The Pomeranian Always Barks Twice

by Alex Erickson

“What about other times, when I wasn’t present? Have you run into them outside their homes? Gone to see them without my knowledge?”

  I tensed, thinking of Amelia’s and my visit to Meredith. And then there were my trips to see Selena. And that’s not to mention Duke and Courtney, or all the times I ran into Junior at the house. It seemed like every time I turned around, I was coming into contact with people involved in the case.

  “I’ve bumped into some people,” I said. “But nothing that would have led to this.” I motioned toward the hole in my window.

  Cavanaugh frowned, eyes narrowing as he regarded me. “You haven’t been snooping, have you?”

  “What? Me? No.”

  It must have sounded as exaggerated as it felt coming out of my mouth because Cavanaugh’s frown only deepened.

  “Seriously,” I said. “I might have talked to Selena Shriver about her relationship with Ben and this other guy, Jason, but otherwise, I’m trying to stay out of it.”

  “And how did you get the dog?” he asked. “Last I heard, he was still in Mr. Fuller’s possession.”

  “I went to talk to Selena,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “About Ben. When I was about to leave, I heard Stewie barking inside Timothy’s house. I went over to make sure everything was okay, and that he wasn’t left there alone. Junior was ransacking the place and was frustrated because he thought Stewie might lead him to Timothy’s hidden stash of money. He realized it wasn’t going to happen, so he told me to take the dog.”

  “Just like that?”

  I shrugged. “He doesn’t like animals, I don’t think. He wanted Stewie because he thought he knew where the money was hidden. He no longer needs him.”

  “Because he found the money?”

  “No, because he doesn’t believe the dog can help. He thinks someone else took the money.”

  “Like who?”

  Cavanaugh seemed suddenly interested. He removed his notebook from his pocket and clicked his pen.

  “He accused me,” I said, not wanting to lie to the detective. If he talked to Junior, I was sure my name would be the first out of his mouth. “And then he accused Meredith Hopewell, Timothy’s nurse, of taking it. He was thinking of confronting her about it, but I talked him out of it.”

  “Does he have any reason to believe either of you would have taken the money?”

  “Me? No,” I said. “I think he blamed me because I was convenient.”

  “And the nurse?”

  “She was with Timothy all the time,” I said. “If anyone would know where the money was hidden, it would be her.”

  Cavanaugh looked thoughtful as he wrote something down. He tapped his pen on the pad of paper twice, and then pocketed both.

  “Is there anything else you can tell me?” he asked. “Anything you’ve conveniently left out until now?”

  I squirmed under his stare. “Not that I can think of,” I said, though I could tell him all about Selena and Jason; not that I thought it had much to do with Timothy’s murder. Just because she led my son on, didn’t make it a crime.

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yeah,” I said. And then, because I really wanted to know, “Do you have any idea who could have done this?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t say for sure, but I would recommend you keep to yourself for a few days. I don’t want you looking for whoever did it, and I definitely don’t want you asking questions.”

  I wanted to protest, but held my tongue. The more I thought about it, the more I was starting to wonder if Junior might be responsible for the attempted break-in. He’d parked in the alley, behind the barn, at his dad’s place, when it would have been closer to park in the driveway. Whenever he was doing something underhanded, did he always park out of sight? Was it a pattern?

  But why? He’d given Stewie to me, so it seemed strange he would want the dog back. Unless, of course, he changed his mind and wanted to give the Pomeranian’s money sniffer another go.

  Or if he thought I had the money here.

  If that was the case, then what would stop him from trying again? It was obvious he was after the money, and if he truly thought I’d taken it, could he have figured the dog might lead him to it here? Was that why he let me take Stewie?

  And then another thought seeped into my brain, one I liked even less.

  What if it was Duke?

  Junior didn’t know where I lived. I guess he could have followed me, or happened across my van, which was sitting in the driveway, but I found it unlikely. Courtney was interested in the money, had said so herself. Maybe she, like Junior, thought Stewie could lead her to the cash. Or perhaps she figured she’d have a look around, see if I had it lying around my house.

  Cavanaugh was watching me intently as I thought it through. While it would serve Courtney right if I were to tell him my suspicions, I didn’t want to start pointing fingers. All I had were unfounded suspicions, and sending Cavanaugh on what could be a wild goose chase would help no one, Ben included.

  I forced a smile, and gave him my best innocent look. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Detective?”

  “I think I’m done here,” he said, eyeing me. “Not unless you have something else you can tell me?”

  “Not a thing.”

  He didn’t look convinced, but, thankfully, he didn’t press.

  I led him back inside, to where Manny and Amelia were still sitting. Amelia’s eyes were droopy, and Wheels had gotten down. She was sitting on the floor, next to Stewie, who was still snoozing away.

  “Mr. Denton,” Cavanaugh said, shaking Manny’s hand. “I’ll be in touch if I figure out who did this, but I wouldn’t count on it. These things happen, and often, the thief never returns.”

  “Thank you,” Manny said. He walked Cavanaugh to the door. They spoke briefly, voices low, before the detective shook his hand once more, and then left.

  “Crazy night,” Manny said, returning.

  “Yeah.”

  “The detective told me he’s keeping Ben for another twenty-four hours,” Manny said, but before I could get angry, he added, “He did sound as if it was more a precaution than anything. I’m starting to believe he’s on our side.”

  “He’d better be,” I muttered.

  Manny stretched, eyes traveling toward the dining room. “We should do something about the window.” He punctuated the comment with a yawn.

  “Go ahead and get to bed,” I told him. “You’ve got to work in the morning. I can clean up the glass and tape up some cardboard until we can get it fixed.”

  “You sure?” He yawned again.

  “I’m sure.”

  He kissed me on the cheek. “It’ll be fine,” he said, though it sounded like he was trying to convince himself, more than me.

  “It will,” I said. “Go to bed. I’ve got this.”

  He nodded, and then headed for the bedroom.

  Amelia rose with a yawn of her own, causing Stewie to rouse from the floor, tail wagging. She patted him on the head, and then turned away, feet dragging, as she headed for her bedroom.

  “Amelia, hold on a sec.”

  She turned back to me, eyes heavy. “Yeah?”

  “Did you talk to anyone other than Ms. Hopewell?” I asked. If she’d asked questions of the wrong person, then perhaps she’d stirred something up, something that would lead to someone trying to break into my house.

  Amelia scratched her head, seemed confused by the question for a moment before, “Not about Ben,” she said. “All I did was drive by the scene once and take some pictures. There wasn’t anyone there. I did it mostly for the practice.”

  “So, no one saw you?”

  She smacked her lips, trying to work out the sleep. “I don’t think so,” she said, before changing her mind. “Actually, there was some old guy across the street. He waved at me. And I guess someone might have looked out a window and saw me, but it would have been next door. I’m positive no one was at the Fuller house when I was there.”

&
nbsp; I wanted to press, ask her how close she got to the house, if she’d gone around back, or if she’d stayed in her car, but I could tell she was barely hanging on. The excitement from our late-night visitor had worn off, and she was dead on her feet.

  “Thanks, Amelia. Go get some sleep.”

  “Goodnight, Mom.” She turned and slouched down the hall. Stewie followed after her, leaving me alone with Wheels.

  I watched them go, thinking. Just because she didn’t see anyone at the house, didn’t mean they weren’t there. If Junior saw her snooping, or if whoever really killed Timothy had, then perhaps they’d stopped by for revenge.

  But why? It wasn’t like she’d found or saw anything.

  Had she?

  No, I was beginning to wonder if it was my own poking around that had triggered the break-in. Junior was angry with me, as was Courtney. I was almost positive it was one of them.

  But there wasn’t anything I could do about it tonight. Stifling my own yawn, I turned to the closet and removed the broom and dustpan, and got to work cleaning up the mess.

  24

  Manny was gone by the time I woke up. I vaguely recalled him giving me a goodbye kiss on the cheek, but I was so out of it, I wasn’t sure if it had actually happened, or if it was a dream. I’d lain awake most of the night, waiting for the window breaker to return, though he never did show again. I finally dozed off just before sunrise.

  To say I was tired would be an understatement. But I didn’t let it stop me. I scarfed down breakfast, and then grabbed the phone, ready to get to work.

  “Hi, Sue,” I said when my call was answered. “Good news! I have Stewie, the Pomeranian, for you, if you’re still interested?”

  Sue gasped in happy surprise. “Oh, Liz, thank you! I am. When can we get him?”

  “He still has to pass all his tests, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be any more than a day or two. If you want to see him before then, I can arrange a get-together whenever you’d like.”

  “No, that’s all right, I can wait. I’m not sure I could resist taking him home with me if I were to see him.” She laughed.

  “I’ll call you as soon as all the test results are in.”

  “Thank you, Liz. We’re both so excited to meet him. I think it’ll do us both a lot of good.”

  “Oh, I’m sure he will. Tell Barry I said hi.”

  “Will do.”

  We clicked off.

  I was thrilled to start my day off on such a high note. Sue and Barry Lincoln would make good pet parents for Stewie, even if he was older than they were—in dog years, that was. Hearing the joy in someone’s voice when they learn they’ll be taking in a new pet is part of the reason why I did what I did.

  Speaking of Stewie, I found him lying next to a dozing Wheels, and took him out into the backyard to let him take care of his business. As he sniffed around the yard, I considered what I needed to do today. Calling someone to fix the window was high on the list, as was making sure I’d gotten all the glass when I’d swept last night. I didn’t need Wheels stepping on a missed shard and injuring one of her front paws. The same went for Stewie.

  Once the dog was done and ready to go back inside, I took him back to Wheels, and then checked around the window. The glass was gone, both inside and outside. I did put on a pair of gloves and wiggled a few loose shards from the windowsill before boarding it back up. I didn’t want one of them falling out while I wasn’t around to clean it up.

  Satisfied, I made a quick call to a contractor I knew, arranged for them to stop by later, and then grabbed my keys and purse. I wasn’t about to sit around and wait for them to show; not when there was something else I was desperate to do.

  I started for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  I nearly jumped straight out of my shoes. I spun to find Amelia standing in the hallway, hand on her hip in a way that was a spitting image of me—and before me, my own mother.

  “Don’t you have class today?” I asked, masking my embarrassment by asking a question.

  “I took the day off,” she said. “Are you heading out?”

  “For just an hour or so,” I said. “I thought I might check in on Ben and make sure he’s doing okay.”

  Amelia’s eyes widened briefly before she held up a finger. “Hold on one sec.” She spun and vanished back down the hall.

  She returned only a few seconds later, her backpack thrown over one shoulder.

  “I’m coming with you,” she said, her tone saying she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  Honestly, I’d be glad for the company.

  “Let me call Lenore,” I said, taking out my phone and hitting her number. While I’d been content to let Stewie have the run of the house a few minutes ago, now that Amelia was coming with me, I was hoping we’d be out longer than the hour I’d planned for. “Maybe we can get lunch afterward,” I told her as my phone rang.

  Amelia nodded and waited while I asked Lenore if she could doggie sit. The older woman was more than happy to, and promised to be right over.

  “How did you sleep last night?” I asked Amelia when I hung up.

  “All right, I guess.” From the bags under her eyes, I could tell that was a lie.

  I didn’t call her on it, however. All things considered, losing a little sleep was far better than the alternative. Thinking of Stewie’s warning barks, I grabbed him a treat and gave it to him, once more thanking him for being so vigilant.

  “We should get a dog,” Amelia said, likely thinking along the same lines as me. “A permanent one. If he hadn’t barked last night . . .”

  “I know.” I rubbed him behind his ears, and told him how good of a dog he was. He soaked up the attention.

  I took a few minutes to set out some things for Lenore so she wouldn’t have to look for treats for the animals, or a snack for herself. I was just finishing up when she arrived.

  “Where is he?” she asked the moment the door was open.

  Introductions only took a few minutes, with Lenore immediately cooing over the Pomeranian. I don’t think she heard half of what I’d said, she was so taken with him. Stewie was just as happy as she was, if not more so. He yapped twice, spun in a circle, and then promptly rolled onto his back, if not a little stiffly. Lenore gave him the belly rub he was asking for.

  Amelia and I left them to it, and got into the van. A moment later, and we were on the way.

  We remained silent during the drive, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Worry kept working through me, and an urge to call the house to make sure Lenore was okay hit me every mile or two. Nothing said the intruder hadn’t been watching the house, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Now that we were gone, and all that was there was a little old woman, he could easily make his move.

  Stop it, Liz, I silently reprimanded myself. She’ll be fine. Paranoia didn’t suit me.

  I pulled into the police station lot, a bundle of nerves. It had only been a couple of days since Ben had been taken in, yet it already felt like a lifetime. I wasn’t sure I could take it much longer, and I wasn’t even the one who was locked up. I didn’t even want to think about how he must be feeling.

  Amelia and I headed inside, immediately bumping into an exhausted-looking Detective Cavanaugh, who appeared as if he was about to leave. His eyes tightened and his mouth pressed into a fine line when he saw me.

  “Did something else happen?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “But thank you for coming out last night. I’ve never had anything like that happen before. I was afraid he was going to come back.”

  “He didn’t,” Cavanaugh said, leaning against the wall like it was the only thing keeping him upright. “I had a car drive by every few hours. As far as I can tell, whoever tried to break in is long gone. I doubt they will try again.”

  “I hope so.”

  Cavanaugh rubbed at his chin, eyes going from me, to Amelia. “Is there something I can do for you ladies?” he asked. By his tone, I think he already knew
what we wanted.

  “We’d like to see Ben,” I said. “Just to talk and make sure he’s doing okay.”

  Cavanaugh remained silent as he regarded the two of us. I could tell he was thinking about it, but wasn’t sure whether or not he should relent. As it stood now, Ben was a murder suspect, and I was sure there were rules against letting people come and go as they pleased.

  “Please, Detective,” Amelia said. “I haven’t seen my brother since before you arrested him.” She gave him puppy dog eyes, which had me nearly in tears.

  Cavanaugh heaved a heavy sigh and pushed away from the wall. “All right, I suppose at this point, it can’t hurt. But don’t expect this to keep happening.” He looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead, all he said was, “Wait here,” before he turned and walked away, rubbing at the back of his neck as he went.

  I was hoping his willingness to let us see Ben meant most of the pressure was off him, and that Detective Cavanaugh had a new top suspect, not that he was giving us one last visit before locking him up for good.

  The police station was buzzing with a low level of activity. A few cops paused to look at us, but no one approached. I didn’t see Officer Mohr anywhere, or even Officer Perry. I missed the familiar faces, especially since I was standing there with all those eyes watching us. It made me feel like a criminal.

  Thankfully, Detective Cavanaugh returned a few short minutes later. “This way,” he said, motioning for Amelia and me to follow.

  He took us down the same hallway as the last time I’d visited, but instead of taking us to the same room as before, he opened another door. The room was larger than the last one, but not by much. It held a table and a few chairs that were pushed around it haphazardly, as if a group of people had recently sat there and all got up and walked out at once. A whiteboard was pushed against the wall. A few stray black marks were all that was visible on it.

  A meeting room? I wondered, and then shook off the thought when Ben rose from one of the chairs, holding his arms wide. I rushed in for an all too brief hug. I stepped aside and Amelia took my place, surprising everyone by wrapping her brother in a hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Ben said, sitting back down. He wiped at his eyes, a sad smile on his face. Amelia took the chair next to him, while I took one across the table. Cavanaugh closed the door, but remained inside, as expected.