by Peggy Dulle
“Glue it back together and put it with the rest of the pots.”
“Nope.” I shook my head. “You should destroy it.”
“Why?”
“Because the seals already been broken.”
“So, can’t I just re-seal it?”
“I use a lot of different types of glues in my class, from glue sticks to Elmer’s to a hot glue gun. Every time something breaks and you glue it, it never looks right again. No matter how careful you are you can always tell that it was broken and fixed.
“Okay, so the smart thing to do is to smash this pot into a million tiny little pieces.”
“Of course,” I got up, searched through my cosmetic bag and came up with the little piece of pot. I handed it to Tom.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a little piece of pot that I found in the mine under a pile of a million tiny little pieces.”
“So the mayor does destroy the pots he opens for testing.”
“Not all of them. The ones that he can open and then reseal, he sells to the lady I bought the pot from.”
“Making every dime he can.”
I nodded. “Greed.”
“And that’s going to cost him,” he held up the pot, “because this is going to get me a warrant.” He smiled broadly. “I’m going to make some phone calls.” Tom called his friend at the FBI who called his friend at the DEA. They made plans to bust the drug operation on Saturday after the final eating contest.
I tapped Tom on the shoulder. “My dog?”
He nodded and then into the phone he said, “I’ve got to go, John. Call me again this evening and let me know what’s going on.”
Tom hung up. “Sorry, honey. Let’s go get Shelby.”
We got into Tom’s car and drove to Doc Gordon’s office. When I opened the front door, Shelby barked and ran toward me. She leapt onto my legs and I petted her. “Howdy, girl. How are you feeling?”
She raised her head and barked.
The nurse came over. “She’s doing fine. She woke up a few hours ago and has been running around here ever since.”
“Thanks so much for taking such good care of her. How much do I owe you?”
Tom stepped forward. “I’ll take care of it.”
“No, she’s my dog.”
“You bought me several new outfits today. I’ll pay for the dog.”
“I think the vet bill is going to be a little more than a few sets of clothes.”
“That’s okay.” He raised his brows and smiled. “I like it when you owe me.”
I rolled my eyes and let him pay.
As we stood at the desk and Tom paid the bill, I said to the nurse. “I checked the meds that Doc Gordon gave me, Shelby didn’t get into them.”
“Well, she certainly got into something,” the nurse said.
“But what?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Do you want me to run some kind of analysis and figure out what she ate?”
“No, that’s okay.” It didn’t seem worth the money to find out what she got into, especially since Tom was paying. She’s fine now and that’s the important thing.
We took Shelby back to the inn. The rest of the day we kept a low profile. Tom was afraid that the locals involved in the drug operation, knowing he was a cop from another city, might alter their plans for distribution of the drugs. He spent most of it on the phone and I was bored.
Finally I went out and bought several jigsaw puzzles. I worked on them while Tom coordinated with the DEA officers. Each hour there seemed to be more and more people milling around the town. When we did go out, we could barely walk down the streets because they were packed. I was no longer sure who were the good guys or the bad guys.
That evening we watched Ted participate in the cheese pizza-eating contest. It was nice to spend more than a few minutes out of the hotel room. Even Shelby jumped up and down and barked. She was glad to be out for a longer walk than just around the inn, too.
We saw Bill and Kate in front of the contest tables. I wanted to say something to Bill about the drug raid, but Tom insisted I keep it quiet.
“You never know who’s involved, Liza.”
“I’m sure Bill isn’t.”
“Yes, but in this town news seems to travel like wildfire. We don’t want to spook the real bad guys.”
“I guess not.”
Kate gave me a big hug when we walked up to them and I felt like a traitor. Bill and Tom shook hands and we all stood in the audience and cheered Ted on.
Ted came in first. We screamed and yelled for him. After the announcement of the winners, he strutted over with his three-foot high trophy. Kate gave him a big hug.
“Great job, Ted,” Bill said.
Both Tom and I congratulated Ted, too.
“We haven’t seen you two around lately,” Bill said.
Tom and I looked at each other and I said, “Shelby’s still recovering from being sick, so we’re taking it easy.”
Tom leaned toward Bill. “I think she’s afraid to leave the dog alone.”
Everyone laughed and I joined them. “I guess it’s silly, but I don’t know what made her sick in the first place.”
“You are coming for the big contest on Saturday, aren’t you?” Ted asked.
“Of course,” I said.
Tom smiled. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Kate and Ted took off and Bill said he had a date.
“With who?” I smiled and winked at Bill.
“Edith and I are going to get some dessert.”
“That’s nice,” I said and patted him on the shoulder. “Really nice. I like her.”
He nodded. “Me, too.”
Bill waved and walked away. I glanced at the big tent. In front were two guards.
I pointed to them. “I see they’re back.”
“Oh yeah.”
“By the way, what happened to the one that was in our room?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. I called Jimmy to check on his status and he told me that the man was gone when he went to the inn to pick him up.”
“That’s convenient.”
“Yeah,” he heaved a heavy sigh. “I thought so myself.”
“How does a person escape from handcuffs?”
“When someone gives him the key.”
“Oh.”
“Why do you think I’m not informing the local cops of the bust? I don’t know who to trust.”
“I’m sure you can trust Jimmy.”
“Maybe, but I can’t be sure. I don’t want to jeopardize the entire operation by telling the wrong person.”
“That’s true.”
Shelby, Tom and I went back to the inn. We ordered apple pots from room service.
A few minutes later, Joe arrived. When he tried to come into the room, Shelby lowered her head and growled.
“Easy, Shelby,” I said and motioned Joe to come in.
Joe walked in and put out his hand. “What’s the matter, girl? You know me.”
Shelby’s growls got deeper. She’d never reacted to anyone like that before. When she lunged toward Joe, I grabbed for her collar.
Chapter 27
I totally missed her collar and thankfully Tom walked between Shelby and Joe. He put his hand on Shelby’s nose, “Easy, girl.”
She backed away, but continued to growl and kept her eyes locked on Joe.
Tom took the apple pots from Joe. “Sorry, she doesn’t seem to trust anyone these days.”
Joe shook his head and backed out of the room.
As soon as he left, Shelby went over and stood by the door.
I looked at Tom. “I wonder if he’s the one who tried to poison my dog.”
“I don’t know. But given the way that Shelby reacted to him, it’s a good bet.” He took a big spoonful of his apple cobbler. “But there’s no way to prove it, so there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“I know. That’s one of those irritating rules that go along with your job.”
“I feel the same way some times.”
We finished our apple pots and went to bed. Friday we spent the entire day in our room. We ordered room service, Tom rarely got off the phone and I did jigsaw puzzles. At this point, if I never saw a jigsaw puzzle again, it would still be too soon! The only reprieve I got was walking Shelby.
When I walked her for the third time in an hour, Tom put down the phone. “Feeling housebound, Liza?”
“What gives you that idea?”
He laughed. “You’d never last during a stakeout.”
“That’s why you’re the cop and I’m not.”
“How about I take you out to dinner?”
“No more room service?”
He closed the notebook he’d been writing in for the last few days. “You pick the place, I’ll pay.”
“Rogan’s Steak House, prime rib, and their wonderful French fries.”
He whistled. “That sounds expensive.”
“It is, let’s go.”
“What about Shelby?”
“I just took her out, so she’ll be fine for a couple of hours.”
Tom pat her on the head, smiled and said, “Good dog.”
Dinner was wonderful and uneventful. We didn’t run into anyone we knew at the restaurant and we didn’t talk about drugs, apple pots, or murders. It was a nice welcomed change.
When we got back to the inn, Tom went right back to the phone. It was aggravating so I took Shelby for another walk. Was this what life is like when you live with a cop? I put a few more pieces into my latest jigsaw puzzle, paced the floor, and finally crawled into bed. Two hours later I woke up and Tom was busy writing in his notebook.
“Tom.”
“Yeah,” he said without even looking up.
“It’s late, come to bed.”
“In a little while,” he said, still not looking up from his notebook.
I glanced at the alarm clock. “It’s three o’clock in the morning. Can’t you work on that tomorrow?”
“Just give me a few more minutes,” his tone elevated, a note of aggravation in his voice.
I’ve never been around Tom when he was in the middle of an investigation. It was strange and more than a little annoying. Was this what I was like when I was looking into something? I got out of bed, went over, and stood by the table.
Tom finally looked up, “What?”
I stepped over and sat on his lap.
He smiled. “Can I help you?”
“Just make me a promise.”
“Sure.”
“If I’m ever this involved in something, please provide a distraction before I become obsessed.”
“As long as you’ll do the same for me.”
I leaned down, kissed him on the neck, and whispered, “I can do that.”
Finally it was Saturday evening. I watched as Tom loaded up with all his hardware.
“It’s amazing that you can move with all that stuff on.”
“Practice, lots of practice. Did you ever get your gun back from the local cops?”
“Nope. They’re keeping it as evidence.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” A few minutes later he came back with a small pistol. “I want you to carry this.”
I pushed it away. “I don’t need that. With all the FBI and DEA agents in this town right now, I don’t want to be mistaken as one of the bad guys.”
“I don’t care. If you don’t want to take it, then you have to stay here in the room, all night.”
I glanced at the table with the latest jigsaw puzzle on it. Then I grabbed the gun. “Fine, anything to get out of this room.”
I put the gun in the back of my waistband. This was starting to feel awfully familiar.
Tom leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “Maybe we can play find the weapon later?”
“No way. I’m not playing anything with a loaded weapon.”
Tom laughed. “Let’s go.”
“What are we going to do with Shelby?” I asked.
“Let’s leave her here.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Last time we left her here someone tried to poison her.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen a second time, honey. But I’m sure it’s not a good idea to bring her to a drug raid.”
I picked up the phone. “I know one person who is definitely not going to the eating contest.” I called Edith’s house and got no answer, so I tried the library.
Edith answered on the fifth ring. “Hello.”
“Hey, Tom and I want to watch the final eating contest and I don’t want to leave Shelby alone.”
“Are you afraid she might get into something and get sick again?”
“Maybe.” I hated lying to her. I knew she wasn’t involved but somebody might be listening on the phone. Paranoia definitely came with living in Clainsworth. “I just don’t want to take any chances.”
“Bring her by. She can wander around the library while I work.”
“Still trying to organize all those children’s books by reading level?”
“Yes and it’s turning out to be a much bigger job than I anticipated.”
“Well, remember you don’t have to have them all leveled. You need some that are just for the kids to enjoy, not necessarily to practice their reading skills.”
“I like your suggestions, Liza.”
“Thanks. We’ll be over in a few minutes with Shelby.”
“No problem.”
We dropped Shelby off at the library and went on to the contest. The entire fairground was packed with people. I could barely move without running into someone.
Bill walked up to us. “It sure is a great crowd this year. I think there are more people than last year.”
I glanced around wondering who the drug dealers were and who the cops were. Occasionally, I’d see Tom nod to someone; they’d nod back and then move off into the crowd again.
I turned to Bill. “How’d your date go with Edith?”
“Really well.” Bill smiled.
“Are you going to go out again?”
Tom jabbed me in the ribs. “Leave the poor man alone, Liza.”
“I’m just interested in his happiness, that’s all.”
Bill smiled. “Yes, we’re going out again next week.”
I patted him on the arm. “Good.”
We stood in the back of crowd and watched the contest. Ted didn’t make the finals, so we weren’t really interested in the results even though there were five cameras from several different stations taping the event.
The mayor stood behind a complete set of the special apple pots on the contestant table. He had a huge smile on his face. As he held up one of the apple pots, the crowd would clap and cheer. I could see the red lights on the camera, so everyone all over the world was seeing the apple pots, too. I wondered how many of them sat at home calculating the profits from the drugs in each of the pots.
The eating contest went smoothly and a champion was given a five-foot trophy and a check. He was a little Asian man who could barely see over the trophy. I don’t know where he put the contents of fifty apple pots!
After the contest was over, the crowd wandered back to the carnival and the booths. The mayor went into the big tent, followed by his two guards, and fifty or so cops. My stomach knotted up as I watched Tom follow the crowd into the tent.
I stood by the contest table and waited. I half expected to hear loud shouts, gunshots and lots of screaming, but it was quiet. Time passed and still not a sound. I tried to concentrate on something besides my growing anxiety. So I sat on the table and stared off at the carnival, watching the rides going up and down. At least the jigsaw puzzles had been a safe distraction. Waiting to see if Tom would come back unhurt from a drug raid was eating away at my stomach lining and making me feel like I would throw up.
The gun in my back poked me in the butt, so I took it out and placed it in my front waistband. It was a small gun, much smaller than the one that Tom had given me or the o
nes that my dad and I had practiced with. I probably wouldn’t be able to hit anything with it. I closed my jacket, concealing the weapon from anyone who walked by. I certainly didn’t need to give the local cops another reason to arrest me again.
Suddenly, I felt something poke me in my back. Great, Tom was back, the raid was over, and everyone was safe.
“You bitch!” He growled next to my ear.
When I turned my head, I saw the mayor and felt the gun he held to my back.
Chapter 28
My heart started racing, but I concentrated to slow it down. Panic would not help me right now. I glared at him, “Who, me?”
His eyes narrowed into slits and he roared, “Yes, you!”
“Well, it’s not the first time I’ve been called that,” I said, hoping that a sarcastic comment would help me settle the panic in my body.
He ignored me and jabbed the gun further into my back. “You’re my ticket out of this place.”
“I’m not much of a ticket.”
“Oh yeah, your cop boyfriend is in charge of this little raid and he won’t shoot you to get to me.”
Just the thought of getting in the middle of a shootout between the cops and the mayor made my pulse accelerate and my breathing quicken. Panic was setting in again. I knew I couldn’t show it, so I laughed. “You don’t know him very well, do you?”
He shoved the gun deeper into my back. “It doesn’t matter. Your staying alive should be enough of an incentive to get me out of here. Now get up!”
If I stayed there, eventually I would be between the cops and the mayor. I knew Tom wouldn’t shoot me, but I wasn’t sure about the rest of the cops. Sometimes accidents happen and innocent people get hurt. I pulled my jacket tighter; making sure the gun was concealed from the mayor’s view. Then I slipped off the table. “Where to?”
“Your car.”
“Don’t have one. Remember? I put it in the ditch.”
“You have Kate’s car. We’ll take hers.”
“Nope. We gave it back. She’s not grounded anymore.”
“Well, then what vehicle do you have?” he screamed.
“None,” I said and shrugged my shoulders.
“What about Tom’s patrol car? That’s perfect. Nobody’s going to stop a patrol car.” He pushed me in the back with the gun. “Let’s go.”