by Nic Saint
How a man’s life can be turned upside down by love, he thought not for the first time as he steered his car along the Long Island Expressway. He’d never had this compunction to spend all of his time with a woman before. He’d dated plenty of girls in college, and then later on had even had semi-serious relationships once or twice, but he’d never felt this strongly about anyone before.
Rain suddenly lashed at the windshield, and he cursed under his breath. He’d need to drive more carefully now, which meant slower, which meant it would take him longer than anticipated to arrive home.
He triggered the windshield wipers, and they began the arduous task of clearing the view. Thunder crashed and lightning slashed the air. Oh, great, so he’d landed himself in the middle of a summer storm, huh?
He reduced his speed and kept his distance from the car ahead of him. He could barely make out the taillights, with the curtain of water obstructing his view, and he focused his tired eyes as well as he could. He raked a hand through his shaggy blond hair, disheveled as usual, and wished he was home already. Just then, his cell phone sang ‘Happy Days Are Here Again.’ He pressed the headset onto his ear, flicked a button on the steering wheel, and the voice of his father came on, loud and clear.
“Ricky? That you?”
“What’s up, Dad?” He wasn’t surprised that his dad called him at this time of night. Like himself, Chazz Falcone, real estate tycoon and reformed fraudster, was a night owl.
“I’m worried, Rick—worried sick.”
“Worried? What about?”
“You remember that dog I got? My Pomeranian?”
“With the spot on his nose? What was his name again?”
“Spot.”
“Right.”
Chazz liked to keep things simple, both in business and in life.
“He’s gone, son. Disappeared without a trace.”
“What do you mean, gone? He ran off, or what?”
“When I took him for a stroll this morning, he disappeared. I reeled in the leash he was gone.”
Dad had had a health scare not so long ago, and the doctors had told him he needed to take it easy, lay off the greasy and starchy foods, and work more exercise into his daily schedule. He’d decided that simply walking was too boring, so he’d gotten Spot to keep him company.
“Maybe the leash got stuck and when you pulled it snapped?”
“Not a chance. It was cut, I’m sure of it. Cut clean off with a pair of scissors or a knife.”
Scissors… The word triggered a memory. “Where did this happen?”
“Happy Bays. Where else? That town is like a cesspool of crime, son. What that place needs is a Rudy Giuliani. Zero tolerance.”
Rick chose not to respond to this. Though Happy Bays might harbor a few eccentrics, it was as peaceful and harmless as any small town. Granted, they had their own way of dealing with things, but that hardly made it the crime capital of the state, like his father seemed to think.
“Did you talk to the police?”
His dad snorted. “Of course I did. Much good it did me. You know what that moron said? That Spot probably found a pal to play with, and that as soon as he’s done fooling around he’d find his way home.”
“Well, it is the mating season, Dad,” Rick pointed out. He thought he could almost hear teeth grinding when Chazz didn’t respond. “I’ll look into it, all right? Where are you now?”
“Back in New York. I had a meeting. Look, son, I appreciate this,” Dad said tersely. “Madeleine is sick with worry, and so am I.”
Madeleine was the new housekeeper Chazz had hired. She now practically managed his life. After being married five times the billionaire had decided to swear off women—his bank account couldn’t stomach another hit—and had contracted Madeleine instead.
“Did you say the leash was cut?”
“Cut clean off.”
Rick frowned. Two ex-employees of Chazz had gone into the petnapping trade recently, abducting pets from rich owners and then demanding exorbitant sums in exchange for their return. Kidnapping Spot would be right up their alley, especially since they still held a grudge against their former employer for terminating their contract.
“I might have an idea,” he told his father.
“So you believe he was taken too, huh?”
“Lemme just…” He was thinking hard. Jerry Vale and Johnny Carew, the two petnappers he had in mind, were currently serving community service in Happy Bays for abducting Mayor MacDonald’s parrot. They were now ungainfully employed at Petra’s Pet Parlor on Sullivan Street. “Let me just ask around. If I’m right about this, I’ll get back to you.”
“Thank you so much, Ricky. I love that dog like I love you and your sister.”
“I know, Dad. First thing in the morning, I’m getting to the bottom of this.”
“I’ll bet it’s a plot. A plot to kidnap Spot,” his father grumbled.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Dad.”
“Oh, all right. But hurry, son. This gets the highest priority. I just can’t stand the thought of Spot having to sleep away from home tonight. My little baby’s never been away from his daddy for a whole night.”
“Yeah, yeah,” said Rick before disconnecting. His dad was getting soft in his old age. When Rick was a kid he never worried about being away from him or his sister. In fact he had hardly even known his old man before they’d had their big reconciliation a couple of weeks ago. He sighed, then laughed. Could it really be that Jerry and Johnny were up to their old tricks again? Those guys were simply incorrigible.
Start Reading A Twist of Wraith Now
About Nic
Nic Saint is the pen name for writing couple Nick and Nicole Saint. They’ve penned 40+ novels in the romance, cat sleuth, middle grade, suspense, comedy and cozy mystery genres. Nicole has a background in accounting and Nick in political science and before being struck by the writing bug the Saints worked odd jobs around the world (including massage therapist in Mexico, gardener in Italy, restaurant manager in India, and Berlitz teacher in Belgium).
When they’re not writing they enjoy Christmas-themed Hallmark movies (whether it’s Christmas or not), all manner of pastry, comic books, a daily dose of yoga (to limber up those limbs), and spoiling their big red tomcat Tommy.
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Also by Nic Saint
The Mysteries of Bell & Whitehouse
One Spoonful of Trouble
Two Scoops of Murder
Three Shots of Disaster
Box Set 1 (Books 1-3)
A Twist of Wraith
A Touch of Ghost
A Clash of Spooks
Box Set 2 (Books 4-6)
The Stuffing of Nightmares
A Breath of Dead Air
Standalone Novels
When in Bruges
Once Upon a Spy
The Whiskered Spy
Copyright © 2016 by Nic Saint. All rights reserved.
Published by Puss in Print Publications.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
Editor: Chereese Graves.
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