by Carol Cox
She shook her head. “They’ll try almost anything to make a fast buck.”
Kate quivered like a bird dog on the scent. “Including trying to palm off a dog they knew wasn’t the right one in order to get a reward?”
“I wouldn’t put it past ’em,” LuAnne said flatly.
Livvy drew in her breath. “Do you think that’s what they tried to do last night?”
“I don’t know,” Kate said. “But I’m going to find out.”
“ARE WE GETTING CLOSE?” Kate steered her Honda around a bend in the two-lane highway that led from Copper Mill to Pine Ridge.
“I think so.” LuAnne peered at the map printout she was holding. “It looks like we have a half mile or so to go before we turn off. Wouldn’t you figure they’d live out on some back road?”
Kate waited until a furniture van passed by, then she checked for oncoming traffic before she risked a glance at the map herself.
“I think you’re right. It shouldn’t be much farther now.”
Kate directed her eyes back onto the road. “I’m glad you were able to come with me.”
“No problem. Things tend to be pretty slow during this time of the afternoon. J.B. and Loretta can handle anything that comes up until I get back.”
After their brainstorming session at the diner, the three friends had hurried over to the library, where Livvy pulled out a Pine Ridge phone directory to look up the Murphys’ street address.
Armed with the information, Kate had used one of the library’s computers to pinpoint the location on the Internet and print out a map with driving directions to their home.
Livvy had used up her afternoon break time, so when Kate announced her intention of confronting the shady couple alone, LuAnne had insisted on going along, telling Livvy she would play Watson to Kate’s Sherlock just this once.
“I’m not about to let you go up there by yourself,” she had said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Not with a couple like the Murphys.”
Kate was grateful for friends like Livvy and LuAnne, who were always willing to back her up.
“See that?” LuAnne pointed to a small road intersecting the highway. “I think it’s the turnoff right up there.”
Kate slowed and put her blinker on, then made a right turn. The narrow road wound its way back through thick stands of hickories, hemlocks, and ash trees that arched over the roadway. Kate found the effect almost oppressive.
If someone wanted to cover up an activity like a dog theft, a location like this—away from neighbors and the likelihood of being stumbled upon by accident—would make an ideal spot. Suddenly, she was doubly glad for her friend’s presence.
She pulled well off the edge of the road and turned to LuAnne. “Before we go in, I want you to know what’s in the back of my mind. I have no idea what we’re going to find out here. It may turn out to be nothing more than a wild-goose chase.
“Even if it turns out that the Murphys knowingly brought in a counterfeit Kisses so they could claim the reward, they didn’t get away with the money. After all, Skip retrieved the check, so they can argue that no actual harm has been done.”
LuAnne pressed her lips together in a grim line. “Except to Renee.”
Kate tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel. “It’s just that something you said back at the diner keeps gnawing at me. You told Livvy and me that these people are always looking for ways to get easy money and aren’t too particular about how they go about it.”
LuAnne grunted. “That’s a polite way to put it.”
Kate spoke slowly, struggling to voice the thought that had been forming in her mind ever since their earlier discussion.
“What if they took Kisses and sold him immediately, then saw the flyers and jumped at the chance to make a little more cash?”
“Kind of like double-dipping, you mean? Get money once for poor little Kisses and then again when they turned in his look-alike for the reward?” LuAnne thought a moment, then nodded. “That’s the kind of thing that would make sense to them.”
“It would appeal to anyone with a greedy, grasping nature,” Kate added. “In fact, the reward Renee gave them might even have amounted to more than what they sold Kisses for.”
“You just may be onto something.” LuAnne’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go check it out.”
Kate put the car in motion again. She drove around a couple of curves that set her teeth on edge, then she spotted a small-frame house set back in a clearing off the road.
“This must be it,” LuAnne said.
Kate turned into the driveway, her tires crunching on the gravel. As a precaution, she turned the car around before she parked so it was pointing back toward the road. In the event they had to make a hasty getaway, she wanted to give herself every possible advantage.
Clifford Murphy stepped outside before they reached the porch. “Afternoon, what can I do for...”
His voice trailed off, and his jaw sagged when he recognized Kate.
“Hello, Mr. Murphy,” Kate said. “We’ve come to talk to you.”
“Who is it, hon?” Cissy pushed past her husband and froze when she saw Kate. “What are you doin’ here?”
“Just a friendly visit,” LuAnne said. She regarded the house, from its untidy porch to the lace curtains that hung at a slightly crooked angle in the front window. “Cozy little place you’ve got here.”
Cissy drew back and stared at LuAnne suspiciously. “We like it.”
While they were talking, Kate studied the property, looking for any signs of canine life.
No kennels, no doggie toys, no yapping. Not even any telltale deposits on the lawn.
Kate wondered whether she was barking up the wrong tree, but the memory of Renee’s tear-ravaged face spurred her to press on. She took a step closer to the porch.
“We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
Cissy and Clifford shifted uncomfortably where they stood and exchanged glances.
“That depends,” Clifford said slowly. “What kind of questions?”
Kate’s pulse quickened. This was her opportunity. “Where did the dog you turned in last night actually come from?”
She held her breath. She knew it was a long shot. She had no proof that the Murphys hadn’t found the little Chihuahua exactly as they said, scampering around the SuperMart parking lot. If they stuck to their story, she would have no way to pursue the matter further.
The Murphys stood stock-still for a moment. Then Clifford’s shoulders slumped, and he looked at his wife. “I knew we weren’t going to be able to pull that one off.”
Cissy smacked his shoulder. “You just hush. They can’t prove anything.”
She turned to Kate. “We didn’t get to keep that check, so we haven’t done anything wrong, not technically, anyway.”
LuAnne rolled her eyes and gave Kate an “I told you so” look.
Kate held up her hands. “We’re not trying to stir up trouble.” Unless it turns out you stole Kisses and ripped Renee’s heart out in the process, she thought. “We just want to know more about where that dog came from.”
The Murphys looked at each other for a long moment.
“Might as well tell ’em,” Clifford said. “I’ve got a feeling we’re not gonna get any peace until we do.”
Cissy threw her hands up in the air. “All right, have it your way.”
She stepped to the edge of the porch and looked down at Kate. “We’d seen the flyers around town. Who could miss ’em? They’re everywhere! But we didn’t think anything about it at the time.
“We were over at a swap meet in Chattanooga this past weekend, and one of the vendors was selling a little dog real cheap. The minute we laid eyes on it, we knew it looked just like the one on that flyer, and—”
LuAnne folded her arms. “And so you figured you’d just make yourselves some easy cash.”
Cissy’s shoulders stiffened. “Well, who was to say it wasn’t really that poor dog on the flyer? He’s a dead ringer for the on
e who’s missing. We just wanted to reunite him with his rightful owner.”
Kate, LuAnne, and even Clifford stared at her in stunned silence.
Cissy shrugged. “Well, you never know.”
Clifford moved up to stand beside his wife. “They wanted twenty dollars for him, and we happened to remember that the owner was offering a reward for the lost dog.
“We figured if there was a reward, it had to be more than twenty dollars. We’d at least break even, and maybe make a nice little profit if things went well. It seemed like a good business investment.”
Cissy picked up the thread of the story. “So we bought him and brought him home with us. Clifford spent some time in Copper Mill on Monday, asking around just to make sure the real dog hadn’t been turned in already. When he found out he hadn’t, Clifford came back home, and we called the sheriff. And you know the rest.”
“We never expected a reward like that.” Clifford looked down at the porch steps and shook his head. “I thought my teeth would drop out when I saw the size of that check. Nine hundred and eighty dollars of pure profit. You don’t come across a deal like that every day.” When he finally looked up, his face was a picture of utter dejection.
Kate studied the couple. The story sounded logical, at least to their way of thinking. She felt inclined to believe that was the way it happened.
Still, it didn’t answer her other question.
She said casually, “LuAnne thought you might have been in Copper Mill the Saturday he went missing. It sure is a shame you didn’t find him then.”
Clifford rubbed the back of his neck. “Man, I wish we had! That way we’d have been able to keep that check, and we’d be in clover right now.”
He gave a long, low whistle. “Imagine, givin’ somebody a thousand dollars for a dog that’s only worth twenty.”
Kate nodded. That settled things in her mind. It was evident the Murphys had no idea of the actual market value of a pedigreed Chihuahua.
“I guess that’s all we need to know.” She turned back toward the car, and LuAnne followed suit.
“Wait a minute!” Cissy’s shrill voice rang out from the porch. “What about our dog?”
“Your dog?” LuAnne’s face was a study in bewilderment.
Cissy set her hands on her hips. “Yeah! We paid twenty dollars for that mutt. That makes him our property, and we want him back.”
Kate reached into the car and pulled out her handbag. She drew two ten-dollar bills from her wallet and walked over to place them in Cissy Murphy’s hand.
“How about if I just reimburse you for the dog and save you all the added expense of food and supplies and vet fees?”
Cissy rubbed the bills together between her thumb and forefinger. Finally, she nodded.
“Yeah, I guess that’ll work.” She held the money up to Clifford. “Well, we didn’t make the big bucks, but at least we broke even.”
“DID YOU EVER SEE the likes of those two?” LuAnne said on their way back to the highway. “I feel like I need to take a shower.”
“I know what you mean,” Kate said as she guided the Honda onto the highway. “So, what do you think Sherlock and Watson would do next?”
LuAnne gave one of her rich, hearty laughs and propped her elbow on the window ledge. “My grandpa would’ve said it was time to load ’em back in the truck and call it a day. But we can’t do that.”
“No,” Kate said, “not yet. So...”
LuAnne grinned. “You got it, darlin’. These bloodhounds are gonna keep right on sniffin’.”
Chapter Twenty-One
After lunch the following Monday, Kate drove to the Mercantile for some supplies. After returning to her car, she placed the shopping bag on the front seat and reached inside to pull out the items she’d just purchased.
She had spent the previous evening trying out more no-bake cookie recipes, and that morning she had piled a variety of the tasty treats on a decorative plastic plate to take to Crystal Newcomb. From what she had heard from Paul about Daniel’s wife, Crystal sounded like someone in dire need of companionship—just the kind of person the Friendship Club was trying to reach out to.
The cookies would be her gift to Crystal, but she wanted to get a couple of things for the Newcomb children as well. She had guessed at their ages. Paul had indicated they were both preschoolers but hadn’t specified how old they were.
Kate peeled the price stickers off two coloring books, a box of crayons, and a pair of small stuffed animals. Preschoolers loved bright colors, and the soft toys would be suitable for either a boy or a girl.
Now to put Phase Two of her plan for the day in motion.
She had timed her visit for early afternoon, hoping that once she and Crystal had a chance to get acquainted, the younger woman might be open to accompanying her to the Friendship Club meeting.
To make sure mothers could attend the weekly meetings, Phoebe West had secured the services of a high-school girl to babysit the children in Abby’s backyard while their mothers relaxed and enjoyed getting to know the other women.
Kate tried to imagine the loneliness of someone who was virtually isolated, with two small children and little interaction with other adults. Paul said the Newcombs didn’t even have a phone.
Kate turned her key in the ignition and started the engine, then she reached into her handbag for the address she’d written on a piece of paper. She burrowed deeper, rummaging through the items that filled the space.
Where did that paper go?
Muttering under her breath, Kate removed the contents one item at a time: lipstick, cell phone, wallet, a pen, a small hairbrush and mirror.
She turned the handbag upside down and shook it, but no paper fluttered out.
Now what? Kate returned the items to the handbag—all but the cell phone. She would call Paul and get the address from him again.
When she punched in his number, she heard a loud beep. Surprised, Kate looked down at the phone in her hand and saw that the display read “low battery.”
Rats. She had meant to put it on the charger the night before, but she’d been so immersed in her baking, she’d forgotten. The one time I forget to charge my phone...She tossed the phone back into her handbag.
She knew the Newcombs lived somewhere west of town, but that wasn’t enough to get her there. She would have to stop by Paul’s office and get the address from him. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be too far out of her way.
“WHAT DO YOU THINK?” Daniel Newcomb wiped the sweat from his forehead with a bandanna and leaned against the lawn-mower handle while Paul inspected his handiwork.
“Nice job. I don’t know when I’ve seen the church lawn look better.” Paul couldn’t help but notice the pride that lit Daniel’s eyes.
Thanks, Lord. He wondered how long it had been since the man had heard a bit of genuine praise.
“After you put the mower back in the shed, why don’t you meet me in my office? Millie put a gallon of iced tea in the fridge. I’ll get us a couple of glasses.”
Daniel grinned. “Sounds good to me.”
A few minutes later, he sat in the visitor’s chair near Paul’s desk and accepted a large tumbler of tea. Ice cubes clinked against the glass when he took a long, deep drink.
“How’s the job hunt going?” Paul asked.
Daniel shook his head, and his eyes dimmed a bit. He glanced around as if looking for a coaster, then set the glass on Paul’s desk blotter.
“Nothing yet. Frankly, if it wasn’t for you and the odd jobs you’ve been givin’ me, we’d be eatin’ beans every night.”
Paul frowned and tapped his fingertips together. “Have you given any thought to what I suggested about finding a job that’s geared to your talents?”
Daniel took another gulp of tea, then leaned forward, holding the glass in both hands.
“Yeah, I have. I spent some time the other day tryin’ to figure out what I enjoy and what I’m good at, like you said. I enjoy bein’ outdoors and workin’ with my han
ds.”
He rolled his shoulders. “Bein’ cooped up in a factory or warehouse all day long puts me on edge to begin with. I never can seem to relax. Maybe that’s part of the reason I’m always messin’ up.”
“You may have a point.” Paul leaned back and crossed his ankle over his knee. “Anytime you try to do something completely at odds with the unique way you’re created, that starts you off at a disadvantage.”
He thought for a moment. “So you’d prefer some kind of outdoor, manual work?”
Daniel’s eyes lit up again. “Yeah. Kind of like what I’ve been doin’ here around the church. I enjoy it so much, it doesn’t even seem like work.”
His shoulders drooped. “But there don’t seem to be any jobs like that around. I’ve got to figure out some way to feed my family, whether I like the work or not.”
Paul nodded. “You’re right. It’s your responsibility to care for the family God’s entrusted to you. Speaking of which, have you told your wife yet that you’re unemployed?”
The way Daniel studied the glass in his hands and refused to raise his eyes gave Paul the answer.
When Daniel spoke, his voice was tight. “I can’t. I’ve tried to lead up to it two or three times now. But every time I get started, she looks at me with those big blue eyes all full of trust and hope, and it’s like something dies inside me.
“Here she’s dependin’ on me, and all I’m doin’ is lettin’ her down...again.”
He chewed on his lower lip and stared out the office window. “What kind of man am I? It’s gettin’ so I can hardly stand to look at myself in the mirror.”
“Guilt will do that to you,” Paul said. “Your load is getting too heavy for you, and you’re still trying to carry it all alone.”
Daniel clenched his fists. “Well, I can’t exactly ask Crystal to carry it with me.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Paul uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “Do you know what the biggest need in your life is?”
The younger man gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, to find a job and take care of my family and act like a real man for once in my life.”
Paul nodded. “Yes, that’s the greatest earthly need. But believe it or not, there’s something you need even more. Nothing will bring you the peace and hope you need like a relationship with God.”