you couldn’t play football, you weren’t important. She was schooled in all the proper manners and such though. She went to college. I think she’s still involved in the arts.” Melina turned to check on the dogs.
“Anyway, she graduated from UVA and got a degree in something. That’s where she met Lawrence Stories. They were married the next summer, first son born a year later. I’m not sure, but I think there are three Stories boys, one of them graduated last year and enlisted in the Navy. Blake Buchanan wasn’t too happy. Wants all his children and grandchildren to go to college and be professionals.”
“Is one of them named Luke or Caleb?”
“Luke is the son of the Blake’s oldest, Brandon. Caleb is a cousin, son of Delaney – Del – Buchanan, I think. All the sons had sons. Seems to run in the family, except for Lila and I think one other girl, a cousin to Lila.”
“The Buchanans sound powerful. Do you think someone killed Mr. Stories to get back at the family somehow?”
“Hard to say. I only know what I hear and read in the paper or on the Internet. Didn’t ever have anything to do with them personally. They pretty much stick to their own. Started the private school on the edge of town so they wouldn’t have to mingle with the rest of us.” Her usual smile morphed into a frown.
“Melina, how old are your children? Isn’t one of them in middle school?”
She smiled and her whole face lit up. “That would be Nedra. She is a great student. Starting 8th grade in the fall at Clover Leaf Middle. Hard to believe how fast they grow up.” Still smiling, she shook her head ever so slightly.
“Maddie will be entering 8th grade at Clover Leaf, too. How is Nedra dealing with the murder?”
“We don’t talk about it much. When we first heard, Willie commented it was a sad thing for someone to be killed. Nedra made some retort about Luke Buchanan but then wouldn’t explain it. May have been some bad blood there.”
As she finished, Mrs. Chantilly joined us with a tray of homemade dog treats. “You talking about the murder over in the park?”
We nodded as we both picked up dog treats and gave them to the dogs, saving two for Chloe and Buster.
“Those Buchanan boys are spoiled, especially Shane. No sense of responsibility and I have to wonder at the treatment of their horses.” I’d noticed Mrs. Chantilly had a tendency to jump from one topic to another. Sometimes her line of thought was hard to follow.
“Horses?”
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p; “Oh, not here in town. But some of the Buchanans are into the horseracing circuit, breeding and such. The Buchanan men have not always had a good reputation in their treatment of women. Big scandal a few years back. But I’ll let you ladies get back to our charges here. I don’t know much about the Stories fellow though.”
We both nodded as she floated away with her tray to the next room in the house and other dogs. Finished with Chloe’s cage, I stacked a clean blanket and dog bed by the gate and headed outside to play some catch. Melina joined me and we chatted about Nedra and Maddie and the inevitable challenges of raising teenaged girls as we played with Buster and Chloe.
CHAPTER 6
By the time Melina and I finished up with some more of the big dogs, my coffee cup was empty and I was in need of a recharge. Coffee and then checking on Maddie were my priorities as I entered the kitchen.
Maddie was there and all excited. “Oh, Sheridan, the puppies are so cute. They try to climb into my lap and fall over. Susie says they haven’t gotten their balance yet. So warm and cute. One mama is doing well but there are eight pups. One of the pups doesn’t seem to get to feed a lot. I got to bottle feed him so he can get bigger. Can we take him home when he’s big enough?”
“I’m not sure about that, Maddie. We’ll have to talk to your dad. Taking care of a dog is a big responsibility and I’m not sure Charlie would like having a puppy around.”
“But you’ll talk to dad, right? And we can bring Charlie here and see what she thinks? Two of the other puppies are already spoken for and Susie doesn’t think the littlest one will get adopted.” Her mouth turned down and her eyes big, Brett was in for trouble.
“We’ll see what happens. Was there only one mama with pups? How about we keep working for another hour or so and then we can get some lunch?”
“Okay. There are two other mamas, but the other pups are older. I was helping with the little one.”
I nodded and she ran back to the mama and her pups. I was sipping on my coffee when Mrs. Chantilly came in.
“Terrible thing about the murder. My daughter, Lacie, she works at the police station and she told me they arrested Alex Champlin. The family has had enough problems and Alex wouldn’t hurt a flea.”
“Maddie knows Alex from the camps she’s been going to and she said the same thing.” I waited and hoped she’d say more.
“He’s polite and respectful and smart. His mama, she works hard and he helps out around the house, mows lawns, and takes good care of his sister, Karla. Those Buchanan boys could learn something from him.”
She shook her head. “The daddy, Kobe Champlin? He got himself in all kinds of trouble. Drugs and stuff. He went to prison and died a couple years ago. No help to his family. And Angie, she’s stayed strong for those two kids. Lacie told me the local pastor was already in to see Alex and to have a talk with Chief Peabody.”
Melina walked in as Mrs. Chantilly finished up. “Chief Peabody is taking his time to make sure he has all the information. He may be thorough, but he’s not stupid. He’ll figure this out with or without help from those Buchanans.”
“Maddie mentioned Luke Buchanan, said he was real friendly.”
The two women exchanged glances and Melina nodded to Mrs. Chantilly to respond. “Maddie’s gonna turn a lot of heads and get attention from a lot of these young boys. Luke knows he’s good looking and he’s a charmer – underneath the charm, he’s a snake. He has a reputation for taking advantage and he’s definitely the ‘kiss and tell’ type.”
Maddie walked in, holding a little pup in her arms. As she caught the last part of the conversation, her smile vanished and she hugged the pup a little tighter. “See, I told you. All the girls at the camp said the same thing.”
“That the puppy you told me about?”
Her smile returned and her eyes sparkled. “Want to hold him? He’s so soft.” She handed me the puppy, who immediately started sucking on my fingers. We all laughed.
Mrs. Chantilly was all smiles again and Melina took a turn at holding the pup before returning her to Maddie. The puppy was black and reminded me of a Labrador.
“Any idea what kind of dog? Or how big she’ll get?”
“The mama is a Labrador, so she’s at least part Lab. Some of the other pups look more like Labs, some look shorter in the legs. Some are brown with black markings, some black like her. So some kind of Lab mix.”
“She has the shorter legs and the smoothest coat. And she’s the smallest. Her mama is only a little bigger than Charlie.” Maddie added.
Mrs. Chantilly chuckled. “The mama weighs about 50 lbs and that’s partly because she was malnourished when she was found and brought here. I’m guessing that’s about twice the weight of Charlie?” I nodded and she continued.
“The pups are about 4 weeks old and most of them are weighing between 8-10 lbs – typical for a Lab. This one here…” and she pointed to the squirming pup in Maddie’s arms “weighed in this morning at 6 lbs. We started bottle-feeding her in addition to whatever she gets from mama the beginning of the week. But yeah, she’ll probably grow to be a lot bigger than Charlie. On the other hand, Labs are great dogs with easy temperaments. Mama is probably stressing out that her pup is gone.”
Maddie took the pup and went back to the side room. I helped Melina with a few more dogs and then dragged Maddie away from the puppies. Thankfully, I had hand sanitizer in my purse and we made our way to Al’s. The selection was limited to sandwiches or burgers, but the food was good and the milkshakes to die for. To top it off, they had good coffee.
We ordered and Maddie was still talking about the puppy, when she suddenly stopped talking. I followed her gaze to a young girl walking with the help of a walker. She and an adult I assumed to be her mother moved in our direction. I glanced over to Maddie and she didn’t say anything. She slid over to the chair next to mine as they reached our table.
“Hi Karla, Mrs. Champlin. This is my step-mom, Sheridan. Sheridan, this is Alex’s sister, Karla, and his mother, Mrs. Champlin.” Maddie nodded, proud of herself for her impeccable introduction.
I nodded and waved to the empty seats. “Please.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. McMann.” I didn’t bother to correct her on my name.
Karla moved her walker to the side and out of the way as she sat down. Now I understood what Melina meant when she said Alex helped with Karla. Other than the walker though, she seemed quite capable. Blonde with blue eyes, she was slim and dressed in capris and a t-shirt.
Mrs. Champlin nodded and smiled. She looked tired, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about both of you from Karla and Alex. Have you ordered yet?”
“We have, but only a few minutes ago. Take your time.” Maddie opened her mouth, and I put my hand on hers. “Give them a few minutes. The waitress is coming this way.” Maddie slumped in her seat and waited.
Orders taken, Mrs. Champlin looked from Karla to Maddie, but didn’t say a word. The silence was awkward. I cleared my throat. “Any updates? Maddie is worried about Alex.”
Karla took Maddie’s hand and Mrs. Champlin took a deep breath. “Chief Peabody told us to come by the station around 2 p.m. He said he hoped to have more information by then. If not, we’ll at least be able to visit with Alex.”
“Have they given you any idea what might happen next? I’m afraid I’m not up on Virginia law.”
“He’s in detention and they have to make a decision today to either keep him over the weekend or release him in my custody. His hearing would be on Monday, regardless. The court gave me the name of a lawyer just in case. There’s no way he stole any money or killed that man. They have to figure it at out. They have to.”
She teared up and Karla leaned over and gave her a hug. “They will.”
Maddie echoed Karla’s assurances. “Anyone who knows Alex will figure out he was set up. Marty, a lawyer friend from in Cold Creek, is going to send Sheridan the name of a lawyer who may be able to help and Sh
eridan is real good at solving mysteries.”
“I hope I’m not being nosy, but what do you do, Mrs. McMann?” Mrs. Champlin’s knitted brows conveyed her confusion with Maddie’s comment.
“Please call me Sheridan. I was on the faculty at Cold Creek College in the Psychology Department until I married Maddie’s dad and moved up here with them. Right now, I’m looking to get back to teaching. Marty is a friend of ours – he’s a lawyer and he said he’d try to find someone who specialized in juvenile cases up here.”
Mrs. Champlin nodded. “Please call me, Angie. And the ‘mysteries’ she mentioned? I didn’t quite understand that though Alex mentioned it as well.”
“Over the last couple of years, I managed to find myself involved in police investigations. Not planned at all.” Shifting the conversation, I added, “I understand you’re a nurse? May I ask what you specialize in?”
“I’m trained as a surgical nurse; but those positions are few and far between. Right now I work in the Emergency Room. Pays about the same, but the hours can be longer.”
The two of us continued to chat about work stuff and the two girls engaged in an animated conversation. A few times, I heard “puppy” and names of some of the dogs, so I knew Maddie was talking about our morning at Pets and Paws.
Food eaten, I picked up the check. “Allow me. The way these two are getting on, I’m sure we’ll do this again.”
Angie squirmed a little, her lips tight. To smooth it over, I added, “I’ll take care of it this time and you can take care of it the next time, okay?”
She smiled. “In that case, okay. Nice to meet you. Come on, Karla.” Maddie grabbed Karla’s walker and we all walked out together. I had the feeling we were being watched. Turning around fast, I collided with Maddie as I scanned the restaurant. Only a fair-haired man, hiding behind a newspaper, sat by himself.
A New Place, Another Murder Page 3