One Bark And Stormy Prom Night (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 3)

by Stella St. Claire

  8

  After breakfast, Olivia did her first morning round with the dogs. She had the usual crew of her own dogs plus Snowball and Lily. Jax, the yellow Lab that she walked when his family was on business trips had joined them, and she also had a six-month-old German Shepherd named Witzer.

  It was a bit of a nightmare. All Jax and Witzer wanted to do was play, and they kept constantly tangling the lines. Lily was getting a little snappy at the chaos, and Snowball and Goodwin seemed determined to try and pull Olivia directly to the dog park rather than following their usual route through the restaurant district.

  In the middle of things, Fender plopped down on the sidewalk and yawned. The whole crew came to a grinding halt, and Olivia sighed.

  It was going to be that kind of day.

  Suddenly, Goodwin gave a sharp bark and launched himself into the air. Olivia just managed to hold on to the leash, but he’d excited everyone but Fender, and it wasn’t until they walked around the corner that she knew what was going on.

  It wasn’t going to be that kind of day.

  It was going to be worse.

  “Hey, buddy,” Andrew said softly as Goodwin jumped all over him. He scratched the dog behind the ears, watching her cautiously. “Hi, Olivia.”

  “Andrew.” She cleared her throat and did a mental checklist. Makeup? Not a single stroke since she’d roused the crew for an early breakfast. Hair? Knotted, jumbled mess because she hadn’t showered the night before. Clothes? The usual—except that she’d spilled syrup on her white shirt. She looked a hot mess, and the dogs weren’t helping.

  God, life just wasn’t fair.

  As she shushed the dogs, she bought herself some time to try and come up with something to say. Instead of watching YouTube videos about installing drywall, she should have been looking at videos offering tips and advice for talking with your ex-fiancé.

  “How’s the hospital?”

  “How’s the new office?”

  They spoke at the same time, which somehow brought a smile to both.

  Andrew nodded his head. “You go first,” he said softly.

  “Business is great. I hired a girl from the high school work program. Tanya. She’s been a real big help. She found a lot of great decorative items at a thrift shop in the city. She’s got a fantastic eye for details. Black and white. I mostly decorated in black and white with some pops of color.” Christ, he didn’t care about color. She needed to get it together. “And I’ve got some new clients, so that’s good. You?”

  “Not terrible.” Carefully balancing his travel mug in one hand, he bent down to pet Fender, and she tried not to obsess about how good he looked. Even in the morning, before he’d shaved and had his coffee, he had that sort of manly rugged look that always made her melt inside. Andrew, all polished and ready for work, made her heart skip a beat.

  Her heart might have stopped altogether. She would have checked it, but she didn’t want to be obvious about it. Better to drop dead.

  “I haven’t been able to convince the hospital to upgrade their systems in order handle the new programs that they keep installing, but they keep telling me it’s not in the budget. A few computers have already started to overload, and there isn’t much I can do to fix it until they decide to fork over the money—or go back to the old system. Boring stuff.”

  “Never boring,” she blurted without thinking. She thought she saw something flash in his eyes—surprise? Pleasure? But it was gone before she could analyze it. Hastily, she tried to regroup. “You keep a whole hospital running. That’s hardly boring.”

  Slowly, he straightened up. Six dogs milled and cavorted between them, but the look on his face made her want to cry. Pain—and regret. “I wanted to call when I heard about Kimberly. I should have. I’m so sorry, Olivia.”

  Of course. He wasn’t sorry about them. He was sorry about her friend. “Thank you.” Olivia’s voice broke slightly, and she cleared her throat. “It’s all just so strange, still. I was in line to get my order at the storefront, and Deedee Espouse, the other dog-food competitor, was raving about Kimberly selling food to puppy mills. She was completely off her rocker and even more pissed when she found out Kimberly wasn’t there.” Olivia frowned in remembered puzzlement. “No one seemed to know where she was. Her cashier was flustered. Tanya’s mom, Elspeth, was upset because Kimberly was supposed to do some work for the prom. I got my order and left, but when I realized that it was the wrong order, I went back, and that’s when I saw Nick.”

  She knew that she was rambling, but now that she’d started, she couldn’t stop. It was like falling back into old habits. She was throwing herself into the murder and ignoring her own personal problems. “I overheard them sending out an APB on her ex-husband, and I was the one who actually found him.” She held up one leash-filled hand, as if to forestall any comment on Andrew’s part. “Now, I wasn’t looking for him. I was just out running with Goodwin, and I saw him in the park.” She gave a little cough of embarrassment as she let her hand fall again. “There were some definite anger issues.”

  “You confronted a suspect in a murder investigation alone in the park?” Andrew’s voice was dangerously soft.

  “More like he confronted me. He thought I was following him on Kimberly’s orders. I guess things weren’t so smooth in their divorce, after all.”

  Andrew remained tense and silent for a minute before she saw his whole body relax. “I did some work at his office right after we started dating,” he said casually. “I don’t know if you remember that. Kim asked as a favor. Anyway, from what I gathered from his conversation, he made way more money that she did. There’s a good chance he was paying alimony after the divorce.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him to dig deeper and find out more, but she just couldn’t do it. She was determined not to get involved, and she certainly wasn’t going to ask Andrew to get involved. It would be just like him to agree—because Andrew was a nice guy and did things like that. Even worse, he might do it out of pity, and she certainly didn’t want that.

  The silence stretched between them before he finally nodded his head. “I should go. I’m going to be late for work.”

  “No, of course. I spoke to Kristy about the contract on the house, and I think we’re still trying to work something out, but hopefully we’ll have some good news soon.”

  Good news? That was a terrible way of putting it.

  Andrew opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something before he snapped it shut and leaned over to pet the dogs one last time. Finally, he gave her a small smile, and then he walked away.

  Closing her eyes for a second, she allowed herself to wallow in her mortification. “That could have gone better,” she muttered to herself. As if he agreed, Snowball barked sharply and pulled her and the rest of the crew forward to resume their walk.

  “It’s not my fault,” she told them. “When I practiced the moment in my head, I didn’t have six unruly dogs attached to me. I was wearing a stunning outfit, my hair and makeup were perfect, my skin was glowing, and I was charming and sophisticated. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be charming and sophisticated with six mongrels pulling you down the street? Very. It’s very difficult.”

  There was no sympathy from the peanut gallery.

  After dropping off Snowball and Lily, she took the rest of the crew to the office with her. They playfully growled and tumbled across the floor as they gallivanted after different toys. It never failed that even if there were enough toys out on the floor for each of them to play with separately, there was never a toy more important than the one in the other dog’s mouth.

  After shutting the divider door at the top of the stairs to help block out their noise, she sat at her desk in front of the wrestling dogs so she could get some paper done. She replied to a few inquiries that she’d received through her small website.

  Do you provide obedience training? Not a chance. Half the time, she couldn’t get her own dogs to act obediently.

  Is
it okay if my dog isn’t up-to-date on his shots? No. That’s definitely not okay. Give your dog his rabies shots!

  Do you provide grooming service? She’d hose them down if they get all muddy in the backyard, but that’s about it.

  Do you have dog-yoga classes? Is that a thing?

  Finally, she emailed Elspeth the notes about their masquerade-themed decorations. There were two party shops in Lowell that carried masquerade decorations that they could rent, so it shouldn’t be hard to get everything together.

  Elspeth immediately responded gleefully that she loved it. She also asked if Olivia had a minute to stop by the photography studio that evening and check to make sure that he could accommodate the new theme.

  Happy to do something to keep her mind off Kimberly and Andrew, Olivia readily agreed.

  Afterward, she sorted through the medical records of the dogs on file and started a new reorganization system. Then, after corralling the dogs into the playpens, she dusted and ran the vacuum.

  She could barely sit still, so she kept up with mindless organizing and cleaning until it was time for her midday walks. Her own pups were passed out, so she left them behind as she went to collect Clyde, the cranky old arthritic pug, Tucker, Nick’s dog, and Gambit, a sweet beagle who howled with the best of them.

  Nick was supposed to be taking a longer lunch break and walking Tucker himself to get some exercise, but whenever there was a big case, the sheriff would ask Olivia to do it on the sly.

  Olivia didn’t mind. She wasn’t above using that to her advantage, to gain more information about a case, but not this time.

  This time it was strictly dog-walking business.

  By the time she got back, her stomach was rumbling. Normally, she’d nab something from the bakery to munch on, but this week she’d been packing her lunch. Settling back with her sandwich and apple, she grabbed her phone to make sure that none of the new clients had emailed her back.

  No emails, but there was a text message.

  From Andrew.

  Her blood pressure immediately spiked, and she nearly dropped the phone. “Get it together,” she grumbled as she tried to compose herself. He wasn’t even in the room, and here she was, melting in a mess.

  I did some digging and thought you might want to know. Kimberly had just signed a contract for a huge celebrity endorsement. Jessica Greyson. The reality television star with the two Mastiffs. Her food was about to be featured in several upscale pet stores. Her sales were about to soar while Ballard’s were plummeting. He overextended his budget on the last couple new stores that he opened.

  Olivia eyes widened, and she quickly texted back. Do you know if he was still paying alimony? Does that endorsement deal go to anyone else now that Kimberly is dead?

  As soon as she hit send, she regretted it. Andrew would no doubt remind her that she needed to keep her nose out of it, and furthermore, they weren’t together anymore. She shouldn’t be asking him for help.

  I’ll look into it.

  Surprised, Olivia just stared at her phone. When they’d been together, the only time Andrew had agreed to help was if Olivia was getting in over her head. Of course, it made sense that their dynamic would change since they weren’t together anymore.

  He was trying to be helpful, but that thought just broke her heart a little more.

  “Hey, boss!”

  Tanya’s cheerful voice startled her, and Olivia really did drop the phone this time. With a gasp of horror, she gingerly bent down and picked it up from the floor.

  Not broken. Relief swept through her.

  “Oops,” Tanya giggled. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m done with classes for the day, so I figured that I’d stop by.”

  “Done with classes?” Olivia glanced at the clock. “School doesn’t let out for another two hours.”

  The teen shrugged. “I’ve got free period after lunch, and I don’t need to go to my last class.”

  “Tanya, I could get in trouble if you’re working when you’re supposed to be at school. First of all, it’s illegal, and it harms the work-study program. I can’t make you go to class, but you can’t stay here.”

  Rolling her eyes in typical teen fashion, Tanya reached into the back pocket of her tight jeans and pulled out a piece of paper. “I had a feeling that you would say that, so I brought a note from my teacher, excusing me from class.”

  Olivia skimmed over the badly written note explaining that Tanya had already given her oral project and didn’t need to be in class today. It was signed by a Charles Robertson. “Tanya, did you write this?”

  The student gasped in horror. “Olivia! I would never!”

  “So if I called the school and asked to speak to a Mr. Robertson, he would tell me that you didn’t have to go to class today?”

  “You’re worse than my mother,” Tanya grumbled. She held her right hand up. “Scout’s honor. Mr. Robertson is my history teacher, and I do not have to attend his class right now.

  Olivia pursed her lips. “All right,” she relented. “You want to work during your free time?”

  The girl shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything better to do. I’ll take the pups to the dog park.” Before Olivia could object, Tanya was attaching the harnesses to the eager dogs that had mobbed her like a swarm of bees as soon as she picked up the leashes.

  Deciding that she could hit the photographer’s early that afternoon and go to the hardware store that evening to start picking up the supplies for the renovations, Olivia let her assistant go and grabbed her purse.

  Ten minutes into the walk, she knew she should have driven. The day was gorgeous, and it looked like half the town had gotten off work early just to go out and enjoy it. Couples were walking hand in hand and gazing into each other’s eyes with such love.

  It turned her stomach sour.

  It wasn’t that she was ever a huge romantic. Even though she’d dated guys before Andrew, she’d never really been into the relationships. Her turnover rate was so bad that the town used to make bets on how long the new boyfriend would last. It wasn’t that she was being picky. She just knew when things weren’t working out for her. Andrew had been the first guy to be patient enough to work through her commitment fears.

  He had been the romantic in the relationship. Fancy dinner. Flowers. Midnight walks with champagne. Picnics.

  But that didn’t mean that she hadn’t enjoyed the romance—and now, seeing it all around her as the town geared up for prom, it made her miss him even more.

  His new line of communication perked her up just a bit. Talking about murder mysteries wasn’t his favorite thing to do, nor was texting, but maybe he was trying to stay in touch with her. That was a good thing.

  “Olivia! I almost didn’t recognize you without the dogs.”

  At the sound of Mayor Donald Henderson’s voice, Olivia froze. For half a second, she considered pretending that she hadn’t heard him, but she’d already stopped. With a silent sigh, she turned and faced the man.

  Mayor Henderson was as large as his dreams for Lexingburg. He had a tendency to literally throw his weight around as if he were an important leader of a big city and not some small-town politician who was only reelected because nobody else wanted the job. He’d been particularly unhappy with Olivia when the wedding fell through. Although he’d never approved of her, he’d seen her wedding as a chance to make Lexingburg the premier wedding destination for the state. He had even dedicated part of the town’s website to host her wedding pictures.

  He never missed a chance to remind her.

  “Mayor Henderson.” Olivia forced a smile. “You do realize that I grew up here, right? That I’ve only been a dog walker for a couple of years, now?”

  Rolling his eyes, he waved his hand impatiently. “You know what I mean. Where are you headed? Perhaps I can walk with you.”

  Olivia turned her head to see if anyone was listening. Normally, the only time Mayor Henderson was nice was if his long-time crush, Lady Celeste was hanging around. “I�
��m headed to The Perfect Shot to speak on Elspeth’s behalf,” she said slowly.

  “Fine. Fine. So you’re helping with the prom decorating? I would think that after your recent mishap, you’d be staying away from all things flashy and glittery.”

  Did he realize he’d just reduced her failed engagement to a mishap? “Not planning a wedding has freed up some time on my hands,” she said dryly.

  If the mayor picked up on her displeasure talking about Andrew, he was ignoring it. “I saw your young man just the other day in town. I would think he’d keep to Lowell now that you two aren’t together. I guess Lexingburg just grows on a person.”

  “Like a parasite,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

  Olivia plastered a fake smile on her face. “I was just agreeing with you. Are you going to be chaperoning the prom this year?”

  The mayor’s eyes suddenly widened, and he stumbled a step. Alarmed, Olivia stopped and stretched out her arms. If she had to catch the robust man, they’d both hit the sidewalk, but as she braced herself, he straightened and blew out his breath. “Actually, I am chaperoning,” he muttered. “I was hoping I could get your advice on something.”

  Inwardly, Olivia groaned. She had a feeling that she was not going to like whatever came out of Mayor Henderson’s mouth. “What can I do for you?”

  “Elspeth is keeping the details of the prom very secretive, and I was wondering if you could check for me and see if Lady Celeste is on the list of chaperones.”

  He wasn’t seriously asking the jilted fiancée to play matchmaker, was he? “I’m fairly certain that the chaperone list isn’t finalized yet,” she said slowly as she tried to think of a way out of the situation.

  “Then you need to convince her to be a chaperone,” he said reverently. “It’s very important to me that she be there.”