“And after we talked, I called Gail,” Lisa said. “She told me about what happened last night, with you and the ransom money.”
“And I suggested we come to you for help,” Gail said as she stroked Fuji’s back. He rested his head on her lap, oblivious to the tension thick in the room.
“I see.” I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. “You do realize I didn’t succeed in catching the dognappers?”
“The police won’t do anything,” Gail said. “You’re still our best hope of stopping whoever’s doing this.”
“Not a resounding endorsement,” I thought.
“We want you to help Belinda get her dog back,” Lisa said.
“Whoever did this is going to be more careful with the money exchange,” Belinda said. “I’m going to need your help.”
“And we also want you to catch whoever’s doing this,” Gail said.
“It’s obvious there’s a dognapping ring operating, and they’re targeting show dogs,” Belinda sniffled.
“We don’t want to see any more dogs stolen,” Gail said.
“Of course,” I said.
“We’ve pooled our resources and we’ve got your retainer,” Gail said as she not so subtly slid a check across the desk.
I contemplated them for a moment. Three sets of eyes all begging me to help them. Throw in little Fuji staring at me with his puppy-dog eyes and I didn’t stand a chance. How could I turn them down?
I took the check and folded it up. “Okay, let’s get started.”
The ladies started chattering, each with an idea of where we should start the investigation. I held up a hand for silence.
I turned to Belinda. “Do you have the ransom note with you?”
“Yes.” She pulled a piece of paper from her purse and gave it to me.
It was similar to the one that Gail had received.
“It’s stock paper,” I said. “Could’ve come from any printer.”
“I didn’t think about fingerprints,” Belinda blushed. “I tore open the envelope when I got it, and we’ve all handled it.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I doubt there were any prints on it that we could use.”
I read the note. This time, the kidnappers wanted the money dropped in an alley behind a strip mall on Federal Boulevard. And based on the last sentence, they were mad. If ANYONE besides you shows up with the money, your dog is dead. I glanced up. Now those three sets of eyes worriedly stared at me.
“How can you help without putting Rosie at risk?” Gail asked.
“I’ll have to think about that. In the meantime, I’d like to visit your house,” I said to Belinda. “Would any of your neighbors be home?”
“Shirley Baker lives across the street from me. She’s a stay-at-home mom. She’s got a daughter in kindergarten and a sixteen-month-old boy,” she said. “She might be home.”
“Good,” I said. “Let’s start there.”
“What do we do?” Lisa asked.
“I’d call any other show dog owners you know and tell them to keep an eye on their dogs and watch for any suspicious people around their houses.”
“I’ve already called a few people I know,” Gail said. “And we have a meeting with the president of the kennel club.”
“Gail and I are meeting with her in an hour,” Lisa said. “The club needs to alert dog owners.”
“Good.” I mentally chewed over things for a moment. “When does that dog show begin?”
“It starts tomorrow afternoon,” Lisa said, “And it runs through the weekend.”
“How can I get in behind the scenes?” I asked. “The dognappers might be there, looking for the next dog to take.”
“You can come with me,” Gail said. “But if the dognappers are there, how will you spot them?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “Sometimes detective work is poking around and hoping that a little luck falls your way.”
“Oh,” Gail said. Belinda’s lips twisted pensively while Lisa furrowed her brows at me. I certainly wasn’t wowing them with my private eye skills.
I stood up. “Belinda, I’ll follow you to your house.”
“Sounds good.” She stood up. “I just want to get Rosie back safely.”
“That’s what we’re going to do,” I said with more conviction that I felt.
The mastiff stood up and stretched. “Come on, King,” Lisa said.
I patted him on the head. “That’s a fitting name.”
“His full name is Perrydale Conqueror King,” Lisa said.
“That’s a mouthful,” I replied.
“Show dogs are named after the kennel where the dog was born, and sometimes the name of the dogs that sired the pups. In this case, Conqueror was his father’s name,” Lisa explained. “We added King, which is what we call him most of the time.”
A curious thought popped into my head. “Why did you bring him with you?”
“I didn’t want anyone to take him!” Lisa said. “These people are getting more desperate. Who knows if they would decide to break into my house or yard to take King. He’s really sweet and gullible…he’d probably offer them a beer, and then they could walk him right out of the house.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that a dognapper would be foolish to take such a big animal. Not only would they be easier to spot leaving her yard, it would cost the dognappers a ‘king’s ransom’, so to speak, to keep King in food.
“Time to find a dognapper,” I said as we traipsed out of my office.
CHAPTER FOUR
I pulled into traffic, following Belinda’s Honda Civic as she headed west out of downtown Denver to Lakewood, the suburb where she lived. I turned down the music, grabbed my cell phone and called Cal.
“Yo,” he answered. “I’ll bet you want to know about that phone number.”
“You got it,” I said. I glanced in my rear view mirror. Lisa’s Suburban was behind me and I saw King’s massive head sticking out the back window. I wondered if he startled other drivers.
“Negative on that,” Cal said. “The number was just activated and I can’t trace it back to anyone. It’s probably one of those cheap, pre-pay phones where you don’t have to give any information about your identity.”
“I’d have been surprised if it was a good lead,” I said.
“I did a search on dognappings, too. I found a couple of articles about expensive dogs that have gone missing, but the owners never received ransom notes.”
“Were the dogs returned?” I asked.
“No,” Cal said.
“That’s interesting,” I said. “Maybe the dognappers were going to leave a ransom note, but they decided to keep the dogs.”
“Sorry I couldn’t help anymore.”
“Not so fast,” I said. “There’s another reason I called you.”
“What?” Cal said slowly, reacting to my tone of voice.
“Another dog’s been taken.”
“What happened?”
I explained the situation, and ended with, “I need your help again.”
“Help as in, help me look up something on the computer, or help as in, come with me somewhere?”
“The second,” I said.
“No way. Last night was plenty of action to last me quite a while, thank you.”
“Come on,” I cajoled.
“Nope, no way. I was your driver on your very first case. That was fun. But then you almost got me killed,” he said, referring to my latest case. “That was not fun. I was relatively safe last night as I watched the parking lot, which is saying a lot when I’m helping you. But not again.”
It was true. I had gotten us into a dicey situation on my last case. And it was also true that last night had been more excitement than Cal sees in months. Getting him to help me with the Saunders’ dog had been a minor miracle. I wasn’t going to get that lucky again.
“Would it help if I said I’d bring you pizza?” I tried.
“Nope,” Cal said. “You’re my best friend,
and I’ll hack into any computer you want, but I don’t want anything to do with danger.” Then he hung up.
I held the phone for a second. Hacking into computer systems wasn’t dangerous, but going with me to a doggie ransom drop was. Go figure.
****
Belinda’s ranch-style home sat on a quiet street of custom-built homes. I parked at the curb in front of her house and took a moment to survey the street. A car was parked in a driveway down the block, and a woman got out and went into the house, but otherwise the neighborhood was quiet, with no one about.
I got out and was strolling up the walk when Belinda opened the front door.
“Have you lived here long?” I asked as she let me in.
“Yes,” Belinda said. “It’s a nice area. Why?”
“Are any of your neighbors mad at you?”
“Mad enough to take my dog?” she said, surprised.
I shrugged. “It’s possible.”
Belinda face crinkled up. “I don’t think anybody would do that.”
“Just a thought,” I said as I glanced around.
I stood in an entryway that opened into a small living room decorated in off-white furniture and flowery wallpaper. Pictures of a dog sat on a piano in the corner. Then I noticed another dog picture on a little half-moon table in the entryway.
“That’s Rosie,” Belinda said.
I picked up the picture and studied it. Rosie was sitting posed on a chair, gazing with big friendly eyes at the camera. She had a coat of long brown-and-white fur and a blue bow tied on her head.
“She’s a sweet dog,” Belinda said.
“I’m sure she is,” I said. I put the picture back down. “Do you live alone?
“Yes. I’m divorced.”
“So you’ll have to go drop the ransom money yourself.”
Belinda chewed her lip nervously. “Yes.” She hesitated. “Will I be safe?”
“You’ll be fine. They don’t want you, they want your money.”
“Oh, sure.”
“Your neighbor Shirley might be home?” I asked. “Which house is hers?”
“That one.” Belinda pointed to the house directly across the street.
I nodded. “I want to talk with her and see if she saw anything.”
“Can I get you anything?” Belinda offered.
“No, thanks,” I said. “Let me take a look at the back yard and then I’ll see if Shirley’s home.” I checked my watch. It was just past noon. If Shirley’s daughter was in kindergarten, it would mean Shirley was probably picking her up from school about now. I hoped she would come home right after that, otherwise I’d have to wait to talk to her.
Belinda led me through her kitchen and out back. The yard was big, with enough room for rose bushes along one fence, a couple of big apple trees along the back, and a shed in the corner. A tall cedar fence enclosed it.
“The whole yard is fenced,” Belinda said, pointing out the obvious.
“Where’s the gate?”
“Over here.” Belinda headed around to the side of the house. The gate locked with a typical latch. I examined it closely, not sure what I was looking for.
“It would be easy for someone to come in and grab Rosie,” I said.
“Yes,” Belinda’s voice cracked.
“We’ll get her back.” I tried to sound reassuring.
I opened the gate and went through. “I’m going to see if Shirley is home. I’ll knock on the front door when I’m finished.”
Belinda nodded and strolled back through the yard.
I walked across the street to Shirley’s house. I rang the bell and waited just a moment before the door opened. A girl about three feet tall stood looking up at me.
“Hello,” I said. “You must be Shirley’s little girl.”
“I’m Molly,” she said, still clutching the door handle. “Who are you?”
A cute blond woman hurried up to the door, wiping her hands on a towel. She was in tan slacks and a striped blouse, and I guessed she was in her early thirties.
“Molly, I keep telling you to let me get the door,” she scolded her daughter. She threw me a hesitant smile. “Can I help you?”
I introduced myself and explained about Belinda’s dog.
Shirley’s face turned white. “That’s awful!” she said, covering her mouth with the towel. “Belinda must be devastated. I’ll have to go over there.”
“She’s pretty upset, as you can imagine,” I said.
“Of course,” Shirley nodded. “Rosie’s a great dog. I…I feel terrible.”
“Did you know Rosie was a show dog?”
“Belinda’s mentioned it, but I didn’t pay much attention. I hardly ever see Rosie.”
“Mom,” Molly said.
“Hang on, honey,” Shirley said to her. “Why don’t you go play?” She turned back to me. “Sorry.”
“No problem,” I said. “It looks like someone stole Rosie sometime after Belinda came home from work. Around five or so. Were you home last evening?”
“I was, but I was getting dinner ready. I’m afraid I didn’t see anything.”
“There was a blue car,” Molly said. She’d started playing with a doll on the floor nearby, but she was listening in.
I turned to look at Molly. “Where was the car?”
She got up, came to the door and pointed two houses down from Belinda’s. “Over there. It looked like Kelli’s car.”
I glanced at Shirley. “Who’s Kelli?” I asked.
“My cousin.” Shirley blinked a few times, confused. Then she shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe the car was the same make as Kelli’s.”
“What kind of car does Kelli have?”
“I have no idea,” Shirley laughed. “It’s a 4-door car, a Mazda. I think.”
I stared up the street. Did a car parked down the street have anything to do with the dognapping? If so, a blue Mazda didn’t narrow things down.
“You’re sure you didn’t see it?”
“No, I didn’t,” Shirley said. “I’m sorry, but we just got home and I need to get lunch ready. I wish I could be more helpful.”
“Sure. Just one more thing,” I said, channeling Peter Falk’s Columbo. He always had just one more thing. I pointed to the house down the street, where Molly said the Mazda had been parked. “Do you know if the owners of that house have a blue car?”
Shirley shook her head. “I don’t think so. Maybe it was someone visiting them.”
“That’s certainly a possibility,” I said and sighed. “I’ll check with your other neighbors. Maybe they saw something.”
“I wish I could be more helpful.” She put her hands over Molly’s ears. “Who knows what she saw. You’re probably wasting your time.”
“It’s part of the job.” I pulled a card from my wallet and handed it to her. “If anything comes to mind, give me a call.”
“I’ll do that.” As Shirley closed the door, Molly waved at me.
“Bye,” Molly said. I waved at her. Cute kid.
I walked slowly back to Belinda’s house, replaying the conversation. Molly saw a car parked down the street around the same time that Belinda’s dog went missing. Unless someone saw the license plate, I had no way of tracing the car. And I was getting way ahead of myself because I didn’t even know if the car belonged to the dognappers. What if it belonged to the neighbor? Or someone else? It could belong to anyone. And it would be a dead end, Reed, you idiot, I thought.
“Only one way to find out,” I said to myself and walked down the street.
As I approached the house the garage door opened. A car backed out, but it wasn’t blue. It was a black Mercedes. It backed on into the street, then drove toward me. I waved it down.
The driver rolled down the window and a distinguished-looking man in his 60’s poked his head out.
I introduced myself, then said, “I’m looking for Belinda’s dog Rosie. Rosie was stolen last night.”
The man grimaced and hesitated. “Well, I’m sorry for Bel
inda, but I can’t say I’m sorry that dog is gone.”
“Excuse me?”
“That dog was a yipping annoyance. Barking all the time. Just because the stupid dog is a show dog doesn’t mean Belinda should let it get away with everything.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said. “Do you own a blue car?”
“No, I don’t,” he said brusquely. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for an appointment.” Without another word, he rolled up the window and sped off.
I stood for a moment, staring as the Mercedes stopped at the end of the street and turned the corner. There was some tension between the neighbors around the dog, or at least with that neighbor. Enough for him to snatch the dog?
I walked back to Belinda’s house and tapped lightly on the door.
“Did Shirley see anything?” Belinda asked as we sat down in the living room.
“No, but Molly saw a car.” I briefed her on my visit to Shirley’s, ending with my encounter with the man down the street.
“That’s Earl,” she said. “And before you think I’m a terrible dog owner, he’s not talking about Rosie. The neighbor behind me has a terrier that barks constantly. I’ve told them their dog is bothering the neighbors, but they don’t listen. I also told Earl it’s not my dog, but he doesn’t believe me.”
“Would he take your dog to get back at you?”
Belinda frowned. “I don’t know Earl very well, but he doesn’t strike me as the type. Besides, where would he hide Rosie?”
“I admit, dognapping and ransom demands seems farfetched for a disgruntled neighbor,” I said, “But anything’s possible.”
“What do you do now?”
I thought for a moment, then said in my most professional-sounding voice, “I’ve got to get ready for tonight’s ransom drop. I’m going to assemble a team to help me. That way, we may be able to catch these guys in the act of taking the money.”
“Who’s going to help you?” Belinda asked.
That was a great question. Since Cal refused to be my sidekick, I was going to have to rely on some other buddies. And that meant things could get interesting.
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