by B R Snow
If she had, I’d never hear the end of this one.
I limped the rest of the way down the hill, knowing that I’d probably gashed my right knee. But I remained focused and made my way to the dock where I tiptoed through the dark until I reached the Baxter Brothers’ boat.
I took one more look back up the hill but couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me and decided I was safe from prying eyes. I climbed onto the boat, headed for the stern, and then leaned over until I found what I was looking for. The jolt of cold I received when I reached my hands under the water took my breath away. I quickly unscrewed the two drain plugs from the back of the transom and dropped them in the water. Immediately, I heard the soft gurgle of water entering the boat.
Trying not to laugh out loud, I climbed out of the boat back onto the dock and limped my way back up the hill through the pines and back to the car. I climbed in and gently closed my door. Josie stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
At the moment, despite the fact that I was gasping for breath, I had to admit that I did feel a bit like an evil genius. While I waited to get enough air back into my lungs to speak, I decided to count my adventure down to the boat and then back up the hill as two workouts. It was a good thing I’d gotten both of them in, since the way my knee was throbbing, I was probably about to go on the disabled list.
“What did I miss?” I said when I was finally able to talk.
“The Baxter Brothers delivered four puppies,” Josie said. “I saw them when they opened the back of the van, and the light came on.”
“Did you get a look at the guys they delivered them to?” I said, picking up my binoculars.
“Yeah, but I’ve never seen them before,” Josie said. “But I did get the number of their license plate.”
“Good job,” I said. “Jackson can help us out with that. What else?”
“They gave the Baxter Brothers a stack of cash,” Josie said.
“They’re going to need it,” I said, laughing.
“What?”
“I’ll tell you later,” I said. “Hey, the guys in the van are leaving.”
“You want to follow them?” Josie said.
“No, not tonight,” I said. “I need to get home and have you take a look at my knee.”
“What’s the matter with your knee?”
“I sort of fell down the hill,” I said, embarrassed.
“Sort of?” Josie said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just a cut. But I might need you to give me a couple of stitches.”
“You do know that I’m not licensed to work on people, right?” Josie said.
“Who am I going to tell?”
“Yeah, I guess you have a point there,” Josie said. “Was it a good fall?”
“Oh, yeah. I got a 9.5 from the Russian judge,” I said, managing a small laugh.
“And I missed it?”
“Yeah, lucky me.”
We watched the van turn around and drive off. We waited until we saw the lights of the Baxter Brothers’ boat disappear, and then headed for home. We munched brownies in silence for several minutes and then I glanced over at Josie.
“What kind of puppies were they?” I said.
“Labs. Three yellow and one chocolate. About eight weeks old.”
“Were they in bad shape?”
“That’s what was weird about the whole thing. The puppies were perfect.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. From what I could tell, all four were healthy and happy.”
“What the heck are we dealing with here, Josie?”
“I have no idea.”
Chapter 14
Around ten the next morning, I was in the condo area in the back of the Inn saying hello to all the dogs when Jackson poked his head inside the door.
“There you are,” he said. “Got a minute?”
I slowly climbed to my feet and gently removed three of the Cocker Spaniel puppies from me in the process. Limping, I led Jackson to my office.
“Are you okay?” he said as he watched my labored effort.
“Yeah, I’ll be all right,” I said, wincing. “I just banged up my knee a bit.”
Josie was already in the office sitting on the couch and digging through a ceramic Santa for the last of the Christmas cookies. She came up empty, frowned as she put the top back on the cookie jar, and placed it on the desk.
“Remind me to take that up to the house later,” Josie said, nodding at the ceramic Santa. “It needs to be reloaded.”
Jackson poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down across the desk from me.
“I just got some interesting news I thought you’d find funny,” he said, removing his Chief’s hat and setting it on the desk next to his coffee.
“What’s up?” I said, rubbing my tired eyes.
I’d gotten to bed around two and hadn’t slept well. After we’d gotten home, Josie led me into one of the exam rooms where she cut the leg of my jeans off above the knee and got her first look at my wound.
I was okay with her cutting up my jeans. If I didn’t soon take drastic measures, I wouldn’t be able to fit into them anyway. And if I did manage to drop a few pounds, they’d make great cutoff shorts for the summer.
When life hands you lemons, right?
Josie scowled when she first saw the cut. But after she cleaned away all the blood, it wasn’t as bad as we both originally thought. She gave me a shot to numb the area and used five stitches to close the wound. I worried aloud that I might end up with an ugly scar, but Josie said there was no need for me to worry; the scar would be beautiful. Then she’d snorted and laughed way too long.
I owed her one for that crack.
“I got a phone call this morning from Rooster Jennings,” Jackson said, taking a sip of coffee.
“How’s Rooster doing?” I said, glancing at Josie.
“The same,” Jackson said. “He asked me to swing by his place and take a look at something.”
“What was it?” I said.
“Well, the first thing I saw were the Baxter Brothers wrapped in blankets and being transported to the hospital where they’re undergoing treatment for hypothermia. Then I saw their boat on its side under the water; get this, while it was still tied to the dock.”
“How about that?” I said. “Well, we always knew it was just a matter of time before they won a Darwin award.”
Josie snorted.
“According to the Baxter boys, they took their boat out for a ride last night, did some drinking and who knows what else, then returned and parked at the dock. They decided to have another beer before heading home, but they fell asleep. Around seven this morning, they woke up when their boat, now full of water, flipped over on its side, sunk, and tossed both of them into the River,” Jackson said.
All three of us roared with laughter.
“The drain plugs had been removed,” Jackson said. “And neither one of them has a clue how that happened.”
“Good,” I said.
Jackson gave me an odd stare. Since we needed Jackson’s help tracking down the license plate number from last night, we told him the whole story. He listened carefully, jotted down a few notes, and even laughed from time to time. He laughed a little too hard when I explained how I’d ended up with five stitches in my knee.
“Taking those drain plugs out was pretty clever,” Jackson said. “But the Baxter boys were lucky they kept moving on their way home. If they’d decided to drift for a while, they could have sunk in the middle of the channel.”
“Can’t win them all,” Josie said, removing a fresh bag of the bite-sized Snickers from her lab coat.
When Josie said she’d stocked up, she wasn’t kidding.
I’d known that as long as the Baxter Brothers had kept moving, the lack of drain plugs wouldn’t create any problems given the inclined angle a boat has when moving at speed. Any water inside the hull would actually drain from the boat as they drove home. The problem would come when the boat was just
sitting in the water. I’d hoped that their boat would sink while still tied to the dock in Ivy Lea, but this outcome was even more enjoyable.
“How long do you think it will take to find out the owner of that van?” I said.
“About as long as it will take Josie to finish that bag of Snickers,” Jackson said, laughing.
“Funny,” Josie said through a mouthful of chocolate.
Jackson scrolled through his phone, found the number, and placed the call. Seconds later, he greeted the person on the other end and recited the number of the license plate. He sipped his coffee as he waited. Less than two minutes later, Jackson jotted down the information he was being given, then thanked the person and hung up.
“It’s a corporate account,” Jackson said. “But that van’s address is in Kingston.”
“It’s a pet store, isn’t it?” I said.
“You got it in one,” he said, sliding the piece of paper across the desk.
“Happy Family Time,” I said, glancing down at it.
“I know them,” Josie said. “It’s a franchise operation based in Toronto. I see them in the vendor hall all the time at conferences and trade shows.”
I opened my laptop and searched for the company’s website. I scanned a couple of pages.
“One hundred twenty-two stores across Canada,” I said. “A woman named Virginia Alexander is listed as owner and CEO. Does her name ring a bell?”
Josie and Jackson both shook their head. I glanced at Josie.
“Are you up for a drive?” I said.
“Kingston? Why not?” Josie said. “My schedule is clear today. And we can stop for lunch at that great Chinese restaurant.”
“Oooh, yeah. Good call,” I said.
“Hey, guys,” Jackson said. “Maybe it’s time for you two to take a step back and let the cops handle it.”
“What are they supposed to handle, Jackson?” I said. “All we know is that the Baxter Brothers delivered four dogs last night. And the only thing this pet store might be guilty of is smuggling puppies across the River. How hard do you think your cop buddies on the Canadian side will laugh when you ask them to investigate that?”
Jackson considered the question, then nodded.
“Pretty hard, probably,” he said. “But there has to be a connection to Jerome’s murder somewhere in this, right?”
“I think it’s definitely possible,” I said. “Do you think you can get anything out of the Baxter Brothers?”
“Nah, they won’t talk to me,” Jackson said.
“Put them back in the water and they might,” Josie said, finally pushing the bag of Snickers out of reach.
Chapter 15
Less than an hour from Clay Bay by car, Kingston is located where the St. Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario and the Rideau Canal. It’s a stunning setting, and the city of around 125,000 is one of my favorites. We casually drove around town enjoying the historical buildings then found the pet store and Chinese restaurant we were looking for. Since it was almost noon, we decided to eat first. I parked in front of the restaurant, and we hopped out and looked around the bustling downtown streets that were brightly decorated and crowded with shoppers.
“It has kind of a Norman Rockwell feel to it,” I said.
“Sure. If old Norman were Canadian,” Josie said.
“You got a point there,” I said, laughing. “You know, I heard that Kingston was recently named one of the top seven most intelligent communities in the world.”
“No wonder the Baxter Brothers didn’t want to make the drive,” Josie said, heading for the front door.
We ate until we were stuffed to the gills and almost embarrassed by the stunned looks we were getting from the wait staff. They boxed up our leftovers, and we made our way back to the car and drove to the pet shop a few blocks away.
“How do you want to play it?” Josie said.
“Let’s just play it straight,” I said. “We’re looking to buy a puppy.”
“Okay,” Josie deadpanned. “We should be able to pull that off.”
“Funny,” I said, opening the front door.
A young girl in her teens greeted us warmly.
“Hi, I’m Charlotte. Can I help you find something?” she said.
“Yes,” Josie said. “We’re thinking about getting a puppy for one of our nieces.”
“What a nice Christmas present,” Charlotte gushed.
“We thought so, too,” Josie said, smiling back at her.
“What kind of dog were you thinking about getting her?”
“Probably something big,” I said. “Like a Lab.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Charlotte said, frowning. “I don’t think we have any Labs at the moment.”
“Gee, they went quick,” Josie whispered.
I gently punched her in the arm and looked at the young girl.
“Are you sure?” I said. “Maybe there was a recent delivery you weren’t told about.”
“Gee, I don’t think so,” Charlotte said. “But I guess it’s possible. I’m only working here part-time through the holidays.”
“If you could check, that would be wonderful,” I said.
“Let me go grab Mr. Jones. He’s the owner.”
We watched her stroll toward the back of the store.
“Sweet kid,” Josie said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, then glanced down and saw the beagle puppy staring up at me from inside the metal pen stretched out across the floor. “Well, what do we have here?”
The beagle cocked its head and wagged its tail furiously. I bent down and picked him up.
“What a soft touch,” Josie said, laughing.
“He’s adorable,” I said, cradling the puppy to my chest.
“He certainly is,” Josie said. “I wonder if he’s the last one left from his litter.”
“If he is, then the rest of his siblings must have been drop-dead gorgeous,” I said, nuzzling the puppy.
“Mr. Jones will be right out. I see you’ve met Barney,” Charlotte said as she approached. “He’s something else.”
I handed the puppy to her, and it was immediately apparent they were old friends.
“It looks like the two of you have bonded,” Josie said.
“Oh, we have,” Charlotte said, laughing as the puppy licked her face. “I’d love to be able to keep this guy.”
“Why not?” I said.
“Oh, I could never afford him,” Charlotte said. “He’s seven hundred dollars.”
I glanced at Josie, who blinked at the number. We weren’t fans of pet stores and the exorbitant prices they sometimes charged, and seven hundred dollars would feed a lot of dogs. But it wasn’t the puppy’s fault he’d ended up here and, to quote Josie, a well-placed dog today is one less rescue tomorrow.
A stout, middle-aged man approached and extended his hand.
“Jimmy Jones,” he said, shaking both our hands. “I understand you’re looking for a dog as a Christmas present for one of your nieces.”
“Yes,” I said. “Preferably a yellow or maybe a chocolate Lab.”
“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t have any at the moment. And it’s been a couple of months now. I’m expecting some after the New Year, but that doesn’t really help you out now.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said, frowning at Josie.
“Do you have any idea where we might find one?” Josie said.
“Gee, I guess you could check the other stores in town. Maybe check the classified ads in the paper. You just never know what you’re going to get if you go that route. It’s sad to say, but there are some nasty people out there selling dogs.”
“So we’ve heard,” I said, glancing at Charlotte who was still snuggling with the beagle puppy. “Tell me about this little guy.”
“Barney? Oh, he’s a great dog. He’s the last one of his litter. I can’t believe he’s still here.” Then he smiled and winked at us. “I can’t be sure, but I think Charlotte has been hiding Barney out back
every time someone comes in.”
Charlotte turned red with embarrassment.
“Mr. Jones,” she said. “I never.”
“Just kidding with you, Charlotte,” he said, laughing.
“You know, Josie, I think our niece would just love Barney,” I said.
“Are you out of your mind?” Josie whispered.
“Relax.”
“Forty-seven isn’t enough?” she muttered under her breath.
“We’ll take him, Mr. Jones,” I said, glancing at Charlotte who was on the verge of tears.
“That’s great,” Mr. Jones said. “Now, if you’ll just follow me, we’ll get all the paperwork taken care of and you and your new pup will be on your way. I’ll need your full name and address for the registration.”
I looked at Charlotte.
“You heard the man, Charlotte,” I said. “Give Mr. Jones your full name and address.”
“What?” she said, stunned. “You’re joking, right?”
“Charlotte, I never joke about dogs,” I said, rubbing the puppy’s head before handing him to her. “Merry Christmas.”
Charlotte squealed with delight, hugged me, then Josie, and then for good measure, kissed Mr. Jones on the cheek. Barney, sensing good news, barked loudly. I handed the stunned Mr. Jones a credit card and five minutes later we were on our way out the door.
“You’re unbelievable,” Josie said as we walked to the car.
“I have my moments.”
“Well, that was definitely one of your better ones,” Josie said.
“Thanks,” I said, climbing into the car.
“Do you think Mr. Jones was lying to us?” Josie said.
“No, I don’t.”
“Me neither. That means that someone on the staff is using his van to smuggle puppies,” Josie said.
“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking,” I said, focusing on the road.
“That’s what you were thinking?”
“What if the people borrowing the van don’t work for him at all,” I said. “Maybe Mr. Jones works for them.”