by V. M. Burns
“I don’t understand.”
David leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Well, it’s all very confidential, but I’ve just been cast in a new television series. It’s going to be a modern remake of the old Lassie shows. You know…Timmy’s grown and living in New York. He still has his best friend, Lassie, who has to get him out of all kinds of scrapes.”
I didn’t think the story sounded at all feasible, but Dallas Simpson was nodding like he thought this was the best idea he’d ever heard.
“That sounds fascinating.”
“It’s going to be great. They’ve got a fantastic dog trainer, and the dog who’s going to play Lassie is actually the great-great-great-grand-dog of the original.”
Dallas stared from David to me. “That’s amazing.” He shook his head. “But I don’t see how I can help.”
“I was hoping you’d let me observe you and some of the other dog trainers and staff so I can learn how they interact with the dogs.” He laughed. “It’s obvious from the way Aggie responded to you, you have a way with dogs.”
Dallas Simpson laughed. “Well, I haven’t been working with dogs very long, only the past two years. Before that, I worked in security.”
“You mean like trading securities?” I asked.
He laughed. “No. Not that type of security. I mean security, like alarm systems. That’s why when we started this place, we wanted the top-of-the-line security for our building. I’ll admit I’m a bit of a technology-gadget nerd.” He smiled big. “We wanted only the best for our clients.”
There was a brief knock, and then the door opened. “Dallas, we need to talk. I was just—” A small-framed man wearing a white jacket entered. He wore thick glasses and had a weak chin and a bald spot on the top of his head. When he saw Dallas Simpson wasn’t alone, he turned red and stammered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…uh…I didn’t realize.”
I’d seen Dallas Simpson exhibit many emotions. However, rage wasn’t one until now. However, the look that flashed in his eyes was definitely not the happy-go-lucky ladies’ man persona he’d adopted previously. “What do you want, Justin?”
Justin stormed over to the desk. “What’s the meaning of this?” He slammed down a pink slip of paper on the desk, rattling the few items on top.
“It’s a termination notice. Can’t you read?” Dallas sneered.
“You can’t fire me. Keri Lynn hired me. Only she can fire me.” He glared.
“She’s ‘Mrs. Simpson’ to you, and she’s my wife.” Dallas stood and glared at Justin. “We both own Pet Haven, and I can hire and fire whomever I want.” His nostrils flared, and his eyes were mere slits.
Justin’s chest rose and fell. His neck and face were beet red, and he looked as though he would explode at any second. He clenched his hands into fists, and I thought the two men would come to blows. However, as if flicking a switch, Justin’s face suddenly relaxed, and he gave a snarky smile. He tugged at the sleeves of his shirt, revealing a gold watch. I was certainly no expert, but I’d say it was an expensive Rolex, similar to the one worn by Dallas.
At the sight of the watch, Dallas Simpson’s face lost some of its color, and I would swear his eyes flashed with surprise. However, the emotion quickly vanished. “We’ll just see who’s fired when Keri Lynn returns.” He turned and stomped out of the room.
Dallas took a deep breath and sat down. “I’m sorry about that. Keri Lynn felt sorry for the man and hired him, but he’s gotten a bit too big for his britches.” He took a few more deep breaths and forced a smile. “Where were we? Yes, you want to shadow me because I’m good with dogs.” He turned to David.
“You definitely have a way with dogs, and it shows. I wouldn’t just be observing. I want to help. I need to spend time with some of the dogs, get to know them. Obviously, with my schedule, I can’t have a dog in New York, and I don’t spend nearly enough time with Aggie.” He looked at me. “So I want to make the most of the time while I’m here and immerse myself in the environment.”
Dallas Simpson stared for a few moments, but then burst out in a huge smile. “Well, of course. I think that would be great. When do you want to start?”
“Would tomorrow be too soon?” David stood and extended his hand.
* * * *
David and I spent the bulk of the day unpacking boxes. When the house was practically box free, we stopped. Even though David had traveled all over the world, this was his first visit to Chattanooga. I didn’t want it to be spent working. I’d promised him a tour of the city. Relatively new to the area myself, I enlisted Dixie to serve as tour guide. Add to the fact that Dixie was fearless when it came to scaling Chattanooga’s mountains, it seemed like a great fit.
We met Dixie at one of my favorite restaurants downtown. A former woolen mill, the restaurant was an industrial spot on the water, full of charm and character. On the weekends, it was packed for brunch and one-dollar mimosas.
The weather was unseasonably warm and perfect for sitting outside.
David stretched. “I love the weather.” He tilted his face toward the sky and extended his arms. “It’s drab and gray in New York right now.”
“You should see it in about a month. The Bartlett pear trees will be blooming, and it’s absolutely beautiful—unless you have allergies, in which case it’s misery.”
David shook his head. “No allergies.”
“Great, then you should come down and visit your mom and I’ll take you up to Dollywood and show you around more of the South.”
We filled Dixie in on our meeting with Dallas Simpson while we munched on spinach artichoke dip and sweet potato chips.
She listened with rapt attention. When we finished, she glanced over her glass at me. “Have you told Red?”
I took a drink of my tea to buy myself some time to respond. “Not yet, but I will.”
Dixie’s silence spoke volumes.
Thankfully, the waiter brought our food and gave us something else to focus on. When we finished eating, Dixie gave David the grand tour of the city, including a trek up Lookout Mountain. Unlike me, David enjoyed the ascent and actually pulled out his phone and snapped some pictures. I closed my eyes. While one hand gripped the door handle, I kept the other on my rosary. I recited the rosary over and over until I felt the car level out and we were once again on even ground.
Dixie drove back downtown to our car before she made the return trip back up the mountain. That woman had nerves of steel. She waved as she left. My legs were still a bit wobbly, so David and I stayed downtown and enjoyed a drink to give my nerves a chance to settle.
Instead of going back inside the same restaurant, we crossed the bridge and went to another favorite restaurant of mine where we could, once again, sit outside and enjoy the nice weather.
I limited myself to a Diet Coke, but I knew, from experience, I would be back to normal shortly. David ordered a beer and shared pictures he’d snapped throughout Europe and Greece of mountains that made the Appalachians look like molehills. I tried to enjoy the lovely scenes and push thoughts of my son traversing such heights to the back of my mind.
David looked up from his phone and laughed. “Mom, you look positively green. Are you sure you don’t want something stronger?”
“I’m fine.”
We spent a pleasant hour chatting. When I was thoroughly recovered, I drove home. My phone rang just as we entered the house. David let Aggie out to take care of business while I answered. I was glad to see Stephanie’s face pop up. When she found out her brother was visiting, she started a FaceTime call, and we sat on the back patio and chatted.
I couldn’t help but marvel at the technology that allowed me to spend time with both of my children, despite the distance that separated us.
Once the pleasantries were over, Stephanie updated us on her progress on combating the identify thief. So far, she’d filed reports with the police a
nd the Federal Trade Commission. She placed fraud alerts with all the credit reporting agencies, and she’d frozen all credit accounts opened by the fraudster.
“That’s a lot in less than twenty-four hours. Thank you so much, dear.”
“I’m determined to catch whoever did this, so I’m not done.” Stephanie’s face was firm.
“Great job, sis.”
“How’s the murder investigation going?” Stephanie asked.
We updated her on our progress, which didn’t seem like much in light of the amount of work she’d accomplished, but then, moving was extremely time-consuming.
“I’ve got a few updates for you there too.” She reached over and pulled up a notepad. “I’m sure you probably got most of this stuff from Red already, but Joe said neither Dallas nor Keri Lynn have a criminal record. In fact, the only thing I could find on Dallas was some speeding tickets.”
“What kind of car does he drive?” I asked, without thinking.
Stephanie looked up for a moment. She pulled her laptop over and typed. “Uhm…white BMW.” She looked up. “Why?”
“No reason. I was just curious.”
She shrugged.
David leaned in so his face was in the camera. “Did you find out anything about Keri Lynn?”
She shook her head. “Apart from being the victim of bad luck, there’s not much about her either.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Her parents died in a car accident while she was away at college.” She read from her computer screen. “Dallas Simpson is her second marriage. She was pretty young when she married her first husband, barely nineteen. He was older…a lot older than her. Her first husband died suddenly—”
I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Stephanie said, “Before you ask, he died of natural causes. He had a heart attack while driving and crashed.”
I couldn’t hide my disappointment, although I didn’t know why. After all, Keri Lynn was the one who’d been murdered.
“This is her second business. Her first husband was a very wealthy man. He owned magazines and newspapers and had started his own production company.”
“So she inherited a lot of money?”
“She inherited a million dollars from his life insurance and a café, but I didn’t see that she inherited much more than that. About six months after his death, the café caught fire.”
“You’re right. She’s had a lot of bad luck. ‘Gloom, despair, and agony on me,’” I sang.
The children looked at me as though I’d lost my mind.
“You know…” I sang the rest of the verse from a song from the 1970s variety show Hee Haw. Unfortunately, the show was years before my children’s time, and they merely stared at me.
“Yes, well. She married Dallas Simpson about five years ago.” Stephanie looked up. “Wanna guess what he did before starting Pet Haven?”
“He said he was involved in security systems,” I said.
David raised his hand. “But I’ll bet my tiny New York apartment he wasn’t the engineer creating them. I’ll bet my last dollar he was in sales.”
Stephanie touched her nose. “Ding. Ding. Ding. Fifty points. Well done, little brother. He sold home security systems.”
David shrugged. “Actually, it’s not that impressive. If you’d talked to him, you would know how much he sounded like Dad.”
I was taken aback and stared at David for several minutes. “Oh my God, you’re right. He sounds just like Albert when he was trying to sell used cars.”
We talked a bit longer, but Stephanie didn’t have anything else. She squinted and got close to the screen. “Are you two sitting outside?”
“We are indeed.” David smiled. “Lounging on the deck of Mom’s new house.” He picked up the phone and spun it around.
“I’m so jealous. It’s freezing in Chicago.”
“Come on down.” David smiled. “The weather is wonderful.”
“I wish I could, but I was just down there a month ago.” She pouted. “I thought I was going to be able to get down for a long weekend.” She sat up straight. “Actually, Joe and Turbo will be there. He’s going to check out a new Plott hound breeder. I planned to go with them, but one of my cases just got a lot more complicated and I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“I’m sorry you won’t be able to come down. It would be so wonderful to have both of my children here. But tell Joe he’s always welcome to stay here. I’d love to see him and Turbo, and I know Aggie would love seeing her friend too.”
Turbo was Joe’s K-9 police dog. He was a Plott hound, and Aggie was absolutely besotted.
I glanced over at Aggie, who had harassed David until he gave in, propped the phone against the umbrella pole in the middle of the table, and picked her up. She was now perched on his chest with her head on his shoulder. At the mention of her name, she lifted her head and her tail started to wag like the blades of a fan.
“I’ll tell him, but I think he’s going to stay with Red.”
I scowled. “Red never mentioned a word.”
“Don’t be too hard on him, Mom. It was a last-minute trip. Actually, one of the other officers was supposed to go, but he got the flu, so they just asked Joe if he could go.”
“Come on, sis. Sure you can’t sneak away?”
Stephanie shook her head. “I doubt it. I’ll know more tomorrow.”
We talked for a few minutes and then ended the call.
After we hung up with Stephanie, David and I talked through what we’d learned.
“Poor Keri Lynn. She really has had a rough life.” I sighed.
“She doesn’t seem to have been lucky in business or lucky in love, does she?”
“I can’t imagine getting married at nineteen. I was twenty-two when I married your father, and looking back, I think that was too young.”
David reached over and squeezed my hand. “You two lasted a quarter of a century. That’s pretty good.”
I smiled. “You’re right. I think the national average says most marriages only last two to five years.” I thought for a moment. “Do you think Keri Lynn was one of those women who was attracted to bad boys?”
David laughed. “I don’t know that I’d necessarily classify Dallas Simpson as a ‘bad boy,’ although he might be a bad seed.”
“You mean like that old movie? The Bad Seed.”
He nodded. “They remade it, but the original with that little girl was scarier.”
I pondered that. “I suppose he could be a bad seed.” I shook my head. “It’s hard for me to tell. I might be judging him because he looks and acts like a prep school gigolo.”
David and I sat outside a few minutes longer, but I needed to get some rest. Tomorrow I would be working two jobs. I was going to the museum in the morning and would leave early and swing by Pet Haven. I knew finding information that might give Dallas Simpson a reason to murder his wife was a long shot. However, I needed to be on my toes. After all, if I was right, he’d already murdered once. Bad seed or not, I had no doubt he wouldn’t hesitate to murder again.
Chapter 11
The next morning, David drove me to work so he could use the car. We got up early to have time to stop at Da Vinci’s for coffee and pastries. I wanted to take David to the museum so I could introduce him to Linda Kay, but I got a text stating she was feeling under the weather and wouldn’t be in today. In fact, she encouraged me to stay home. When I texted her that I was already at work, she told me to wrap up early and spend time with my son. I thanked her and promised I would. For probably the hundredth time since starting to work at the museum, I thanked the fates that allowed me to work for such a generous and kind woman.
Without Jacob or Linda Kay, the museum offices were quiet. I got a lot of work done, but it was also lonely. I missed our coffee and tea breaks and the small jokes and art l
essons. Thinking about our little trio reminded me I needed to check on Jacob. I picked up my cell phone and called him.
“Hello, Jacob, it’s Lilly Echo—”
“Lilly, thank God,” he whispered.
“What’s the—”
“Look, I don’t have much time before she realizes I’ve been alone for fifteen minutes. I need you to come and get me out.” He hurried. “Do you have a pen? Write down this address.”
He rattled off an address and I scribbled it down. “Jacob, I don’t understand. Why—”
“For God’s sake, Lilly, you have to help me. I can’t take much more of this.” His voice quivered. “Please, I’m being tortured, and I don’t know how much more I can take.”
“What’s going on?” I grabbed my purse and hurried to the door. “Where are you?”
“My parents’ house.”
I stopped. “Wait. What?”
He whimpered. “She’s smothering me. It’s eighty-five degrees in this house. I’m sweating like a pig. Whenever I try to do anything, she’s there.” He paused and whispered, “I mean anything. She won’t even let me go to the bathroom by myself.”
“I’m sure your mother just wants to make sure you’re okay. You broke your ankle.”
His voice rose slightly. “The doctor gave me one of those compression boots and said I can walk. I can take a shower. I can even go back to work, but she won’t let me move.”
I placed my hand over the phone and chuckled. When I got myself together, I said, “I’m sure your mother means well.”
“I know she means well, but she’s smothering me.” He sighed. “If you care about me at all, just get over here and get me out of here…please.”
A woman’s voice in the background with a bit of a shrill whine said, “Jacob dear, is that you? Are you talking to someone? You know you should be resting. Give me five minutes, and I’ll bring you a nice cup of hot cocoa and some cookies. Then we can watch Wheel of Fortune and later we’ll play mah-jongg.”