Dog Gone

by Shannon Esposito

  “Just ignore her for now, let her get used to the idea that you’re on the floor.” This was probably the first time she’d ever seen her owner on the floor.

  As I straightened my own back, my muscles knotted and I had to back off the twist so I didn’t injure myself. I couldn’t relax. My mind was firmly planted on Devon and his safety. All the different scenarios were like bees buzzing around in my head. I imagined Eva bursting through his office door with a gun. Or what if it was Georgy? He was big enough to hurt Devon without a gun.

  That’s it. As I led Sunny through a last twist, I couldn’t stand it. I had to go and make sure Devon was all right. I’m sure Sunny wouldn’t care that I was cutting the lesson a few minutes short. Especially now that Leona was sitting on the mat, leaning her tiny body against Sunny’s stretched out leg. That was progress.

  “That’s a good girl, Leona,” I said softly. “Now, Sunny, give her some attention to let her know it’s a good thing she’s there with you.”

  Suddenly Angel materialized in front of the sofa. Buddha turned his head toward her and sniffed the air. I looked away, ignoring her. I’d already made up my mind and she wasn’t going to stop me. Not my most mature or rational moment.

  “All right,” I said, hearing the tremble in my voice. I could act brave, but my body apparently knew better. “Let’s do one last full body stretch and then we’ll call the lesson a success.”

  After we rolled up our mats, Sunny scooped up Leona and held her in her arms, stroking her long fur. The dog looked bored. “Didn’t she do good? Like a pro, right?”

  Still distracted by trying not to look at Angel, I nodded. “You both did great.” I slid my mat back into its bag, my mind already out the door. “We can keep Thursday evenings as a standing lesson if you like?”

  Sunny set Leona on down on the sofa. “Sure, that will work fine for January but then I’m off to Vancouver.”

  I nodded. I forgot most Moon Key residents travel throughout the year. Must be nice to not be terrified of flying. Or leaving the general area. I was definitely going to work on that phobia. Spending my whole life in one small space of this huge planet was just not an option. Especially when I was in love with a man who was in love with exploring.

  When I turned to say goodbye, I noticed Sunny was biting her bottom lip nervously. She looked so vulnerable at that moment, I was taken aback. “Elle, there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you. Will you have a quick cup of tea with me?”

  Something she wanted to discuss with me? I silently groaned. No! “Sure.” I kicked myself as the word left my mouth. Why couldn’t I just say no for once? I really needed to go check on Devon. You’re too weak, Elle.

  Her shoulders relaxed with relief. “Oh thank you. Come on.” She scooped Leona back up off the sofa and motioned for me to follow her. “We’ll have it in the kitchen. I’m alone today.”

  Buddha was close behind as I took a seat at the kitchen table. I glanced down. Angel reappeared next to my leg. She faded in and out. Her dark eyes were the most solid part of her. They were locked on me, pleading. I got the message. Drink fast and get the heck out of here. I felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins, jacking up my heartrate. “I really only have a minute, Sunny. I have another appointment.”

  “I understand.” She stood at the counter pouring thin, amber tea into two china cups and then carried them over.

  When she sat mine down, I noticed her hand was shaking. Did I do too much with her today? Or is she that nervous about what she’s about to tell me?

  “This will only take a moment. I just need your advice. Woman to well ... younger woman.”

  Oh heavens, is this about Valentino? Does she want advice from me on her love life? I felt myself blush. My leg was shaking nervously under the table. I picked up the cup and took a sip of the warm tea. It tasted like flowers. Time pressed in on me like a physical wall.

  “Go on,” I said, hoping to hurry her along.

  “As you know, I’m dating a much younger man,” she began, looking at me from beneath short, pale lashes. “Some people don’t approve but I really am in love with him. And he treats me so well.”

  I took another mouthful of tea, nodding. Maybe I should ask for sugar. No, just let her talk and get it out. I was having a hard time focusing on her words.

  Is the dog groomer already at Devon’s office? What if Eva and Georgy are in on it together and they’re both there right now grilling him on what he knows.

  Angel barked. It was a sharp bark that sounded like it was right by my ear. I jumped and glanced down at her. Her mouth was closed tight and she was shimmering like a mirage. Those eyes, though. Dark and pleading. A solid warning.

  “Are you all right, Elle?” Sunny tilted her head, her face softening with concern.

  “Just ...” Time to get out of here. Angel was standing now, doing circles. Trying to jump. “I just really hate being late.” Grabbing the tea, I downed the rest of it and stood. “I’m so sorry, Sunny. Thank you for the tea, but do you mind if we continue this conversation next time?”

  She looked disappointed but quickly recovered. “No, of course not.”

  “Appreciate your understanding.” Hurrying over, I set my cup in the sink next to two other cups half-filled with old coffee and a plastic dog dish.

  Buddha grunted as he pushed himself off the ground, his attention shifting between me and Angel.

  I shoved in the kitchen chair and tried not to glance back down at Angel, who was shimmering and dancing at my feet.

  Sunny seemed embarrassed, but she did offer me a smile as she waved me off. “It’s no big deal. You go. We’ll have another session next week and we can talk then.”

  Heavens, I did feel bad. The poor woman was obviously feeling insecure and needed some girl talk. But Devon’s life may be in danger. That trumped social etiquette. “Yes, next week, I promise.”

  My hands were shaking as I started my new car. Mostly because Angel was now fully materialized in the back seat, panting and pacing. “Hang on, Devon. I’m coming.”

  Should I call Salma? It would take her too long to get on the island, even if I could reach her. I could call Moon Key security. What would I even say? My ghost dog is freaking out and I think Devon’s in danger. And if Alex responded, it would be his life in danger. I’m pretty sure Devon couldn’t get the image of Alex with his hand on my hip out of his head.

  The only thing to do was to get there and see what was happening. I mashed the gas pedal.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The traffic on Moon Key Drive was heavy. No one was in a hurry except me.

  “Come on, come on.” I tapped my foot impatiently as I sat at yet another red light in front of Island Grocery, a sea of cars crammed in its little parking lot.

  The island was aglow, every palm tree was lit up with twinkling white and green lights, businesses were outlined in more lights, even the security building was decorated. I thought about stopping in there and grabbing whoever was on duty, but again ... what would I say?

  It took a frustratingly long time to get through the traffic, but I finally pulled into a parking space at Devon’s office, next to his Jeep. Glancing in the back seat, I was relieved to find it empty. Angel was gone. Am I about to stop the danger?

  “Okay, Buddha, you got my back, right?” His ears perked up, and he stared at me intently, trying to figure out what the game was. I grabbed my bag from the backseat and pulled out the mace Devon had given me. “Let’s go.”

  He let out a soft woof! The word “go” he understood.

  I scanned the area as I tiptoed toward the door. Buddha kept pace beside me, his ears alert. There didn’t seem to be any movement around, except the palm fronds in the wind and the cars crawling along the main road. I pressed my ear up to the door. All I could hear was Buddha’s panting. I glanced down at him. “Shhh.” He closed his mouth and tilted his head. I could faintly make out a voice. A woman’s. Was it Eva or her groomer? My stomach clenched and rumbl
ed. I slapped a hand on it. Not now.

  Closing my eyes, I reached for the door knob. Time to be brave. Be quick.

  One. Two. Three!

  I burst through the door, the tension ripping an involuntary scream from my throat. “Freeze!” I held the mace out in my shaking hand.

  There were a few seconds of very long silence as I took in the scene.

  Buddha trotted over to Devon and rested his head on his lap.

  “Elle? Everything all right?” Devon was glancing from my face to the mace in my hand.

  Is it? Taking in the office, I saw there was no sign of Eva or Georgy. I dropped my arm, and then slowly moved it behind my back.

  A small woman with dyed pink hair had leapt out of the chair in front of Devon’s desk. Her hand covered her heart as she stared at me with wide eyes behind black-framed glasses.

  “Yes.” I tried for a laugh, but it stuck in my throat. My face burned. “Looks like everything is fine. Sorry to intrude.”

  Devon stood up slowly and motioned between me and the woman. “Britany, this is my girlfriend, Elle Pressley. Elle, this is Britany, Eva’s dog groomer.”

  I held out my hand, forgetting about the mace. “Nice to meet you.”

  Britany took a few steps sideways, eyeing the canister and then made her move toward the door. “I ... I have to go. Call me if you have any more questions.”

  “Oh, Britany!” Devon moved around his desk quickly, trying to stop her.

  She pulled open the door and disappeared through it.

  “Thank you ... for your help,” Devon’s voice trailed off. He turned to me with a smirk and held his hands up helplessly.

  I fell into the empty chair. “I’m sorry I chased her away.”

  He sat on the edge of his desk, arms crossed. I was reminded briefly of our first meeting, the instant attraction I’d felt for him. A sense of awe washed over me. I was a lucky girl.

  His blue eyes sparkled in amusement. “What’s going on?”

  Slipping the mace into my pocket, I said, “I really thought you were in danger. That Eva or Georgy would ambush you tonight.”

  He tilted his head. “Why would you think that?”

  I felt my face grow warm again, so I dropped chin. “Just a hunch.”

  Buddha came over and rested his big blocky head in my lap. He’d apparently finished investigating the trash can. I slipped my hands under his silky ears and massaged his head. The act helped me relax enough to meet Devon’s gaze. “I’m really sorry. Did she tell you anything useful?”

  Devon shrugged. “I’m not sure. What she told me is Eva’s nephew, Leo Gold, had an affair with Sunny Spillman when he was seventeen.” He stopped and let that sink in.

  “What?” I cried, startling Buddha. “How does she even know that for sure?”

  He rubbed the stubble on his jaw roughly. “One thing you have to understand about most rich folks, their help are like the lamp in the room. They don’t censor their conversations around them. Last night, while Britany was bathing Peaches in her mobile van, Eva was on the front porch ranting to Georgy about what a complete eejit Leo was for stealin’ Talia’s dog. How she wasn’t even sure she was going to attend his funeral. That’s when Eva also brought up his affair with Sunny when he was seventeen.”

  I was mortified. Leo was her nephew. How could she talk about him like that when he’d just died? “Doesn’t sound like she’s too choked up about her nephew’s death. I knew she was cold, but that’s just ...” I shook my head as something dark and greasy churned my stomach. “So Beth Anne was right and Leo was the underage boy. That means Eva was using her own nephew to blackmail Sunny.”

  I recalled the conversation I’d overhead between Eva, Leo and Georgy at the Christmas party. Leo said Sunny had told him what Eva did. He must’ve been referring to Eva blackmailing Sunny about the underage affair. “Well, as shocking as that is, it still doesn’t connect Eva to Diggs’s murder or Ginger’s dognapping.”

  Devon tented his fingers under his chin. “Let’s say Eva wanted Talia’s statue gone and took the matter into her own hands. She gets Leo to agree to do it somehow ... maybe she blackmails him like she blackmailed Sunny.”

  I stood up and began to pace the office. “Eva did tell Georgy she did it for him. For all the hard work he put into the island Christmas lights. Most likely she was talking about smashing the statue, right?”

  “Maybe. But she also could’ve been referring to blackmailing Sunny, to make sure Georgy kept the decorating contract.” He rubbed his eyes and then clapped his hands together. “Anyway, back to the crime scene. Leo is surprised by Diggs during the vandalism and cracks him on the skull with the hammer. Not really meaning to kill him ...”

  I stopped in front of Devon. “Just a reaction to getting surprised. Which makes sense, because he didn’t really seem like the murderer type.”

  Devon shoved his hands in his pockets. “And Leo wasn’t supposed to take Ginger. That’s not what his aunt told him to do.”

  “Or his father,” I interjected.

  “Right. But either way, Ginger’s right in front of him, and he sees an opportunity to make some money ...”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that’s the theory that makes the most sense to me. Money would motivate him, since his dad had him working the business from the bottom up, and he wasn’t happy about it.”

  “It had to be Eva.” Devon seemed to be getting excited, too. “Think about it. It had to be Eva’s house he took Ginger to. It’d be too risky to try and take her off Moon Key to his da’s, someone might remember. But Eva probably wasn’t happy about him bringing the dog there, since it wasn’t part of her plan.”

  “What could she say though, since she sent him to Talia’s in the first place? She’d be an accessory to Diggs’s death if he got caught with Ginger.”

  “Right,” Devon agreed. “Eva has to give her maid vacation time, get her out of the house so they can hide Ginger. Leo stashes her there until he can get the ransom money. Then Eva decides to poison Leo while he has possession of Ginger, so Leo takes the blame for everything and can’t tell anyone she was involved.”

  I felt sick and needed to sit down. “Which brings us back to the question, would she be cold enough to poison her own nephew?”

  Devon walked around and picked up his cell phone and keys off the desk. “Well, Leo’s autopsy was scheduled for today, and they’re supposed to search Eva’s house tomorrow mornin’. If Leo was indeed poisoned, and they can tell what kind of poison was used, they can look for it during the search. Salma’s lettin’ me be present during the search, so I’ll fill her in on my conversation with Britney then.”

  “I hope they can find something on Eva. She can’t get away with poisoning her own nephew.” I was suddenly exhausted, and a dull headache was forming behind my eyes. Apparently I looked as tired as I felt.

  Devon came over and helped me from the chair. “It’s been a long day. Let’s head home.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  A sharp stab of pain woke me up. I peeled my eyes opened, disorientated, and clutched my stomach.

  Buddha was pressed against my back. Petey was sprawled across my feet. At the sound of my moan, Buddha moved his head to my shoulder.

  Struggling to get my feet out from underneath Petey, I rolled over and a wave of nausea hit me, making the room spin. Oh God. I felt Devon’s side of the bed. It was cold. He’d already left. What time was it? I tried to sit up. Paused. Let the room stop spinning. Another spasm clutched my stomach. I had to get to the bathroom. Great. Perfect time to get the flu.

  I managed to sit up.

  Angel shimmered at the bottom of the bed. She held herself rigid.

  “Hey, girl,” I croaked. I smiled, remembering how she’d stayed in bed with me for two weeks in sixth grade, when I’d had that awful bout of flu then. We didn’t have health insurance, so I’d just had to “tough it out” as Mom put it.

  All three dogs followed me as I crawled to the bathroom. Thank heavens I ma
de it to the toilet before my dinner reappeared. As I rested my head on the cold porcelain, breathing heavy, I also thanked the stars that Devon wasn’t here to see me like this. Though, it would’ve been nice to still have Mom’s nurse here. Maybe she would know a home remedy to shorten the illness.

  A pounding and a barking grew louder in my awareness. I opened my eyes, disorientated. Taking in the bathroom, I suddenly remembered crawling in here and getting sick. Angel was standing in the doorway, tail and ears erect. I was so cold. What are the dogs barking at? It all felt like a dream.

  The pounding came again. Someone was at the door. I tried to push myself off the toilet. My heart was racing. My stomach clenched and a fit of dry heaves gripped me. Resting my chin on my hand, I glanced at Angel. She was hopping toward me. She wanted me to answer the door. It was important.

  Okay, girl.

  With immense effort, I pushed myself upright and held onto the sink as the room spun wildly. I kept my focus on Angel, moving a bit at a time, holding myself up by leaning against the bathroom wall and then the bedroom wall. Falling forward, I managed to make it to the kitchen bar and then pulled myself along each chair.

  “Coming,” I tried to say. My heart was skipping in my chest, and my vision was constricted to one small tunnel of light. This was the worst flu I’d ever had.

  Something sharp and ugly was trying to push its way to the front of my mind. What? I kept my focus on Angel as she led me forward. The ugly thought was almost there.

  Buddha and Petey were sitting in front of the door, still barking and wagging their tails.

  I had to fight my lungs to pull in air. My ears were ringing. Had the knocking stopped?

  I managed to crack the door open but everything felt so far away.

  And then the ugly thought was suddenly there. It had arrived with an image ... the plastic dog bowl in the sink. The memory was sharp and terrifying, and I knew exactly what it meant.