She thought going to her gym would relax her, but now it was putting her on edge. She was worried about Griffin taking over at work and about how unreasonable these doubts really were.
And she didn’t feel ready to work on her campaign ideas, but Griffin had just reminded her that she was not completely prepared.
“I’ll leave you to work on things,” Griffin said, about to close the office door behind him.
“Wait,” Willow called, having a knee-jerk reaction to sending him back to the gym where he was already becoming indispensable. She wanted to keep him away from there for a little while longer. “Why don’t you help me with the presentation?”
“Really? Griffin asked, looking surprised but happy. “Sure. What can I do?”
He took a seat across from her at the desk and Willow tapped a pencil.
“Well, I guess I can practice my presentation and you could pretend to be the executives?” she suggested.
Griffin nodded. He sat taller in his seat and held his chin in one hand to appear thoughtful, thus striking his executive pose. Willow chuckled and then took a deep breath. She tried to begin.
“Ladies and gentlemen… Or if there are not ladies and gentlemen in the room, I could adapt that part of my opening. I know there’s at least one lady because she’s the one I’ve been speaking to on the phone. There was a male representative from the company at the Field Club Championship, but I’m not sure he’ll be there for this meeting. But there probably will be both ladies and gentlemen and…” She could feel her forehead starting to sweat and groaned. “I am not ready for this presentation at all.”
Willow slumped back into her chair. She hadn’t thought that she was so behind, but now Griffin had made her realize that she was.
“Hey,” Griffin said, leaving his chair to kneel beside her and give her a hug. “It’s okay. You’re just a little nervous. It’s better you got that out now instead of in front of them. Now, is this a presentation where you’re talking the whole time? Or is it more of a conversation?”
“I think it’s a combination of both,” Willow said. “Which makes it a little more nerve-wracking. I think as a team we’re supposed to come up with the best way to represent the food, and I’m supposed to speak for Lady Valkyrie.”
“Okay,” Griffin said, nodding. “That could work. You’re better at understanding dogs than people. I mean that in a good way!”
“It’s fine,” Willow said, shrugging. “It’s true.”
“What would Lady Valkyrie say?”
“Well, I think she’d like to show off some of her tricks in the commercial. And I think that’s what the company wants too. I’ve come up with a list of tricks she does and obstacles she excels at during competitions that I think could work. And she looks beautiful when she’s leaping over hurdles. With her red locks. Terry and I have taken some pictures of her as examples to show. Because this meeting is just for me. The next one would be with Lady Valkyrie.”
“It sounds like you do have this together,” Griffin said.
“Yeah. But I think they also want me to pitch some ideas about how a commercial could go. And they’d use it as a jumping off point. I didn’t know I’d have to work on the creative end of things. It’s intimidating. And all I’ve got right now is that I don’t really want to be in the commercial that much. I want the focus to be on the dog.”
“I bet we could come up with something,” Griffin said, beginning to brainstorm.
Willow was already headed down a different line of thought. She had just talked about how the focus should be on the dog. Maybe that’s what she should do in regard to Hudson Wright. Where exactly had he gotten that puppy?
“What if Lady Valkyrie is leaping and performing tricks outside, but it’s as if she is just playing and it’s impressive?” Griffin suggested. “Then you come out of a house as if you’re calling her home. And she does some more exciting jumps to reach you. And it’s because she wants to get home for dinner.”
“Maybe,” Willow said dismissively.
“You said the brand had a fit and fun image?” Griffin asked.
“Right,” she said. Couldn’t he tell her mind was somewhere else? She kept thinking about the puppy that Hudson had. It was a stray, and honestly, it looked very young. Like he was just old enough to leave his mother. But it had also looked familiar. Had she seen him somewhere before? Where would she have seen a stray? If she saw the puppy on its own, she would have helped him. So, where could this have been?
“What if we play with the idea of a dog deserving a treat for all her good tricks? For staying fit while doing something fun. But then, the treat is really the dog food because it tastes so good. And it’s good for the dog too. It helps her stay fit.”
“Puppies,” Willow said aloud instead of answering him.
“Puppies?” Griffin asked. “They would be adorable in a commercial. Is Lady Valkyrie pregnant?”
“No,” Willow said, shaking her head. “Where are stray puppies found in town?”
Griffin ran a hand though his hair as he looked at her in confusion. Willow wondered if it was because of her question or because it seemed abrupt while he was still offering ideas. They probably were good ideas for the ad too, but she needed to focus on the murder first.
“Well,” Griffin said, thinking about it. “There aren’t too many strays in town. There’s a strong humane society presence here and your dog gym helps too. There just aren’t many strays in Pineview.”
“No tan puppies with floppy ears?”
“Actually,” Griffin said, “I think I know who you mean. They’re not strays exactly. But there is a poorly kept dog outside of the Knight’s Errant Club. It’s a men’s club. And I mean, she’s fed and watered and everything. Her home is just pretty dingy. Though, honestly, I think the doghouse is probably nicer than parts of the club itself. And, the dog just had puppies.”
“That’s it!” Willow said.
She had seen the mother while on a walk before, and the puppy looked just like her. That was why she couldn’t place it at first. She hadn’t seen the puppy before – just the mother in passing.
“A friend of mine had texted me to see if I wanted one, but I didn’t feel like I could commit to it. My work schedule can be crazy. And besides, I can see dogs whenever I want when I come to the dog gym.”
“True,” Willow agreed, deciding to interpret his comment as he enjoyed visiting her and not that he might want to change careers (and take over at the gym) in order to see dogs.
What he told her made perfect sense too. Hudson had said that he had hidden the money where there was “no estrogen,” and a men’s club certainly seemed to fit that bill. He had probably hidden the money near there and then found the puppy. The money was probably still there. Maybe Willow could find this evidence of the robbery and see if it was also evidence of the murder.
“Come on,” Willow said, rushing to the door.
“Where are we going?” Griffin asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Willow responded while not stopping her stride. “To the men’s club.”
14
“Wills, I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Griffin said as they parked outside the Knight’s Errant Club.
“Why not?” Willow asked as she gestured to what she wore. “I put on your sweatshirt like you said.”
“Yeah,” he said with a laugh. “But I still think it’s going to be hard for cute, little you to pass for one of the guys who come here.”
She looked at him. “It’s not a biker bar, right? Or some other place that’s really dangerous?”
“I just don’t want anyone to give you a hard time. It’s supposed to be just for men. And there can be some drunk guys by the bar,” Griffin said, tapping on her knees from the passenger seat. “I don’t like feeling like I can’t… I don’t know – defend you if I need to. But I feel like that with my bum shoulder.”
She turned and looked at him. “The fact that you want to protect me is sweet, but I can t
ake care of myself.”
“I guess that’s true. You did take down two killers on your own,” he said. “Though I’m still not too happy that you didn’t tell me about it so I could be backup.”
She shrugged. “Tele was my backup.”
Willow opened her car door and got out. Griffin followed suit and came around to meet her. The Knight’s Errant Club was on the outskirts of town and was near the piney forest that was the inspiration for the town name. Willow looked around and saw the dog near a gray dog house a little further down the street before the tree line, lying down and soaking in some sun.
“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble,” Willow said, continuing to survey the area. “It’s super early in the day. And, look, there’s only one car here.”
Griffin began smiling as he took a closer look at the vehicle. “Actually, I think that’s my friend Steve’s car. He’s the one who asked me about the puppies.”
“This is working out great,” she said and sped towards the entrance.
As she entered the club, she couldn’t help thinking that it had probably been an upscale place at one time – but back in the sixties. The mod furniture and strangely shaped lighting fixtures had not survived the test of stylish time. The whole building also had a sense of dilapidation about it, and she could see dust settled on the statues of knights in armor around the room. The result was that it felt rather skeezy inside.
“Hey,” a voice called out at her. “This is a men’s club. Women are not permitted.”
Willow paused. Maybe Griffin had been right to be wary of this place.
“It doesn’t look like anyone is permitted,” Griffin said, coming up to join her. “Nobody’s here. Do they really pay you to sit around all day and do nothing?”
A large man who looked like a bouncer except for his baby face pulled himself up from the chair he was lounging in and went up to greet them.
“Griffin,” he said, shaking his hand. “Good to see you.”
“You too. Steve, this is my girlfriend, Willow.”
“Nice to meet you,” Steve said, shaking hers as well. “I hope I didn’t scare you.”
“She doesn’t scare easily,” Griffin assured him.
“What are you two doing here?” Steve asked. “Don’t you have your own place now? Do you really need to sneak off if you need some alone time together?”
Willow’s eyes widened, but Griffin just said, “She wanted to see the inside for a minute because I told her about all the knights on display.”
“I guess you can hang out for a little while. I’ll just put you in the guest book though, Griffin. Willow’s presence can be our little secret. Luckily, Al is out of town, and none of the old guys who are regulars are in yet to cause a stink about how they want to get away from the wives.”
“We’re not married,” Willow found herself saying.
Steve laughed. “Why don’t you show her the armor by the bar? The big one is actually pretty nice looking. And since I have guests here now, I can bring out the pretzels.”
Steve headed off towards what she assumed was a kitchen or storeroom, and Griffin showed her to the bar. They sat on some barstools and looked at the big suit of armor.
“So,” Willow said, “how do you know Steve?”
“I met him here. And we play poker together every so often.”
“Interesting,” Willow said, eyeing him. “And just how often do you frequent this fine establishment?”
Griffin rolled his eyes. “This isn’t really my scene. But every guy in town has come here at some point or another over the years. I bet even the good old Police Chief has been here.”
Willow shrugged. She couldn’t imagine her dad coming there now, but he had grown up in Pineview so it was possible.
“I don’t understand the appeal here,” she said, looking at the rusty knight.
“I guess it’s also different during the day,” Griffin said, doing his one shoulder shrug. “This is just where you tend to go if you want a down and dirty guy’s night.”
Willow raised an eyebrow. “Is there a stripper pole I missed in other room?”
“No,” Griffin protested. “It’s not that kind of club. It’s just a place a guy would go if he needed to get away from women for a while.”
Willow thought about it. This place was rundown and sticky, but maybe the secretive club was the male equivalent of visiting the salon. This was where men went to get away from women, and maybe the salon was where women went to get away from men. She was sure that at both places people complained about the opposite sex. She began to wonder whether some sort of middle ground could exist between the locations, but then focused her attention on Steve who had returned with some pretzels.
“They actually are pretty good,” Griffin said.
As much as she trusted him, she didn’t really feel like eating there. Instead, she turned to Steve and said, “So Griffin was telling me that the dog outside just had puppies?”
“That’s right.” Steve nodded. “And I offered him first dibs on them, but he refused. I’m sorry, but they’re all gone now. Al, who owns the dog and the building, put up a sign saying Free Puppies and it looks like people took him up on it. Griffin missed out on his chance.”
“Do you know if they all went to good homes?” Willow asked.
“I don’t really know where they went,” Steve admitted. “But I think everyone in town respects Al, so if they took one of his puppies, they’d be good to it.”
Willow nodded. It appeared as if one lead was deteriorating in front of her. They couldn’t track the time that Hudson had come (whether it was before or after Patricia’s murder) and found the dog if no one was paying attention to who took the puppies.
However, if he hated women as much as he said, then maybe Hudson had actually come inside the club. Maybe he had hidden the money inside it. Would the stolen money be safe inside this club?
“I think I know someone who took one of the puppies,” Willow said. “Do you remember a man with a lot of tattoos?”
“Lots of men who come in here have tattoos. I even have one myself. It was supposed to be a shark, but I think it looks more like a whale.”
Steve lifted up the edge of his shirt to show them, and Willow agreed with the assessment. It was pretty round for a shark.
“But you don’t remember somebody recently who came here with tattoos? He would have been new to town?” Willow pressed.
“We’re going to have to look at your logbook,” Griffin said, taking a more aggressive approach.
“No,” Steve said, backing up from the pretzels she was starting to munch on. “I can’t let you do that. That’s the one rule Al really cares about.”
“Please,” Willow said, making an appeal. “It’s important.”
“She’s not really your girlfriend, is she?” Steve asked. He punched Griffin on the shoulder. Luckily, it was his healthy one. “I knew she looked too good for you. So, what’s this really about? She’s trying to see if her real man is sneaking off here or is cheating on her? That’s the sort of reason why we don’t share the logbook.”
“It’s about a murder. Two murders, actually,” Willow said. “And making sure my little sister doesn’t get blamed for it.”
“You guys need to come up with a better cover story.” Steve laughed and ate another pretzel. “But I can’t show it to you.”
“Steve, you owe me. The club owes me.” Griffin crossed his arms.
“I don’t know,” Steve said, swaying in his seat.
“Do you think the Knight’s Errant would have passed their last inspection with the way the bathroom was before I fixed it? Without a working toilet, urinal, or sink?”
“Okay. Fine,” Steve said. “You can see the logbook, but when you go and confront the guy, you didn’t learn this information from me.”
“Deal,” Willow agreed.
Steve went to get the book and she grinned at Griffin. He looked pretty pleased with himself too.
“It
pays to be a licensed contractor.”
Steve returned right away and threw the book down on the table. Willow and Griffin began looking at the page for the date of the murder. However, their feeling of triumph over obtaining the book soon dissipated. Hudson Wright had not signed in that day and he had not become a member.
“No one could have used a false name, right?” Willow asked.
Steve shook his head. “There’s no need.” He trailed off as he continued to say, “because we never show the logbook to anyone…”
Griffin agreed with him but for a different reason. “These names all look like real people in town. I’ve worked on several of their houses. Look, this was our math teacher in high school. A mechanic. I don’t see a pseudonym.”
“I guess Hudson never did come in here,” Willow said. “So, I guess he didn’t hide the money here.”
“Did you say money?” Steve asked. Now, he was looking at the logbook.
“Does anything jump out at you?” Griffin asked.
“No,” Steve said, sounding disappointed after a brief perusal.
“Well,” Griffin teased, “at least you’re getting paid to do nothing all day.”
Steve rolled his eyes in reply.
“Thanks for your help,” Willow said as she rose from her seat.
Griffin thanked Steve for his help as well and promised they would get a card game in soon. He and Willow left the club, but didn’t head back to the car.
“We know he took one of the puppies,” Willow said, thinking aloud. “And he didn’t go inside the men’s club. So I guess that leaves outside here somewhere.”
Griffin agreed. “We just need to find a hiding spot that’s safe from the elements.”
They began exploring the area, starting by where the mother dog lived. Willow said hello to her and promised she would come back to have a good talk with the owner about having her fixed so no future puppies would be in danger.
The Bark of the Town Page 11