Three Barks For Murder

by Gayle, Susie

  “You did. I know. But it’s important, and…”

  “You have to press the button to talk.”

  “Oh.” I press the little black button below the speaker and say, “You did say that, but this is important, and it’ll only take a minute.”

  “Go away.”

  “Anna, they arrested Karen.”

  No response.

  A moment later a deadbolt slides aside and Anna opens the door, dressed all in black and staring at me passively. “They arrested Karen?”

  “Yes. For suspicion of murder.”

  “That’s a shame. She was a good friend.” Anna stares down at the floor.

  “If you don’t think she did it and you want to help her, then just let me ask you a couple of questions.”

  She raises her gaze to meet mine without lifting her head. “That’s the problem, Will. I didn’t say I don’t think she did it.”

  CHAPTER 12

  * * *

  “You really think Karen could have murdered your husband?”

  “The only person that I know didn’t do it,” Anna says, “is me. Frankly, I don’t trust any of you. Steven is—was—Jeff’s best friend, and Karen was mine. Now both of them are murder suspects.”

  “Okay,” I say slowly. Maybe I can work this out from her point of view. “Let’s think about this. You know that you didn’t do it. If I did it, I wouldn’t be here trying to look at it from a different angle; I’d be happy that someone else was arrested for it. Sarah didn’t even know Jeff, so she had zero motive to do it. That leaves Karen and Steven. If Karen did it, then there’s no harm in answering my questions because the police already have her in custody. But if she didn’t, maybe you talking to me can help prove her innocence.”

  Anna blinks at me a few times. “I think I followed that.”

  “Good. So… can I come inside for two minutes? It’s cold out here.”

  Anna’s nostrils flare a little, but she steps aside and waves me in.

  “Thank you.” As soon as I’m inside, Oliver bounds over and sniffs me furiously. He seems to decide I’m not a threat, and retreats back to wherever he came from.

  Anna closes the door and turns to face me, standing there in her foyer, and folds her arms across her chest. “Alright, two minutes. What do you want to know?”

  “Um… okay. Something that you said in your statement must have incriminated Karen to the police. It’s probably something that you thought was ordinary or innocent, but with all of our statements combined, it led them to arrest her. Can you think of what you told them that was only about her?”

  Anna sighs and looks at the ceiling while she thinks. “I guess it would have been that I saw her cross through the kitchen.”

  “When?” I demand.

  “After Jeff stormed out, but before I came into the living and saw the four of you there. She came through the kitchen, was gone for about a minute or so, and then walked back through.”

  “Did she say anything to you?”

  “Yes. When she walked through the second time, she asked if I was okay. I said I was fine, and she went back to the living room.”

  “So you saw her, and she knew you saw her.”

  “Yes,” she says impatiently.

  Hm. That doesn’t add up. If Karen did indeed sneak off to kill Jeff, there’s no way that she would have been so blatant to make sure that Anna saw her passing through.

  “Anna, do you have a second bathroom, aside from the one upstairs?” I ask her.

  “Yes, there’s one down here, right next to the office…”

  Ah. So Karen was just using the bathroom.

  “…but it’s being remodeled. That’s why I told you to use the one upstairs.”

  Oh.

  So if Karen wasn’t sneaking off to murder Jeff, and she wasn’t actually using the bathroom, what the heck was she doing when she left the living room?

  “Alright,” I mutter, rubbing my chin, “what about Steven? Did you see him at all from the time he went into the basement until he came out with the two bottles of wine?”

  She shakes her head. “No.”

  I think back to what Sammy asked me the night before at the Runside. “Is there another set of doors that lead outside from down there?”

  “Yes, there’s a set of Bilco doors that lead outside from the basement. But they squeak horribly; we almost never use them. If anyone opened them, we would’ve heard it from anywhere in the house.” She shakes her head. “Just another thing on a long list of things that Jeff said he would fix and never did.” She taps her foot against the smooth tiled floor. “Is that it?”

  “Yeah,” I tell her. “That’s it. Thanks for your time.”

  I start to leave, my hand on the doorknob, when Anna adds, “I’m sorry for wasting yours, Mr. Sullivan. We were never going to take that dog.”

  “I know.”

  She furrows her brow. “What do you mean, you know?”

  “I mean, I didn’t know at the time. But I know now… about you and Jeff, and your separation. All that.”

  Her mouth falls open. “Who told you that? Was it Karen?”

  “Hey, it’s alright. I went through a divorce myself, remember? I know it was rough.”

  She shakes her head and stares at the floor again. “I just… didn’t want anyone to know.” She scoffs. “He was trying so hard to get me to change my mind. Doing all these little pet projects to try to make me happy. He redid our master bathroom, with a new jetted tub, and put in that stupid parquet floor upstairs… and he thought the second dog would be a good idea. Neither of us was interested in having children.”

  “I’m really sorry for your loss, Anna.” I clear my throat. “Um, before I go, do you think you can tell me where I can find Steven?”

  She gives me directions and sends me on my way. I get back into my SUV, wondering if I should head back to the shop and tell Sarah, or go right over to Steven’s and talk with him next. I could really use another perspective on this thing, especially since I failed in at least half of my mission.

  The first half was finding out what evidence the police had against Karen. The other half was determining whether Anna was a suspect in my mind or not, and I’m still not able to decide. Because on the one hand, she doesn’t seem like she hated Jeff or harbored enough resentment for him to commit murder.

  But on the other hand, I haven’t seen her shed a single tear, not once—not even when we found her husband’s body.

  CHAPTER 13

  * * *

  Ultimately, I decide to head right over to Steven’s place, since it’s closer to the shop anyway. Anna couldn’t remember the exact house number, but she gave me a street and a block and said it was a ranch-style home, “the only one like it around.” And when I get there, I see what she means. On a street of otherwise mundane houses, Steven’s place is beautiful. It’s not large or grand; just really well cared for. The lawn and landscaping are perfectly manicured, with an ornate trellis serving as an entranceway to the yard. The front door is taller than usual with a wrought-iron storm door. The siding is a gray stone façade, and all of the shutters are clean and bright.

  There’s a pickup truck in the driveway, so I figure Steven must be home. It seems like everyone took the day off in the wake of Jeff’s murder, and I can’t help but wonder if there might be something wrong with me that I went into work this morning. Then again, I do have a couple dozen living creatures that rely on me to be there.

  I ring the doorbell and a moment later I hear a strained voice call back, “Just a minute!”

  When Steven answers, he barely looks like the same guy I saw only the night before. His hair is mussed, his eyes are rimmed red and his cheeks are puffy. Still he smiles warmly.

  “Hey.” He sniffs. “Hi, Will. What can I do for you?”

  “Hi, Steven. Anna gave me your address. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, totally. Please, come in.” He closes the door behin
d me. Inside, the house is just as nice as outside; shiny hardwood floors, waist-high wainscoting around the walls, exposed beams spanning the ceilings. (Yeah, I’ve watched a home improvement show or two in my day.)

  “You have a very nice house,” I tell him, trying to sound casual. That’s me, master of small talk.

  “Thanks. I bought this place as a fixer-upper, and did most of the reno work myself.” He leads me into a dining room, where work is in progress on installing a new floor. “Excuse the mess,” he says. “I haven’t finished it yet; time and money have been a bit short lately. Anyway, can I get you something to drink?”

  “Uh, no thanks. I’m fine.” There’s a very pregnant silence for a few seconds, until I blurt out, “So, how are you holding up?”

  Steven lets out a small, sad laugh. “Well, I found my best friend dead yesterday, so… not great, Will.”

  “Sorry. I guess you two were pretty close, huh?”

  Steven nods and wipes his eyes. His fingers are stubby and calloused, like someone who does manual labor for a living. “Yeah. About six or seven years ago, when Jeff started his business, I was his first employee.” He laughs again, a legitimate one this time. “Guy had no idea what he was doing. He didn’t know the difference between a miter saw and a table saw. I helped him along, got a good crew under him… and he encouraged me. Eventually I started my own contracting business. I thought he’d be mad when he found out I was leaving, but he was happy for me. We stayed friends. He even referred commercial clients to me; we worked on most of our jobs together. He was just a good guy like that.”

  “Steven, the police have arrested Karen for suspicion of murder.”

  “Really?” His face slackens with relief. “Oh, that’s great.”

  “What? Why is that great?”

  “Come on, Will.” Even though there’s no one else around, he lowers his voice to nearly a whisper. “We both knew it was going to be one of them.”

  “How do you figure?” I ask.

  His eyes search mine. “You… don’t know?”

  I shake my head. “Steven, there seems to be so much I don’t know that I don’t even know what I’m supposed to know and not know.”

  “Will, Anna couldn’t stand Jeff. They fought constantly. She tried several times to kick him out, but he wouldn’t leave. The only reason she never called the cops to force him out is because she’s all about appearances, and that would get people talking.”

  “And Karen…?”

  “Karen was Anna’s confidant. She told Karen everything. And Jeff told me everything. In fact, just two nights ago, Jeff and I grabbed a drink at the Runside, and he told me that Karen had threatened him over coffee.”

  “What do you mean? Threatened him how?”

  He shakes his head. “I don’t know exactly. Some secret that she would leak to Anna if Jeff didn’t just leave. I’m betting it had something to do with money.”

  “And how did Jeff react to that?”

  “What, being threatened? Not well. The way he told it, he stormed out on Karen.”

  “But they seemed to get along when we came by with Cheese,” I remark.

  “Yeah,” Steven says. “Because I did damage control. I told Jeff it wasn’t worth fighting about all the time. I told him that he should play nice with Karen for the time being until he figured out what he was going to do.” He sighs and adds, “All things considered, that might have been the worst advice I ever gave him. Between you and me, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they were in on it together, her and Anna.”

  I frown, thinking. “When you gave your statement to the police, you mentioned that Karen had threatened Jeff, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah,” he answers. “Of course I did. That seems like it might be kind of important, doesn’t it?”

  Ah. So that was the other missing piece of the Karen puzzle; the cops know that she threatened Jeff, that she left the living room during the time of the murder and omitted that from her own statement, and that Anna saw her pass through the kitchen while claiming to have used a nonfunctioning bathroom.

  I have to admit, it doesn’t look good for her.

  “Well, it’s just suspicion of murder right now,” I tell him. “Once forensics comes back with some hard evidence, they’ll either let Karen go or charge her with a crime.”

  He nods solemnly, staring at the floor. “Yeah. I guess it’s not over ‘til it’s over.”

  “Thanks, Steven. Again, I’m real sorry about what happened.”

  He shakes my hand. “Don’t be. I know you didn’t do it.” He digs in the pocket of his jeans and takes out a business card. “Hey, don’t be a stranger. If you ever need something done, give me a call.”

  “I rent, actually.”

  “Oh.” He smiles. “Well, then if you ever want to grab a beer or something.”

  I take the card. “Thanks.”

  CHAPTER 14

  * * *

  My head hurts.

  So far, everyone in the trio of suspects has done everything they can to try to finger at least one, if not both, of the others, and I’m having trouble keeping it all straight. Karen insisted that Anna could never do something like that, even though she obviously wanted her husband gone. Anna thinks it could be anyone, to the point of alienating her best friend. Steven thinks the two of them could have been working together, which isn’t a thought I’ve yet entertained.

  In my mind, the most likely candidate seems to be Anna, but there are so many holes in Karen’s story that I don’t know what to think. In fact, as I pull my SUV into the parking spot behind the Pet Shop Stop, I pause for a moment and consider why I’m even still working to solve this. Sarah isn’t a lead suspect—though technically, we’re both still on the list by virtue of being present at the time.

  I mean, Karen lied to the police (omitting the truth is lying, in my book). Then she lied to me about using the bathroom. She threatened Jeff. Why am I working so hard to clear her name, when maybe it doesn’t need clearing?

  After all, I can keep telling myself that I don’t think she’s capable of something like that, but what do I really know? I knew Karen, several years ago when we were married… but as she herself reminded me when she adopted the cat, people change.

  How can I know for sure what she’s capable of or not now?

  It’s these thoughts that plague me as I head into the pet shop to relate my new information to Sarah. I’m really hoping that she can take this jumbled mess and make some sense of it. Or otherwise, maybe I can pop in for a visit to Sammy. He always seems to know what’s going on before I do—

  “Hi, Will.”

  “Hi, Karen.”

  Wait, what?

  Karen stands in the center of the shop, sticking her fingers between the bars of the large kitten enclosure. Behind the counter, Sarah shoots me a thin, sheepish smile.

  I turn back to Karen. “Uh… you’re supposed to be in jail.” It’s all I can manage at the moment.

  “Thanks. Nice to see you, too.”

  Sarah comes around and takes me by the arm. “We should talk.” We walk to the rear of the store and head into the tiny room that serves as an office, stock room, and janitorial closet.

  “So,” she says once we’re alone, “tell me what you found out.”

  “No, no, no. No way. First you tell me how and why Karen is standing here.”

  “Well, you know I felt really bad about the whole thing, right?”

  “Right…”

  “And you remember how I said that I know how it feels to sit in jail for something you didn’t do…”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So I kind of, sort of, bailed her out.”

  “You bailed my ex-wife out of jail.”

  “Yes.”

  “How much was her bail?”

  “It was set at a hundred thousand…”

  My eyes bug out of my head. “A hundred thousand?!”

  “Yeah, but whe
n you post bail you only pay ten percent, so…”

  “Only? So it was only ten thousand?”

  “Hey,” she says, looking somewhat hurt, “I don’t recall needing your permission to do anything.”

  “No, you’re right. That’s not what I meant. It’s just…” I lower my voice a bit and add, “After talking with Anna and Steven, I’m not so sure anymore.”

  “Not so sure about what?”

  “Sarah, I’m not so sure that Karen didn’t do it.”

  Now it’s her turn for her eyes to widen to the size of saucers. “What did you learn?”

  “We can’t talk now, not while she’s here.”

  “Then let’s send her home,” Sarah says.

  “Wait, not yet. I need to know something first. Come on.” Together we head back out to the shop floor, where Karen is making baby noises at the little kittens. “Karen,” I say loudly, “I have to ask you something, and I need you to be honest. I think you owe that to us—”

  “Hold that thought,” she interjects. “Before you ask, I have something I need to say to you both.” She takes a deep breath, as if mentally preparing herself. “When I first moved back here to Seaview Rock, I was jealous. I can admit that now. I saw that Will had moved on and found someone new, and it… it burned me up. Especially because Glenn—”

  “Portland Guy?” I ask.

  She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Portland Guy. He, uh… when he ended things with me, it turned out that he was having an affair. So, you know, shoe on the other foot or whatever. Anyway, I came back home and I saw you two and I got jealous. And yes. I did do a petty, stupid thing here and there in the hopes that, you know, it would break you up.” She stares at the little kittens inside the enclosure and adds, “I’m sorry for all that. Obviously you picked a really great woman here, Will.”

  For a long moment, I’m genuinely struck speechless. This must be what closure feels like. “I don’t know what to say.”

  Karen shuffles her feet a little and says, “How about, ‘we forgive you, Karen, and let’s all move on now, and be pleasant acquaintances, and who knows, maybe someday even friends’?”