by Vella Day
“That’s the point. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rafters are full of termites, and this place needs to come down,” Drake said.
“Way to be a downer.”
Jaxson placed a hand on my back and steered me left instead of to the car. “That’s why we need to have an ice cream sundae at the shop. I grew up here too, remember?”
These two were good to me. “You twisted my arm.”
The inside was rather crowded—unlike the theater—but we managed to snag a table. I sighed. “Drake, how many hours did we spend in this place during high school?” I asked. Yes, I sounded a bit sad, but that was because the memories came flooding back.
The place was as tacky as it had been all those years ago, but I loved the metal tables and the uncomfortable seats with the red leather cushions. The lights were bright—actually too bright—but that was part of its charm. It was loud, too, filled mostly with the younger crowd who wasn’t old enough to go to a bar. I had to say, being here was better than any drinking establishment for my mental state right now.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Jaxson asked.
“When did you become the sensitive one?” As soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted them. “Strike that. I appreciate that you care enough to ask. I’m a bit sad. I think I wanted to return to Witch’s Cove in part because I thought this town would never change.”
“Everything changes,” Drake said.
“I know, which is why I want to enjoy it while I can.”
Jaxson smiled. “Then let’s order and get to the enjoyment part.”
The server came over, and we told her what we wanted. “How did you hear they might tear down this place?” I asked Drake.
“Oh, no you don’t. We are not talking about it. I never should have mentioned it.”
“What Drake means, is that if you know who the developer is that you’d knock on his door, pleading with him to change his mind.”
I blew out a breath and placed my palms on the cool table top. “You are right. I have to stop butting into everyone’s affairs.”
The two men looked at each other. “Let’s not get carried away, Glinda,” Jaxson said. “We need people like you to keep everyone honest.”
“Thank you.”
Once our wonderful desserts were served, I was in heaven. Sweets always soothed my soul. I looked around, trying to memorize the posters on the walls right down to the scuffs on the floor. It would be a real shame to lose something this iconic in town.
Chapter Eleven
That night, I had a bit of trouble sleeping, since I kept thinking about someone wanting to destroy two of my favorite historical sites—historical in that it reminded me of my childhood. I didn’t know who was behind it nor was I about to ask. I had enough on my plate. I know, I know, when did that ever stop me before? But this time, I had to control myself. I needed life to get back to normal.
The dog show had been canceled, which meant most of the visitors had left town. The Tiki Hut was once again calm. Of my five assigned tables this morning, only two were occupied.
I had just served them their meals, giving me a moment to chat with Aunt Fern. After the movies and my ice cream shop date, I’d stopped over at her place and asked her if she’d heard about the potential condo project. She had not, which gave me hope that Drake’s information might not have been accurate.
After checking to see whether Aimee was with Aunt Fern—she was not—I brought up the birthday party. “What are you taking to Dad’s party tonight?” I asked.
“A ham and some mashed potatoes.”
My mouth watered. “Yum.”
Aunt Fern wagged a finger at me. “I know you. Every time you start with small talk, something is on your mind. Tell me.”
My aunt could always read me. “On Saturday, Penny and Sam asked me to double date with them.”
“You told me. Jaxson agreed to go with you.”
“Yes, but what I didn’t say was that I saw Nash Solano at the restaurant in Holland with none other than Amy Jones.”
She glanced to the side. “Amy Jones. That name sounds familiar.” My aunt returned her focus to me. “Is she one of the dog owners?”
“Yes.” I waited for the reality to sink in.
“Why would Deputy Solano be with her?” She leaned her elbows on the counter. “Do you think the two of them were plotting the dog’s theft? Is that why he suddenly showed up in town?”
Did I mention I loved my aunt? I swear our minds often worked alike. “That’s what I want to know.”
“And you waited to tell me this now, why?” She stood erect again.
I hadn’t really meant to withhold the information. “I needed time to decide if it was important. Maybe Nash thought she was pretty and asked her out. To avoid prying eyes, they ate at a restaurant in her hometown.”
“That makes sense, but from the way you described him, he seems like the cautious type—too cautious in fact to chance being seen with a possible dognapping suspect.”
“Exactly. Which means there could be something going on,” I said. Or was my imagination getting the best of me, like it often did?
“You know what I would do?”
“Please. Tell me.” I respected her opinion.
“Mention it to Steve. See if he thinks it’s on the up and up.”
I inhaled. “I’ll look like a gossip.”
She tucked her chin and looked over the rim of her glasses. “What’s wrong with being a gossip? We provide valuable input to this community.”
That made me laugh. “Okay, Aunt Fern. I’ll think about it.” That was code for: I’ll get Penny’s take on this.
When someone new sat down at one of my tables, I went back to work. At around two, the restaurant was virtually empty again, so I pulled Penny aside. “Now that we’ve had a day to think about it, do you think Nash being with Amy, the dog owner, is cause for concern?”
“Are you kidding? Of course, I do. You need to mention it to Steve. I imagine he won’t visibly react but let him decide whether to investigate.”
I was hoping she’d say that. “You don’t think he’ll think of me as just a snoop?”
Penny laughed. “Well, if the shoe fits.”
“Ha, ha. Too bad you’re right. After work, I’ll go over and ask him something innocent. If I don’t see Nash, I might bring it up.”
She smiled. “You can’t let anything go, can you?”
“No, I can’t.”
For the rest of the afternoon, while I waited on tables, I prepared what I was going to say to Steve. The two dogs were still missing, which was why the decision to cancel the show had been smart. I imagined that Eleanor Aldrich would lose money, but that was better than having another dog disappear. I imagine Nash would check out the list of other venues I’d given him to see if this kind of thing had happened before—assuming he wasn’t involved in any of his.
Once my shift finished, I changed and headed over to the sheriff’s department. Just my luck, Nash was at his seat working away at his computer, which would make talking about him to Steve a bit difficult.
Jennifer was working instead of Pearl, which I decided might be a good thing. There would be less gossip about why I was always there. “Is the sheriff in?” I asked as politely as I could.
“He is. What is this about?”
I didn’t care to announce I wanted to find out about Nash or what he was doing to find the dogs. “It’s of a personal nature.” I smiled sweetly.
Jennifer was married with kids, so I was pretty sure she wasn’t interested in him. “I’ll let the sheriff know.”
“Thanks.”
She called him. “He’ll see you now,” Jennifer said.
It was ridiculous that I was nervous. I liked Nash—what little I knew of him—yet here I was about to tattle on him. I was hoping there was nothing going on between him and Amy that involved the dogs. For starters, it would make the mayor and his hiring team look bad.
I knocked on Steve’s door
and entered. I was happy Nash was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t seem to notice my arrival.
Steve looked up. “Glinda. Nice to see you again. How can I help you?”
His tone was very professional. Good. I would be just as clinical. “I’m sure this is nothing, but I felt it was my duty to mention that while out to dinner on Saturday in Holland, Nash came into the restaurant with Amy Jones.” Darn. That hadn’t been subtle at all.
I had actually planned on asking him something more innocent, such as did he know that Miriam and Maude Daniels were having their annual anniversary party of their store opening and if he was invited? But what did I do? I blurted my question about Nash.
I had to assume that Steve was well aware who Amy Jones was. His lips pressed together, and then he leaned back in his chair, twirling the pencil he was holding over his knuckles. “This is a concern of yours why?”
It wasn’t, but I wouldn’t admit that. “It only is if maybe Nash and Amy colluded to steal the dogs.”
He dipped his head. “Steal the dogs. And why would they do that?” he asked. The glint that used to be in his eyes whenever I asked an amusing question returned, implying he liked teasing me.
“I’m not sure. Maybe to sell them on the black market? Amy has been to a lot of these competitions and might have been approached a time or two about selling her dog.”
“Interesting. Do you have any evidence to back this up?” One side of his lips quirked up.
He knew I didn’t. “No.”
“Sit down, Glinda.”
Uh-oh. I did. “Do you know something?” I asked, hoping he had a clue as to where the dogs might be.
“I do.”
I expected him to continue, but he seemed to want to make me beg. “What is it?”
“Nash told me all about his date with Amy. She contacted him because they used to know each other in Montana. But that is neither here nor there. When Amy moved down to Holland, she met Josh Randall.”
“Josh? Yuk.” He was the stuffy one who owned Mittens.
“They dated for a bit, but his ego was a bit too much for her, so she dumped him.”
I had to smile. “I can see why. The man seems really pompous.”
“That may be, but Amy feared that Josh would accuse her of trying to get back at him by taking his dog. She wanted to tell Nash before the accusations flew.”
“That was smart on her part, but isn’t it kind of backward?” I asked.
“How so?”
“If she dumped him, he’d be the one who was mad. He should want to get back at her by taking her dog. Not the other way around.”
Steve seemed to think about it for a bit. “Your logic is sound, but regardless, Amy was with Nash to welcome him to Florida and to be up front with him about Josh.”
I mulled that over. “I guess nothing underhanded was going on then,” I said. Now who felt like a fool? Ah, that would be me.
“Nothing, but thanks for stopping in.” I stood. “And Glinda?”
“Yes?”
“Just so you are in the loop, even though the competition has been canceled, I’ve asked those directly involved in the competition to stay around for a few days until we find the dogs. It would make my life easier if you didn’t butt in.”
Butt in? That wasn’t a nice thing to say. “If I hadn’t butted in with Cliff Duncan’s murder or with Morgan Oliver’s, those cases might have gone in a different direction.”
He held up his hand. “I know, but if you snoop around, someone might decide to take you instead of another dog.”
It had occurred to me that I might be putting myself in danger if I asked too many questions, but I planned to be careful. “I promise I won’t talk to any of the contestants.”
“Thank you.”
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t talk to say one of the Daniel sisters or to Dolly Andrews to find out what they knew. “Did Nash learn whether any dogs had been taken at any of the other events?”
“In fact, he did find out a few things. We are cross referencing whether any of the contestants were at any of those events. That doesn’t mean any of them were involved, but maybe a pattern will emerge.”
“That sounds good.” I appreciated that at least they took my suggestion seriously. I would have asked Steve to let me know if he learned anything, but I needed to stay out of it.
Tonight was my dad’s birthday party and then on Wednesday, Maude and Miriam were hosting their annual store opening anniversary party at their coffee shop, which would then move to the tea shop. Apparently, this dual store party had become quite a time-honored tradition in Witch’s Cove. “I forgot that I came here in the first place to let you know about the annual Maude and Miriam Daniels’ party on Wednesday. They celebrate the opening of their stores every year.”
“I had heard about it. Remember, I have Pearl. I plan to be there.”
“Good.”
I really wanted to ask who his number one suspect was in this missing dogs’ case, but I was sure he wouldn’t tell me. And that would be smart of him.
Not wanting to overstay my visit more than I already had, I left. Even though the show had been canceled, I wanted to take another look around the park. There might be some indication a witch was involved in the two abductions—assuming the dogs hadn’t run off.
The sun was out, allowing me to enjoy the late afternoon. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I kept my eyes peeled. As I toured the far side of the park, I shook my head at the tire tracks on the muddy grass. Someone had driven off the road and across the sidewalk, presumably to park. Sheesh. I was about to ignore it, when the sun hit the ground at the right angle to show some dog prints in the tire tracks. My imagination went wild. I was no expert when it came to dogs, but the paw prints could have belonged to Mittens.
I pulled out my phone. I squatted down and took a few photos of the tire markings and the paw prints. As I stood up, I spotted some white and black hairs sticking out of the mud. My heart raced.
I needed an evidence bag. Even though I didn’t think I could leave fingerprints on a strand of hair, I didn’t want Steve to be upset if I messed up the case. Before I touched the few tuffs, I took the best picture I could. Unfortunately, the quality of the photo didn’t show as much detail as I’d hoped.
I glanced around. The best I could do was use a leaf to pick up the few strands. With the evidence in hand, I hurried back to the department. I barged in. “I need an evidence bag,” I told Jennifer.
Her brows furrowed. “For a leaf?”
I blew out a breath. Before I could explain, Nash came over. “What do you have?”
I explained about the tire tracks, the paw prints, and the tuffs of hair.
He smiled. “We saw them too—the tire tracks and the paw prints—but not the hair. Good job. Steve asked a neighboring municipality to make a cast of the tire tracks since we don’t have the equipment.”
“Oh.”
“Let me put what you have in evidence. If it contains hair from either of the missing dogs, it could tie the car to the dognaper.”
Relief washed through me. “Thank you.”
I looked around for Steve, but I didn’t see him in his office. That was okay. I was here to help. Since neither Steve nor Nash had any obligation to tell me the results, I thanked him again and left. I had to get cleaned up for my dad’s birthday party.
About an hour before the festivities were to begin, I gathered my two presents, my prepared sides, and of course, Iggy.
“You do realize you can’t sit at the table, right?” I told him.
“I know. I understand that there will be other people there who might freak out if they see a lizard on the table, but I am willing to wash my feet beforehand.”
I laughed. “I’ll leave my purse open, so you can hear everything.”
“Did you sign my name to the birthday card, at least?” Iggy asked.
“I did. You are part of our family.”
“I’m glad to know yo
u believe that.”
I was pleased he didn’t ask if Aimee would be there since Aunt Fern had been invited. I didn’t think this party was the right place to introduce Aimee to the family, but that wasn’t my decision.
Once I had everything packed, I went next door. I actually used the outside staircase to the second floor for a change instead of going through the closed funeral home and up the back staircase. I knocked, and my mother answered a minute later. Considering how long it took her to answer, she had probably been in the kitchen.
“Glinda. You’re early.”
She was always accusing me of never arriving on time. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help?”
“No, sweetie. I have everything under control.”
That was her usual refrain. We Goodall women rarely admitted we needed help. The funeral home was closed on Mondays, which gave Mom plenty of time to get things done. Despite throwing a party for quite a few people, she did appear to be calm. “Does that mean you might have a minute to do a quick contact?”
“Is that why you came early?”
“No.” Yes. I wouldn’t have asked, but Mom did enjoy that aspect of her life. It allowed her to be more creative than just doing bills and setting up the funeral schedule.
“All right, sweetie. Who do you need to contact?” she asked.
“Morgan Oliver. I know he said he never wanted to be contacted again, but I think he might have crossed over, so it’s not like I can find him and talk to him.” Jaxson and I had helped find who had murdered him, which meant he kind of owed us.
“I can try, but what do you hope to accomplish?”
“Maybe he knows something about these missing dogs.”
My mother dipped her head and looked at me above her glasses. “Why would he know?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he enjoys floating around. He might have learned something from the other ghosts.” I didn’t even believe ghosts existed until recently when I met the deceased Morgan Oliver. “I’m hoping he wants to give something back since I helped him.”
She chuckled. “I’ll give it a try, but we’ll need to go downstairs where I have my candles and such.”