Paws & Ballroom Blues (A Willow Crossing Mystery Book 2)

by Leona Fox

  “She has a way with them. In fact, she has that effect on people, too. She’s great.”

  The way he spoke about Leanne struck Ru as odd. He talked about her like she was the light of his life. Not wanting to seem pushy, Ru decided not to voice her opinions out loud.

  She casually looked at her watch and instead said, “I’d really love to talk more about your dogs, but I really have to get ready for work. I’m so sorry I woke you, Don.”

  “No worries, Ru. Like I said, give me a call when you want to come see the puppy. You have a great day.”

  “Thanks, and I definitely will be calling you about your precious little girl,” Ru replied and then walked away.

  As she walked to her home, she softly spoke to Opal. “What do you think, Opal? He seemed to be very fond of Leanne, didn’t he?” She looked back at her dog and Opal grunted.

  “I know, it’s weird, isn’t it?” She kept walking and thinking about her encounter with Don.

  When she got home, Ru found a note stuck to the coffee maker, “Mama, I had to go in to work for a little while. Enjoy your coffee and I will see you this afternoon. I love you!” She smiled, poured a cup of coffee and then went upstairs to get ready for work.

  ~~~

  Ru really wanted to share her thoughts with Esteban about how her encounter with Don went. She moved through her day with her normal enthusiasm, but deep in her mind she was somewhere else. She couldn’t get home soon enough, and in fact, she skipped her hair appointment to get home sooner. When she pulled up to her garage, she was happy to see that Esteban was home, and hurried inside.

  “Honey, I’m home!” She bellowed, silliness in her tone.

  “Hey, Baby! I thought you were getting your hair done after work.”

  “I was supposed to, but I’ll reschedule. I wanted to tell you about my walk this morning.”

  “Let me guess, Opal actually walked this time?” He asked jokingly.

  “Yeah, right,” she replied. “No, I ran into Don Jacobs.”

  “That early in the morning?”

  “Well, I kind of woke him up.”

  Esteban curiously asked, “How did you wake him?”

  The two sat on the couch in the living room and Ru answered, “I just walked past his house.”

  “That’s it? You just walked by his house?”

  “Yep, that’s it. His dogs started barking and he came outside.”

  “And I’m sure that meant you just had to pry, right?”

  Ru faked a hurt expression and then said, “I wouldn’t call it prying. I just asked about his dogs. I told him I was thinking about getting you one for your birthday and then asked specifically about Dobermans.”

  “Wow, you’re getting me a puppy?”

  “Never mind that,” Ru said, waving her hand. “He got very upset when he talked about how to train them. He was adamant that Seth was training his two dogs in a very inhumane way.”

  “Well, that matches what we read in the paper.”

  “Yeah, but what we didn’t read was the fact that he is in love with Leanne.”

  “What?” Esteban was more than a little surprised. “Did he tell you that?”

  “No, but when I mentioned how great she got along with Seth’s dogs, he went on about how great Leanne is.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s in love with her,” Esteban replied.

  “Besides, from what I understand, Mayor Espinoza is the one who is in love with Leanne.”

  “I know she was the bright spot in his meetings with Seth, but what makes you think he is in love with her?”

  “Today Carlin cut his hand while opening a box at the store, so I had to go in and finish stocking the shelves for him while he went to the Urgent Care to get stitches,” Esteban started.

  “Oh, that’s too bad. How’s he working out there? Is he still doing a good job?”

  “He’s doing fine. That’s not the point of what I’m saying, though,” Esteban replied, his frustration over the interruption hard to hide.

  “Sorry, go on.”

  “While I was there, I overheard Mary Stevenson and Jenny Wilkes talking. Jenny said that with Seth gone, Leanne and the Mayor wouldn’t have to keep their relationship secret anymore.”

  “That’s odd. Why would they have to keep it secret in the first place?” Ru asked.

  “I’m not sure. From what I understand, she and Seth definitely were not a couple. In fact, she sounded like she didn’t even like him.”

  “It’s so weird.”

  “Why is it weird? Chris and Don are both single.”

  “Yeah, and about 100 years older than Leanne. They could be her father.” Ru exaggerated a shudder and then said, “Besides, they so don’t seem to be her type. She strikes me as the type of person who would like a tall, athletic partner; one who is closer to her age.”

  “Well, the heart wants what the heart wants, Ru. Look at you and look at me. You are beautiful, in amazing shape, and stylish. I am average height, average build and definitely not a fashion model.”

  “Babe, you are hot. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

  “But see, you say that about me, so why couldn’t she say that about them?”

  “I don’t know, but it just seems weird to me.” After a brief pause, Ru asked, “So, has Leanne ever hit on you?”

  Red washed over Esteban’s face and he said, “She may have come on to me a little bit. You know, batting her eyelashes and what not. Nothing I found obnoxious or obvious.”

  “She did, did she? Well, it looks like it might be time for me to get to know her a little better.”

  “Don’t go all jealous wife on her. She really didn’t do anything wrong. I think she likes to use her looks to get what she wants.”

  “And just what did she want from you?” Ru joked.

  “She wanted my fruit,” he said, laughing.

  “She came in to the store and asked me to help her pick out some pineapples.”

  “Yeah, I definitely will be getting to know her!”

  Chapter 6

  At work the next day, Ru went into the main office to check her in-box. While there, she saw Leanne walk in. Not knowing why she would be there, Ru decided to casually go and say hello.

  “Leanne, hi. What brings you here?”

  “Hi, Mrs. Delgado.”

  “Please, call me Ru, everyone else does. Only my students call me Mrs. Delgado.”

  “Okay, Ru it is,” Leanne said. She acted a little awkward, and seemed to be thinking hard about what to say next.

  “I had to stop by and give the principal some paperwork. Seth was going to be speaking to the school board about raising funds.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. This must be hard for you.”

  “Not really. It’s just part of the job.”

  Feeling slightly weird about Leanne’s response, Ru changed the subject. “Listen, I run the Creative Careers Club here and it would be great if you could come speak to the kids.”

  “Creative Careers Club? What is that?”

  “It’s actually a really great club. The students spend time researching different jobs and careers. It is designed to broaden their horizons and help them become better informed about types of careers waiting for them in the real world. It helps them with their decisions about what college to go to and what classes would be best for them to take.”

  Leanne responded, “That sounds like a really great club!”

  “It is. It really helps the kids to feel confident in their decisions, and it aids in helping to create responsible, employed adults. It would be great if you could come talk to them. You could fill them in on how you became a personal assistant and what the job entails.”

  “When does your club meet?”

  “Tomorrow. I hope that isn’t too short notice.”

  Leanne hesitated, and Ru noticed. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Leanne said, “I guess I could do that. What time should I be here tomorrow?”

  “Three o’clock
would be great. That will give you time to get comfortable and prepare before the students come in. There’s just one thing I have concerns about.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Well, since Seth did just pass away and in a way that has the whole town talking, it probably would be best if you didn’t bring him up.”

  “Of course, I totally agree. Besides, he definitely is not who made me what I am today, so that won’t be a problem.”

  Stunned at Leanne’s reaction, Ru simply said, “Great. Okay, well then, just let the receptionist know you are here for the CCC meeting and she will take you to the activity room.”

  “Okay, Ru. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  ~~~

  That evening, Ru and Esteban worked together in the kitchen to make dinner. They came up with a couple of new recipes they wanted to try, and as they prepared their meal, they talked about the day’s events.

  “How was school today?” Esteban asked.

  “It went really well. You’ll never guess who I ran into in the office.”

  “Then I’m not even going to try. Who did you run into?”

  “Leanne Birch.”

  Esteban remembered their conversation from the day before and instantly said, “Now that was convenient. What did you two ladies talk about?”

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything about her flirting with you.” Ru stretched out the pause, knowing it was making Esteban crazy.

  Eventually she said, “I got Leanne to agree to come and talk to the students at tomorrow’s CCC meeting. She will be talking to the group about how to become a personal assistant.”

  “You weren’t kidding when you said you were going to have to get to know Leanne, were you?” Esteban joked.

  “Well, she did make me feel a little uncomfortable, but I’ll get past that.”

  “How did she make you feel uncomfortable?”

  Ru replied, “When I asked her not to mention Seth to the club, she was very cold with her response. She made it known that he didn’t make her what she is today and that not mentioning him would be no problem at all.”

  “Wow. Well, there is definitely some tension there. She was quite off-putting when I talked to her about Seth as well.”

  “I think there’s something more to this woman.”

  Esteban slyly replied, “And you are just the person to find out what she is hiding, aren’t you?”

  Knowing he was joking around, she playfully smacked his arm and then said, “Come on, let’s give this food a try,” and then grabbed a plate and began filling it with their new creations.

  ~~~

  The following day, Leanne entered the school office right at 3:00. The receptionist led her to the activity room and left her alone to prepare. Shortly after, the room began to fill and it wasn’t long before Leanne was speaking to the club. She talked about the classes she took in college, the types of businesses that may utilize a personal assistant, and the many duties involved with the position. When she was done with her presentation, some students asked questions, and Ru found herself drawn in by Leanne’s personality. She was warm and inviting and spoke to the teenagers with a tone that made them all feel comfortable.

  When the students left the meeting, Ru approached Leanne and asked, “How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine, thanks.”

  “Are you sure? It must be so hard.”

  “What is hard?”

  “Being without Seth.”

  “Like I told your husband, it was just a job.” Her tone was cool and unfeeling.

  Then, in a very enthusiastic manner, she said, “Besides, I’m much better off without him.”

  Leanne could see the shocked look on Ru’s face and elaborated, “He wasn’t the friendliest employer, so now I feel like I can breathe a little easier. I’m just settling his affairs now, and getting paid to do so.”

  “What do you think you’ll do next?”

  “I’m not really sure. I haven’t had much time to think about it. Seth left me a pretty good amount of money, so I have a little time to figure that out.”

  “Will you be staying on his property?”

  “For a while. I’m not comfortable moving into the main house, and it eventually will be sold, but for now I’m just going to focus on me and what I want to do next.”

  Thinking about what Leanne said about being left a good amount of money prompted Ru to think about Seth’s will. Aside from asking Leanne outright about it, Ru knew there was one person who possibly would know something.

  “Thank you so much for coming to talk to the kids today. They really enjoyed hearing from you.”

  “It was my pleasure, Ru. Thank you for inviting me.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Ru said, grabbing her jacket and purse.

  The two ladies walked to their cars in awkward silence. Leanne headed toward home, and Ru headed toward town. When she reached the funeral home, she pulled into the parking lot and drove to the back of the building. She knocked on the back door and waited.

  “Ru! It’s so nice to see you!” Raul said enthusiastically.

  He is the funeral home director, and is also Esteban’s cousin. Ru hoped Raul would be able to shed some light on what was in Seth’s will.

  “It’s nice to see you, too. Do you have a few minutes?”

  “For you, I have as many minutes as you need. Come on in.” They walked to his office and sat in chairs usually used by the families of the deceased.

  “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m curious about Seth Washington,” she answered.

  When she saw that Raul wasn’t sure what she was getting at, she continued, “More specifically his will.”

  “Why do you ask?” Raul queried, although he had an idea.

  “Just curious. I talked to Leanne, Seth’s personal assistant, and she said he left her a lot of money.”

  “Well, Ru, you know I’m not really supposed to talk to you about this,” he said, looking her directly in the eye.

  “What I do know is there were multiple changes made to his will in the last several months.”

  “Hmmm,” Ru pondered. “Have you noticed any odd behavior by people since Seth was killed?”

  “I’m not sure, what do you mean?”

  “Leanne has been very vocal with her less than loving attitude toward Seth, and Mayor Espinoza also seemed very vague about what his relationship was like with the man. Even Don Jacobs wasn’t so excited about the man. The odd thing is none of them seemed too upset over his death.”

  “It’s funny you would mention those three people. All three of them were added to his will in the last few months.” Raul paused as if he was hesitating, and then said, “And all of them were left a sizeable amount of money.”

  “This is just so weird.”

  “I shouldn’t have said a word about it, so if you could keep the information to yourself, I would really appreciate it. If the wrong person found out that I told you, I could lose my license.”

  “I understand. You don’t have to worry about me, I won’t say anything.”

  Getting the information she came for, she then said, “I know you’re busy, and I have a dog at home waiting to go outside, so I will get out of your hair.”

  “Say hi to Esteban for me, will you?”

  “I sure will. You should stop by soon. I’m sure he would love to see you.”

  “I definitely will. See ya soon!”

  Raul walked Ru to her car and as she drove home, she thought about what he told her. She understood why Seth might leave something for Leanne in his will, but she was really confused about why he would leave something for Don and the Mayor; neither one of them was particularly fond of the ex-ball player turned politician. She decided that since Esteban would be working until 7:00, she would take Opal for her walk and try to make sense of what she had just learned.

  Chapter 7

  Knowing how angry Don became just talking about Seth, Ru was intrigued to find out he received a large sum o
f money from Seth in his will. She decided she would walk Opal past his house again, hoping he would come out. She would use seeing the puppy as a way to start a conversation.

  As Ru pulled Opal closer to Don’s house, Opal began wagging her back end frantically. She jumped out of her wagon and rushed over to the litter of puppies playing on the front lawn of Don’s home. Ru hurried after Opal and saw Don talking to a man on his front porch. Don looked up when he saw Ru approaching.