Without Missing a Bark

by Stella St. Claire

  They resumed walking, and the dogs responded to the dog park’s siren call and began to forge ahead, pulling at their leashes and seeming to forget all about Sharon. As she walked alongside Olivia, she wailed, "Why won't Nick open up an investigation? Not that I don't trust your talent. You've made quite a name for yourself as a sleuth—but this is serious!"

  Olivia didn't point out that she'd caught four murderers. Solving the case of a dognapper ought to be right up her alley, but she understood that her friend was upset. They reached the park, and Olivia let the dogs loose. "Sharon, give me a minute. I'm going to text Charlene and Howard and tell them to make sure not to leave their puppies alone."

  Sharon barely paid any attention to her. "Oh, that's Lady Celeste over there! I'm going to ask her for help!" Sure enough, the psychic, dressed in bright blue flowing fabric with a matching headscarf was on the other side of the park, apparently enjoying the fresh air.

  "What? No, Sharon . . .!" but before Olivia could stop her, Sharon took off across the park to speak to the psychic.

  Lady Celeste sometimes came to the dog park to communicate with the dogs. As much as Olivia was loath to believe the sweet old woman had a true talent, there were times when Lady Celeste’s predictions came eerily true.

  After sending a quick text to Charlene and Howard to warn them to keep a close eye on their pups, Olivia raced after Sharon. Celeste’s eyes were closed and her hands extended to the air, causing her sleeves to flutter and making the bright yellow and orange flower pattern dance against the blue fabric background. "Don't interrupt her," Sharon whispered. "She's trying to help find who did this."

  "She's never that helpful," Olivia muttered under her breath. Glancing over her shoulder, she checked on the dogs. There were three other dogs in the park, and they were all bounding around happily together. Snowball's beads glittered under the sun.

  "The heat is scorching, and the smoke rises to the heavens," Celeste moaned heavily, her Romanian accent sounding thicker and more mysterious than usual. "She will remove all obstacles in her path until she avenges her broken heart."

  Sharon gasped. "The puppies are trapped in a fire! We need to call the fire station right now!"

  "Lady Celeste sees the future, remember?" Olivia said soothingly as she struggled not to roll her eyes. "I'm sure we have time to find the puppies before that happens." It sounded lame, even to her own ears, but she managed not to wince.

  Reaching into her bag, Olivia pulled out her small notebook and a pen. "Sharon, why don't you sit on the bench there and write down anything you can think of that might be helpful. Julie told me about a few people who wanted to buy her puppy. Maybe something similar happened to you? Names would be helpful so I can cross-check them with Julie's list. And anything else that you can think of."

  "Yes. Anything to help." Sharon grabbed the notebook and settled down on the bench.

  Celeste lowered her hands, opened her eyes, and suddenly seized Olivia’s arm. “Come,” she said, and led Olivia, paralyzed with astonishment, a little way down the path.

  "Natalie tells me that she's very happy working with you,” the psychic said, and added in a low, dramatic voice, “I promise that you will not regret hiring her."

  "I don't regret hiring her at all," Olivia said and laughed. "Why would you say that?"

  "I just sense some tension. You must keep her by your side. It's imperative, Olivia.” Lady Celeste’s hand tightened on Olivia’s arm, and her eyes bored into Olivia’s. “You must trust me on this."

  The poor woman looked distraught, and Olivia grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I don't plan on firing Natalie. She's been a godsend." A little too bubbly and sometimes annoying, but Olivia kept that news to herself.

  "The flames come from the heart, Olivia. Unrequited love is dangerous."

  Olivia blinked. "You think that someone took the puppies because she loved them and they didn't love her in return?"

  Patting the younger woman lightly on the head, Celeste smiled. "You of all people should not underestimate the power of a dog's love. Now, if you'll excuse me, our wonderful mayor has offered to take me to lunch."

  "Lunch, huh?" Was the mayor finally sealing the deal with the woman he'd been in love with forever? "I heard that you two are seeing more of each other."

  A large smile spread over the older woman's face, and a girlish blush stained her cheeks. "Yes. Well, he's a good man with a big heart. Now, if you'll excuse me." Bowing her head in farewell, Celeste practically floated out of the park.

  "Aw, young love," Olivia murmured as she shook her head.

  Sharon had the list ready, and Olivia felt a moment of triumph when she saw the names on the list were the same. Surely the dognapper had to be on this list.

  "That's one of the people who wanted to buy the puppies," Sharon suddenly cried out as she pointed. "Does he have the puppies? We have to get him!"

  "Whoa, wait a minute!" Olivia reached out and grabbed the woman's arm. She, too, saw Scott on the other side of the dog park with two of his German Shepherds.

  Olivia didn't like the way the man was looking at Sharon. "You need to let me handle this, okay? If Scott took the puppies—which we don’t know, yet—and if he thinks that we suspect him before we have proof, he might move the puppies, and we'll never see them.” She managed to refrain from rolling her eyes at herself—she had practically called the man guilty with her last observation—and firmly added, “No matter who the dognapper is, once we spread the word, they won't be able to hide."

  "Okay." Sharon nodded her head. "That makes sense.” She took a ragged breath. “I just fell in love with that little guy, and my son is so attached to him. Even my husband likes him, and he’s never been much of a dog person."

  "Trust me. You don't have to explain it to me," Olivia laughed fondly as her gaze went from Goodwin to Fender. "Dogs are a blessing in our lives. I'm going to do everything possible to get those puppies back."

  Sharon nodded. "Then I'm glad that Nick has referred the case to you. They might just think that a dog is property, but you understand that they're family."

  "Exactly,” Olivia said grimly, “and whoever took these dogs is going down."

  After Sharon left, Olivia dropped Snowball back off at his house and went to meet the editor of the small town’s newspaper.

  Sylvia was one of those highly motivated women who could easily have run a big city newspaper. She could be a little aggressive when it came to stories, but she'd admitted that she stayed in Lexingburg because she liked a newspaper that was filled with good news instead of crime.

  When Olivia breezed into the newspaper office, the young man at the counter waved her toward the back offices with a smiling, “She’s expecting you.”

  Sylvia was on the phone. The editor had a strained look on her face as she spoke. "Denny, if you don't have anything for the Dear Ruby column, then you're going to have to replace it with something else. With all the problems we've been having with her column, I can't keep holding the space in hopes that she’ll come through. We have to assume that she made good on her threat.” She paused and listened for a moment, then said, “If you don't have a story, then sell the space to an advertiser. We're still going to the publisher's tomorrow."

  Hanging up the phone, the pretty blonde rolled her shoulders and sighed. "I'm so sorry. You wouldn't think that a small-town newspaper would have so much drama. The Dear Ruby column has received so much negative attention, and I told Maddie that she was going to have to tone down the articles, or we were going to have to let her go. Maddie, of course, said that she'd rather quit than do that, and I guess she made good on her word."

  Olivia's eyebrows arched. Dear Ruby was written by an anonymous romance columnist who had worked for the newspaper for a couple years now. The pertinent word being anonymous. "Did you just tell me the name of the writer?"

  Sylvia immediately groaned and covered her eyes. "Oh, I did. I really need some sleep.” Lowering her hand from her eyes, she gazed intently a
t Olivia. “Please. I'm really going to need you to keep that to yourself."

  "Sure. I never read it, anyway, but Janelle and Jackie are always gossiping about it." Sitting down in the chair in front of Sylvia's desk, Olivia set her purse down. "So there's been another dognapping."

  "Really? God, what is this town coming to? Dead bodies. Kidnapped people. Kidnapped dogs! So you want me to do a crime alert and see if anyone has any information?"

  "Yeah, that would be perfect. I'm sure that someone stole them for the money—which means that they’ll have to find a buyer. The more people who know that the dogs are stolen, the better off we are." Pulling out her notebook, Olivia ripped out the page with the information she'd jotted down. "This is everything you need. I'd like you not to mention the fact that I'm looking into it. I can more easily ask questions as a concerned dog walker—and get more information—than as someone who’s known to be investigating."

  Sylvia nodded her approval. "You're becoming a pro, Olivia. One of these days, you're going to have to let me interview you about being a private investigator. You've done a lot for this town."

  "I've just gotten lucky." Slightly embarrassed, Olivia stood. "Thanks again for doing this, Sylvia. I know that it's not in your nature to leave out information about stories, but I really appreciate you leaving my name out."

  "I put my name in the running for those puppies, too,” Sylvia said. “I've wanted a dog for a long time. The fact that someone is working around the system to get their hands on one and then profit from them really makes my blood boil. I'm happy to help. Let me know if there's anything else I can do." The light on the editor’s phone lit up again, and Sylvia sighed. "So help me, if this is another complaint about the Dear Ruby article, I am going to shoot myself."

  "I'll leave you to it. Good luck, and thanks again." Collecting her things, Olivia stood as the editor picked up the phone.

  Olivia felt sure that the town would come together to hunt down the perpetrators. She'd close this case quickly and get back to planning her proposal.

  Andrew wouldn't even know what hit him.

  6

  "How many times do I have to tell you, Patrick? I don't want that old ratty chair in the nursery. We're getting a new one. All you have to do is pick one of the three that I circled in the catalog. Why are we arguing about this?" Janelle boxed up some of the cookies in the bakery’s display case and expertly tied a ribbon around the package.

  They were a few minutes from locking the door, and Olivia, Janelle, Jackie, Brent, and Patrick were the only ones left in the bakery. "Those recliners all cost over a thousand dollars, Janelle. I'm fine with getting a new one, but we're not spending that kind of money. Not with the baby coming."

  Janelle snapped her head up as she slammed the box of cookies on the counter. "I'm going to be feeding and rocking your child in that chair. Are you telling me that he doesn't deserve a high-quality chair? One that will last until he's a toddler and wants us to read to him? Or when he learns to read on his own and can climb into that chair with his own books? Is your son not good enough for us to buy him that?"

  "Uh-oh," Jackie whispered.

  "Whoa, easy on the cookies, there. They didn't do anything to you," Olivia said as she got up quickly. "Janelle, why don't you let me finish packing up the goodies while you clean up the back."

  Shooting her husband one last angry look, Janelle stomped to the back of the bakery.

  Patrick exhaled slowly. "You know that I want to give that woman everything she wants, but after all the money we've spent, we're spread too thin. We can't keep spending that kind of money. I have to put my foot down at some point,” he said, running a hand over his head, and added, “I had just hoped that it wouldn't be until after she'd given birth, and she could go back to being the steady woman that I married."

  "Be patient, Patrick. Soon that boy will be in your arms, and you two will forget all about this." Olivia finished boxing up the rest of the leftover baked goods. Janelle donated the goods to different charity organization for them to sell at a discounted rate the next day. It had become a town game to try to hunt down Janelle's day-old goods.

  "God, I can't wait. She's going to be a great mother." Patrick smiled with a whimsical look on his face. "I’m hoping that I’ll be a good father."

  "You're going to be a great father." Olivia patted his shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about. Plus, my mother is probably going to be around constantly, so you'll have plenty of help."

  "And you and Andrew," Patrick reminded her. "Hey, I heard a rumor about you today. Are you really going to propose to him?"

  "Did Jackie tell you that? That girl can't keep a secret to save her life," Olivia grumbled as she started slapping stickers with the bakery logo on the boxes. "And I am going to propose—if I don't keep running into obstacles. All of a sudden, Stanley doesn't have the ring I want, and now Nick wants me to solve this dognapping case."

  "Maybe you should take that as a sign."

  Straightening, Olivia turned her head and glared at her brother-in-law. "I'm sorry,” she said in an icy tone. “Are you saying that Andrew and I don't belong together?"

  "What? No!"

  "Because I'll tell Janelle that she should aim higher, and you'll be saddled with a furniture bill for two grand," Olivia threatened.

  Patrick laughed nervously. "Olivia, that's not what I meant at all. I'm just saying that Andrew might feel emasculated if you ask him to marry you. It's just not how things are done."

  "Oh." Olivia returned her attention to the labels. "I actually don't think that anything can make Andrew feel emasculated. He's very confident in his maleness." She sighed dreamily. "I love that about him."

  "Getting a little uncomfortable over here," her brother-in-law chuckled. "But I do think that you should focus on this case before tackling the proposal. One thing at a time, right?"

  Why was everyone so gung-ho about her solving this case? "Right," she echoed, wrinkling her brow in confusion. She changed the subject. "If you want Janelle to calm down about the new chair, you should talk to our mother. She would be the one to let Janelle know that expensive furniture isn't going to fix all of her anxiety. Janelle will trust her."

  "Thanks.” Patrick lifted his chin, and his voice turned brisk. “Oh, we have a customer."

  Brent turned in his seat to see the newcomer and started up in surprise.

  Olivia looked up and saw a familiar figure walking through the door.

  "Are you guys still open?" It was Cora, Andrew's receptionist at the hospital. Olivia had talked to Cora and hung out with her a few times over the years, but she'd never seen Cora in Lexingburg before.

  "Cora, yeah. We were just about to close, but we've got some goodies left. What are you in the mood for?"

  "Oh, nothing, thanks. It takes a lot of work for me to keep this figure, and thanks to my mother's genes, just one of those cookies will go straight to my butt. I was hoping to catch Andrew. He left in such a hurry today that he left his phone." She held the phone out to Olivia.

  "That's strange. Andrew said that he would be working late tonight." Olivia took the phone and stared at it. "He's not here yet."

  "Oh, that's my fault," Brent said quickly. "He was going to work late, but I asked him to do me a favor when I left."

  Olivia stared at him. "What favor?"

  "Um. I asked him to pick up a few things for me from the store. I have a romantic evening planned for Jackie, and I didn't have time to hit up both stores before they closed." He looked embarrassed, and Jackie gasped.

  "Really? Well what did you have in mind?" Jackie cooed as she leaned over and kissed him.

  Everyone groaned as they watched the couple. Olivia hurried to interrupt. "All right. Keep it to yourself until tonight. Did you send Andrew all the way across the city?"

  "I did. There was this flavored . . ."

  Jackie immediately slapped her hand over Brent's mouth.

  Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. "Please stop talking. Forget th
at I even asked."

  Just then, the bell jangled over the door as Andrew walked in.

  "Cora,” he said, sounding puzzled. “What are you doing here?"

  "You left in such a hurry that you forgot your cell phone,” his secretary said brightly. “I was just returning it. I'll get out of your hair now, and I'll see you tomorrow, boss. Brent—I didn't realize that you'd moved here. You and Andrew are bunking together? That's cute."

  "Oh, no. I'm forever grateful for Andrew giving me a place to stay, but we’re done with the whole living-together thing. The only person I want living with me is someone who smells a little better." Everyone laughed as Brent put an arm around Jackie and followed it up with a kiss.

  "Are you saying that I smell?" Andrew demanded. He smiled at Cora. "Thanks for dropping off the phone. I appreciate it. I'll let you take a longer lunch tomorrow."

  "Nice, boss. That sounds like a plan.” Cora shook her head. “I'll miss you when you're gone." She nodded at everyone in farewell and left the bakery.

  Olivia stared at Andrew's empty hands. "Brent said that you were picking something up for him."

  Brent was quick to jump in. "Yeah, I told him to leave it in the car. It would be—embarrassing to have him bring it in.” He apparently hurried to change the subject. “Since we're all here, why don't we grab a drink and a late dinner at End Game?" he suggested.

  "What about your romantic evening?" Olivia teased.

  "Now it'll have to wait until I can surprise Jackie.” Brent raised his voice to call, “Janelle, you finished up back there? I'm starving!"

  "Are you crazy? Don't yell at the pregnant woman," Jackie hissed.

  "I'm going to change out of this suit, and then I'll be right down." Andrew leaned over and kissed Olivia on the top of her head, plucking his cell phone out of her hand. “Thanks, babe.”

  "Good idea." Brent tucked his legs under him and stood. "I'll do the same. Should give that cranky sister of yours time to finish up."