Sniffing Out Murder (Mina's Adventures Book 7)

by Maria Grazia Swan

  She concentrated to orient herself. “Buddy pulled on the leash, wouldn’t slow down. He walked, darted really, nose to the ground, like a dog possessed, so strange. We walked this way—I think—down the driveway. The landscapers were unloading their tools and waved. I couldn’t pause to chat. The dog dragged me along, my feet barely touching the ground. I held the leash in one hand and fought back all those tree limbs coming at me when a shadow appeared out of nowhere, flashed in front of us and took off before I could call out or react in some way.”

  Mina stopped walking and studied the yard. Millie stopped beside her.

  “Buddy yanked away so hard and suddenly, I fell backward, about—there.” She pointed to a low, rocky mound. “I’m pretty sure. So that’s where we should look. Or you can watch me doing it.” She went to the area and knelt down. Then remembering how she lost his phone in the first place, she patted her jeans pocket for her regular cell. Damn. She’d left it at home. First she forgot to bring in the newspaper, and next she left her cell on the kitchen table. Not good, not good at all.

  She kept moving around on all fours, growing more impatient with every inch covered, every grass blade bent. Millie walked around in larger circles around the same spot. After twenty minutes of searching they had found nothing and deciding they needed a cold glass of water headed back to the house.

  TEN

  SHE LAID THE newspaper on the kitchen table and picked up her cell, three missed calls. None of the numbers looked familiar. Probably annoying marketing calls. Her headache had not improved, and with all her high hopes of finding the phone now fizzled, all she wanted to do was go hide in her room and sulk.

  And then what? Problems didn’t get solved by sulking, and somehow it was extremely important for Diego to know that someone else may be using his phone. The snoops-proof phone, or so he thought. Reality only made her more miserable. She couldn’t even be trusted with a phone. A phone. With her limited knowledge of anything electronic the only thing she knew how to do was touch the answer button. So far she had never been the one to call him; She always waited for Diego to call her. What if whoever found the phone wasn’t as technically challenged as she? Now she felt sick at her stomach.

  Kalinda.

  If she could talk to Kalinda, everything could be straightened out in a second. No doubt about it. Five minutes—that’s all it would take for computer whiz Kalinda to get hold of Diego, explain the innocent mistake, possibly nab whoever was playing dial T for trouble, and set them straight. Yes, she’d found her champion. Now all she needed to do was convince De Fiore to either do a conference call with the three of them or simply share Kalinda’s phone number so Mina could beg her personally. Yes, simple. Problem solved, or not.

  First things first—call De Fiore. Lucky for her Mina had his personal number, the one she used on the occasional emergency when she found herself in a jam. But since that hadn’t happened in a very long time, she couldn’t remember the number and had to look for it. After she found it, handwritten on a Post-it she kept in her wallet, she realized it was one of the missed calls on her cell.

  How about that? Perfect. She could pretend she was returning his call. Pretend? She was returning his call. He probably wanted to know about Kalinda’s landscaping. Good, De Fiore would be the one to bring up the Matchmaker to the Stars, not Mina. She was so busy congratulating herself that the chiming of the doorbell made her jump. Nearly noon. Her morning wasted on scheming silly plots. The doorbell chimed again.

  “Coming…” I bet it’s De Fiore.

  She opened the door and found herself staring at Tom, security guard Tom.

  “Oh, hi, Tom. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, yes. I heard about your fall, wanted to see if you needed help. You know, I live alone, and sometimes it gets downright lonely. I know you have your cats, but still.”

  Somehow Mina felt that in this case Tom was still lonelier than she was. She invited him in. “I’m lucky. Millie got back late last night. She even brought me breakfast. It’s hard to feel lonely with that sweet woman around.” She couldn’t help notice the sparkle of interest lighting Tom’s expression at the mention of Millie’s name. What do you know? He has the hots for Millie? He’s never even met her.

  “She’s back? How does she like her place? Did you tell her we did the painting?” Old Tom looked like a kid on Christmas morning. Might as well let him close to the tree. “Well Tom, why don’t we walk over there and ask her?”

  “You don’t think it would be—you know—imposing?”

  “If we are imposing, she’ll let us know. Trust me on that. Let’s go.”

  His smile made her forget about her headache. She pulled the front door closed behind her, and they walked down the driveway to the B&B.

  Mina couldn’t tell if Millie had seen them coming or if it was just a coincidence, but when Millie opened the door she didn’t act a bit surprised, just a smile and, “Please, come in. You must be Tom, the gentleman who, as they say, saved the day.”

  That was one of the best icebreakers Mina had ever heard.

  Those two chatter-boxed, walking around the Ritzy Cats rooms first, discussing other potential changes like a new doorknob or a countertop of a different color. More like two old friends than strangers who had just met.

  Mina kept wondering if Lasik was the only thing Millie had done to her eyes because she looked and acted ten years younger. Mina felt somehow invisible, so she sat next to Zeus and realized she once again left the house without her cell phone. Maledizione. What if there was an emergency at the shelter?

  If she could come up with some good excuse to leave, she would. But since she owned the business and was the one to write the checks she sat patiently until Tom and Millie finished their walkthrough. That way she could see the complete to-do list. The way the two had hit it off, Mina felt pretty sure Tom wouldn’t be feeling lonely for a while.

  Millie offered to put together lunch, but Mina wanted to get back home and call De Fiore as soon as possible. Kalinda’s rehab was in Texas, which meant a two-hour difference. “Tom, if you feel like having lunch, it’s fine. I’m sure you can find your way back to your car. You know what? I meant to ask you while you were painting, and somehow I forgot. Do you think you can do something to salvage our rusted little gate?”

  The blank look on Tom’s face told her he had no clue what she meant. Millie however did.

  “Good idea, Mina. Why don’t you show the gate to Tom while I fix a bite to eat?” Mina got that as her cue to leave. Perfect. “Oh, sure, want to walk out with me? Then I’ll have to go back home, but you two can have lunch. And, Millie, don’t forget. Next Tuesday we are open for business. I expect three furry guests the first day.”

  Millie nodded, “Of course, I can’t wait.” Mina and Tom walked out and headed to the far corner of the property and the rusty, neglected gate.

  “It got so bad because we never used it until Kalinda moved next door. It’s a practical short cut, and I sort of like the narrow path with all the wild flowers, and good smelling shrubs. Makes me feel closer to nature.”

  Who was the chatterbox now?

  Tom bent to examine the hinges, and Mina decided to gather a few of the yellow flowers to bring back home to brighten her breakfast table. She picked them randomly here and there, and before she realized it she had reached the end of the path and had a clear view of Kalinda’s driveway. A black car sat there, driver’s door open. The car had parked in a peculiar way, slanted instead of straight. It sure looked like De Fiore’s Ford. Maybe he was checking to make sure all was as it should be. He did that occasionally, and being in a hurry maybe he left the car running? He could see the good job the landscapers did.

  “Mina. Where are you?” Tom called from the gate. She hesitated an instant, took another quick look at the idling car, and walked back to talk to Tom. Certainly De Fiore would stop by her place to ask how much the yard job was, right?

  “How attached are you to this gate?” Tom asked.
/>   “That bad?”

  “Honestly, it would be more cost effective to buy a new gate and stain it to make it look distressed. That way you can keep the appearance without spending a lot of money and time on this one that’s about to fall apart. I can get you some catalogues, or better yet you can find them on the Internet and—” He stopped suddenly, his gaze bypassing Mina as he stared at something behind her. “What is it?” She turned to see what Tom found so fascinating. She noticed the dog at the same time Tom mumbled “Aspen?”

  Oh my God, he was right. Aspen/Buddy lead the small parade. He was still wearing the same collar and leash he had on when he ran off after a moving shadow. Would that young boy holding the leash be that shadow?

  “Leo, you found the runaway dog?” Tom said.

  Leo?

  “You know this kid?” That was Detective De Fiore asking Tom. A not a very friendly Detective De Fiore who walked closely behind Buddy and the boy. The whole scene felt surreal, but Mina could only think of one thing, once again Buddy was safe. The commotion brought Millie out. She stood to the side, watching mostly.

  “The kid and the dog.” Tom was all fatherly smiles patting Leo’s head. The dog’s tail told the world he was happy to be there. “Where did you find him? I should tell you the story of how I first ran into this dog here when he was just a puppy and—”

  “You knew Buddy when he was a puppy?” Now it was the dark haired kid Tom called Leo who got all animated and apparently forgot about the detective. Unfortunately for Leo, De Fiore wasn’t nearly as excited or forgiving. He was mad. Very mad.

  “Whoa... slow down there. Tom, how do you know this kid? Leo is it? Better yet. Leo, how do you know the name of the dog?” De Fiore glanced at Mina, “Is the dog’s name on his collar?”

  She shook her head no while waiting for some answers. Tom and Leo started to talk simultaneously.

  “Oh, no, no. Tom, you first,” De Fiore said.

  “Leo lives around here. Not sure which house. The other day he stopped by to say hi. Coincidentally we just had a few pizzas delivered for lunch while we were painting the rooms of the B&B.” He winked at De Fiore. “So he joined us. We had plenty, and the guys were happy to share.”

  Leo kept his head down, staring at his shoes, one missing the shoelace. Mina noticed his skinny arms and how he tightened his fist around Buddy’s leash as if afraid someone would take it away from him. And Buddy, with his eternally sad eyes, shifted his body slightly closer to the kid. All that while De Fiore paced like a tiger in a cage.

  “Well, thank you for finding Buddy and bringing him back. We have been so worried,” Mina said with the sweetest tone of voice she could muster.

  “We need to talk.” De Fiore encompassed everyone in his sight. “And I need to go get my car.” He looked at Mina.

  “It’s better if we do it at my place. We shouldn’t bring Buddy in the B&B right after we painted. It’s not good for the cats to pick up the scent when they first get here.”

  “Fine, everyone can go to your place, I’ll be there in two. Millie, you make sure this kid and the dog don’t take off.” He turned on his heel and headed to Kalinda’s place.

  They walked in silence, the kind of suspenseful quiet that precedes a burst of thunder.

  Mina, who led the group, spoke to Millie. “I’ll go in first. Give me a couple of minutes to get the cats upstairs? Not taking any chances.”

  Millie nodded; she didn’t have her dark glasses on and seemed to squint a lot.

  De Fiore didn’t need any announcement; the squeal of brakes took care of that. What was eating at him? This wasn’t like him at all. Where did he find the boy? It felt like—this Leo and the dog, hit close to home, very personal.

  Out of the blue Mina found herself offering food to Leo. “Are you hungry? I can get you a Nutella sandwich and a glass of milk.”

  “What’s a Nutella?” he asked. What? He looked to be ten years old and had never tasted Nutella? Time to fix that.

  “It’s like peanut butter, but better. Unless you’re allergic to nuts?”

  He shook his head, and she could tell his mouth watered. The kid must be really hungry, and probably Buddy was too.

  She rushed to the kitchen while De Fiore ordered everyone to sit. Her cell chimed; she recognized Margo’s number. Sorry girlfriend, not now. In a jiffy she was back and handed the sandwich to Leo, setting the glass of milk on a coaster on the coffee table. While everyone watched in disbelief, she put a paper plate with cheese and crackers on the floor next to Buddy.

  A smile lit De Fiore’s eyes for an instant just before he snarked, “Do you ever answer you phone?”

  She shrugged. He'd heard her cell?

  “How did you get in the house?” De Fiore stood in front of Leo’s chair, speaking in a firm tone.

  “The—huh—dog door—because…” A mouth full of Nutella made Leo sound funny. Not that anyone looked amused. Puzzled, doubtful, and surprised maybe. Perhaps a combination of the three reflected on everyone’s face—well, excluding the detective and Leo who Mina felt was now a Nutella fan.

  “Wait, wait. Are you saying you found Leo and Buddy in Kalinda’s house?” Millie, squinting even more, got up and went to the kitchen. She came back with a bowl of water for Buddy. The bowl Mina used for Zeus. “I have the feeling neither of these two have eaten a regular meal in a while.”

  “This is good. Did you make it?” Leo asked Mina.

  “The Nutella? No, it’s Italian. I grew up eating that.”

  “Your mom made you sandwiches for school lunch? My mom did too.” When he said that his whole face morphed into that of a sad, lost soul. It passed just as quickly. Leo wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “Buddy is my dog.” He added proudly.

  “But you could leave the money for the kids. They can use it.” The words of Isabel Cordero’s neighbor flashed through Mina’s mind.

  “Oh, my God, you’re Simon’s little brother.” It slipped out before she could stop it.

  The kid’s face brightened up. “You know my brother?”

  “Who’s Simon?” Millie asked.

  Tom’s eyes ricocheted from one face to the other one, except not De Fiore’s so much because at that moment he was looking at Mina. Their eyes met.

  “Cordero?” De Fiore mouthed.

  She nodded yes.

  His anger seemed to deflate. He moved across the living room, still shaking his head. He sat and again looked at Mina. “I should have known. It never fails.” He turned to Leo, his voice a notch kinder. “Where is your big brother?”

  “Working.”

  “Working where? How did you get to Kalinda’s? I mean how did you end up in that house?”

  Leo drank his last sip of milk. “It’s like this. Simon was working to help the lady get the house good for her because she had an accident and like, you know.” He swiped his hand in front of his knees, and they understood he meant to show she'd lost her legs from the knees down. “She was getting this big dog. That’s why there is a doggie door, but then she had to go away to a place where they give you new, better body parts. Simon thinks she may be like, you know, a super hero when she gets back. Simon is going to be eighteen years old next month, and then we won’t have to worry that the social workers take me to a foster home, just one month.” He waved his index in the air. “Right Buddy? One. My brother went with the people fixing the lady’s house. It’s spring break, and he needs money so we get our own place.”

  “Are you saying your brother told you to stay in that—that lady’s house?” De Fiore asked. He was the only one who could speak clearly. Everyone else was choked up over the innocence in Leo’s storytelling, and of course neither Millie nor Tom knew about Isabel Cordero’s strange death.

  Leo’s smile disappeared. “No, that was only for emergencies. Simon said the lady would understand.” He had an endearing way of rolling his Rs as if it took all his concentration to get it right. “He told me about the doggie door and made me promise I would be ver
y careful because we are not thieves or criminals. That’s what he said. Me and Buddy were to stay with the woman next door where we used to live, until Simon got back. He gave her money, and all was good until the woman’s boyfriend got out of jail. He took my phone, so I couldn’t talk to Simon anymore.” He paused, scratching his nose. “He must be so worried. And then he—” He stopped and swallowed hard, concentrating on his shoes. “I cried, and Buddy got mad, so they locked Buddy outside. I waited until they went to sleep and went looking for my dog. I kept walking, and Simon always told me not to talk to strangers or to police because they have to take me to the foster home. But I had to find Buddy. Guess what? Buddy found me. Didn’t you boy?” He rubbed the dog’s head, and Buddy burrowed his muzzle on the kid’s chest.

  Millie was fishing around for some tissues, and Tom blew his nose in a very noisy way.

  De Fiore pointed a finger at Mina. “You. I should have known.”

  “Leo, where are your parents?” Tom asked before Mina could stop him.

  The boy shrugged, kept rubbing his dog’s head. “My mom—she had an accident like. She died, and Simon said we are going to get our own detective as soon as he makes enough money because that wasn’t an accident.”

  “Why do you say that?” De Fiore asked, and Mina knew him well enough to understand that something in what Leo said had sparked his curiosity.

  “The lunch. The police said she had the accident on her way to work. She always packed our lunch before going to work, always. There was no lunch. Simon said he wrote everything down and not to forget. He thinks the police was too busy with the Christmas stuff. He said the police got—what’s that word? Sidetracked?”

  “Oh, you poor, poor child, you can stay with us until Simon comes to get you.” Millie looked at Mina, waiting for a yes.