Doggie Day Care Murder

by Laurien Berenson

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Terry. “I’m not upset. I’m sure Steve Pine was a nice enough guy, but I never actually met him.”

  Things were growing more curious by the minute.

  “So where’d you come up with the name?” I asked.

  “Candy,” Terry replied.

  “Bad for your teeth,” said Bertie, “but I probably have some sugar-free gum in my tack box.”

  “I think he means Candy Pine,” I said.

  “Precisely. Crawford met her last year at a seminar on holistic health care in Armonk. Being the only two dog people in the room, of course they immediately hit it off. Candy stopped by our place a couple of times after that. She loved looking around the kennel and checking out the way we had things set up.”

  Crawford had been a star on the dog show firmament for as long as Aunt Peg; his Bedford Kennels, located in mid-Westchester County, was a showplace. The list of dogs whose careers Crawford had launched and managed from that venue was long and impressive. The facility, the equipment, and the services provided were all state of the art.

  Even though Candy’s business concentrated on a different aspect of dog care, it was easy to see how she could appreciate Crawford’s meticulous approach and his attention to detail. Given their mutual love of dogs, I could readily understand that she might enjoy poking around such hallowed ground.

  “I met Candy for the first time a couple of weeks ago,” I said. “And I only met Steve once. A friend of mine was looking for a place to leave her Golden Retriever during the day. She asked me to check things out at Pine Ridge. If you’ve been socializing with Candy, you probably know her better than I do, so I’m surprised you never met Steve.”

  Terry laughed out loud. “What a warped view of family relationships you must have if you think grown siblings are likely to share the same interests or spend their time hanging out together.”

  Put that way, he had a point. My brother and I had existed in a state of wary détente for years and had only in recent times discovered that we could actually be friends. A state of affairs that Bertie, who cared deeply for both of us, was largely responsible for.

  “According to Candy,” said Terry, “Steve was into fly fishing, number-crunching, and women, not necessarily in that order.”

  “What about dogs?” asked Bertie. “Considering what he did for a living, I’d have thought that was a given.”

  “That was where Candy came in. Getting involved in doggie day care was her idea—at least to hear her tell it. Steve was the one with the head for business. He wanted to buy that piece of land and hold it while it appreciated. But coming up with the right way to put it to profitable use in the meantime, reaching out to the dog-owning public in Fairfield County, that was all Candy.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, thinking back to the first time I’d been to Pine Ridge. “Steve was the one who initially showed me about the place, and he made a huge point of telling me about how attached he was to the dogs and how providing them with the best possible care was very important to him.”

  Terry held up his hands. “Like I said, I’m only repeating things I heard from his sister. So you’re not exactly getting an unbiased view. But according to her, Steve was a born salesman. And nothing was more important to him than making money and growing that business. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was just telling you what he thought you wanted to hear.”

  Interesting, I thought. Especially in light of the fact that Candy hadn’t mentioned anything like that to Alice and me.

  “Well, they built a great facility,” I said. “And while some of the things Pine Ridge offers might be a little over the top, all the dogs I saw looked pretty happy there.”

  “Over the top how?” asked Bertie.

  Terry looked interested, too, as well he might. Excess was his middle name.

  “Inside, the dogs aren’t kept in pens, they have private rooms. Each one contains a couch for them to lie on and a TV to watch if they’re bored.”

  “TV?” Bertie giggled. “Really?”

  “I kid you not. Apparently, the dogs like to watch game shows and Animal Planet. They have their own remote controls so they can pick what they want to see.”

  “How anthropomorphic,” said Terry.

  “Pardon me?”

  I knew what the word meant, I was just surprised to hear Terry use it.

  He looked at me and stuck out his tongue.

  I probably deserved that. But considering how many different ways he finds to criticize me, big words were about the only thing I had left to hold over him. It would be a crying shame if I lost that advantage, too.

  “It sounds to me,” said Terry, “like they set the place up to make the owners feel good about it, not the dogs. I can’t imagine a dog actually choosing to sit around all day watching TV.”

  “I don’t know,” said Bertie. “Beagle really likes the cooking channel. She’ll watch for hours if I let her.”

  Beagle, name to the contrary, was a cat. Go figure.

  “Last time I saw Candy was probably a couple of months ago, and she sounded like she was getting really fed up. Maybe stuff like that was the reason why.”

  “Fed up?” I repeated. “With what? Steve? The business? The clients?”

  Terry tipped his head and gave me a look. “Let me guess. You’ve gotten involved, haven’t you? You’re trying to figure out who killed Steve Pine.”

  Like that was a given.

  Oh hell, I thought. Who was I kidding? It probably was.

  “Candy asked me to,” I said in my own defense.

  “Did you give her any choice?”

  “Now, now,” said Bertie. “Let’s not be snide. I’m sure Melanie is just trying to be helpful.”

  “That’s me,” I said. “Ever helpful. And ever cheerful, too, don’t forget that. So tell me about Candy being fed up. What’s the story there?”

  “Apparently now that they had the business up and going, she didn’t like the way Steve was running things. And that was part of the problem, too—the fact that Steve thought he was in charge. Candy felt she had to keep reminding him that the place and everything they’d built together was just as much hers as his. I suspected, though she never said as much, that maybe she was thinking about getting out and starting over somewhere else.”

  Terry stopped and shrugged. “But don’t take that as gospel, because obviously it didn’t happen. So maybe I was just reading more into the situation than was there.”

  “Or maybe not,” I mused. “After all, look how things turned out. Candy didn’t leave, but she’s the one in charge now.”

  I would have carried that thought further but Kevin began to stir. He lifted his head, stuck it out of the top of the sling, and had a look around. His deep blue eyes, so like Sam’s, blinked at the sights. The expression on his small, round face was almost comical.

  In the setup next door, a Kuvasz was having its luxurious white coat blown dry. On the other side, a Bloodhound was snoozing on a tabletop that was slightly too small for its body. Front legs and long ears draped over the side. Dogs were barking, people were talking, the tent top was flapping in the breeze.

  Business as usual for a dog show, but possibly a bit much for his three-month-old brain to process. Then he tipped his head back, looked up at me, and smiled. It was a big, toothless grin that conveyed his delight in the entire scene. Kevin lifted his hands out of the cover of the sling and waved them emphatically in the air.

  “Eeeeee!” he squealed happily.

  “What did he say?” asked Terry.

  “I’m not sure. Probably a combination of ‘feed me’ and ‘change my diaper.’ ”

  “Yup.” Terry reached over and swept the Norfolk up off the table. “That’s my cue. I’m out of here.”

  “Chicken!” Bertie called after him.

  Terry flapped his elbows and kept going.

  While Bertie went back to grooming, I attended to baby business. The grooming table doubled as a changing table,
then Kevin sucked down a bottle of formula greedily. His short legs kicked up and down in delight as he ate. Two burps later, and we were good to go.

  Which was just about the time Sam reappeared.

  “You planned it that way, didn’t you?” I asked as he reached over and took Kevin from my arms.

  “Sure.” Sam laughed. “Perfect timing.”

  Father and son smooched and rubbed noses. Then Kevin reached up, grabbed Sam’s ears, and pulled. His hands were small, but his grip was surprisingly strong.

  “Youch!” said Sam, gently disentangling himself. “This kid’s a lethal weapon. I think we may have to cut his nails.”

  “He missed you. That’s his way of telling you he wants you to take him for a walk.”

  “Can do.”

  Sam cradled Kevin under his arm like he was a football, or a small dog on his way to the show ring. The baby responded by shrieking with delight. Next row over, the Bloodhound opened its mournful-looking eyes, raised its head, and had a look.

  Kevin immediately wriggled his way around and flapped his hands in the hound’s direction. Given half a chance, he’d love to pull those ears too.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Sam quickly angled the baby the other way. He could read his son’s thoughts as easily as I could.

  “Have you seen Aunt Peg?” I asked. “Is Davey with her?”

  “They’ve staked out a couple of seats over by ring three. The junior showmanship classes are getting ready to start.”

  “I think I’ll wander over and have a look.” I unhooked the baby sling, rolled it up, and stuffed it inside the diaper bag, which I’d shoved into an opening between crates. “Are you all set?”

  “Are you kidding? We menfolk are going for a stroll around the grounds together. Don’t ask me how I know this, but apparently there’s nothing as appealing as a man with a baby. We’ll be fighting off the women with a stick.”

  Bertie looked up from her grooming and laughed. “So that’s why Frank volunteers to take Maggie with him when he’s out running errands. And here I thought he was just being a nice guy.”

  “Sorry, bud.” I stood on my toes to give Sam a peck on the cheek. “But I suspect most of the women you run into today will be too busy with their dogs to even notice you.”

  Sam and Kevin headed one way and I went in the other. Ring three was across the field and down at the other end of the row.

  Drawing near, I could see that the first of the junior showmanship classes was already in progress. The Novice Junior Class was for boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 12, who had not already won three first place awards against competition. It was the class in which Davey would make his debut at the end of the month.

  There were six handlers in the ring, three girls and three boys. All of them looked older than Davey and all were handling small- to medium-sized, smooth-coated dogs. They had lined up in order of speediness: a Chinese Shar-Pei was in front, followed by a Bull Terrier, a Basset Hound, a French Bulldog, a Dachshund, and a MinPin. Davey and Custer would have made an eye-catching pair in such sedate company as that.

  I saw Peg and Davey sitting ringside, their two heads tipped together as they conferred about the class, and slipped into an empty seat beside them.

  “There you are,” said Aunt Peg. “It’s about time. Where have you been?”

  “I was talking to Terry and taking care of Kevin. What’d I miss?”

  “Nearly half the class. Fortunately, Davey and I have carried on without you. We’re enjoying a wonderful educational experience.”

  Easy for her to say. Aunt Peg can be a little overbearing. Sometimes she doesn’t know her own strength.

  I leaned over and caught Davey’s eye behind my aunt’s back.

  He looked at me and winked.

  Okay, so things were going well. That was good to know.

  In the ring, the judge was putting the junior handlers through their paces. The boy with the Bull Terrier was moving his dog in an L pattern. The girl with the Basset had her dog stacked and ready to be examined next. The MinPin at the end of the line was dancing and hopping on its hind legs. Its inattentive handler had yet to notice that the little dog was tangled in its leash.

  “So,” I said, lowering my voice to conform to ringside protocol, “who’s going to win?”

  “The class isn’t over yet,” Aunt Peg said crisply.

  As if that mattered. Aunt Peg already knew the answer. In fact, she’d probably known within the first minute after the six handlers had walked into the ring. Don’t ask how she does it, it’s a mystery to me too.

  Davey leaned across in front, and whispered, “It’s the boy with the Frenchie.”

  Aunt Peg pinched his arm. He grimaced but didn’t withdraw. “The girl with the Basset will be second. The MinPin is last.”

  Well, we could all see that. Now, despite frantic gesturing on the part of a woman—presumably a parent—standing ringside, the little black-and-tan dog was rolling in the grass while his hapless handler stared off into the distance.

  “I’m better than that,” Davey scoffed.

  “You most certainly are,” Aunt Peg agreed. “But let’s hope we’ve set our sights higher than being better than the worst in the class.”

  “If I was in there, I would win.”

  “Not yet.” Aunt Peg shook her head slowly as she considered the options. “That boy with the Frenchie is really quite good.”

  The child in question was now free baiting his dog at the head of the line while waiting for the judge to approach. Large bat ears pricked at attention, the brindle bulldog followed the boy’s every move. The two made a formidable team.

  “But don’t worry, we’ll get you there. We still have two more weeks to practice.”

  “Besides,” I said staunchly, “all those kids are older than you. And they’ve obviously been doing this for much longer than you have. You can’t expect to win your very first time out.”

  “Yes, I can.” Davey was supremely confident in his abilities. Some of Aunt Peg’s self-assurance must have been rubbing off on him.

  Speaking of Peg, I’d obviously done something to tick her off because now she angled her elbows outward, nudging both of us back into our seats. That effectively cut off my communication with Davey since her body now blocked the way between us.

  “Some cheerleader you turned out to be,” Aunt Peg grumbled under her breath in my direction.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ll have you know I’m not teaching my nephew to handle a dog merely so that he can walk into the ring and lose.”

  “Of course not, but—”

  “If you’re going to begin to spout some nonsense about self-esteem, and finding his own way, and doing the best he can, you might as well save your breath.”

  “He’s only nine years old,” I protested.

  “And I’m sixty-four. What’s your point?”

  For once, I refused to back down.

  “If you make him think that winning is the only possible outcome, you’re setting him up for disappointment.”

  “No,” said Aunt Peg. “I’m setting him up for success.”

  In a perfect world, maybe.

  In the ring, the judge was awarding the blue ribbon to the boy with the French Bulldog. The Basset stood behind him in second.

  “What are you going to do if he loses?” I asked.

  “Pick up the pieces,” Peg said firmly. “And try again.”

  Davey leaned across and pushed his way between us. “Stop arguing,” he said. “I’m gonna win. And that’s final.”

  Oh great, I thought. Add it to the list. Now I had something else to worry about.

  18

  On Monday morning I went back to Pine Ridge.

  I was hoping to talk to Candy again; I wanted to discuss a few of the things I’d learned since our last conversation. Like the fact that Steve’s and her working relationship hadn’t been nearly as amicable as she’d made it out to be. Or that in recent months she�
�d considered leaving Pine Ridge and striking out on her own.

  But I arrived to find the facility in the midst of a minor crisis. Madison, the receptionist, had been bitten by a Jack Russell Terrier during check-in, and Candy had bundled the bleeding teenager into her car and driven her to the emergency room.

  I got the story from Jason, who was filling in for Madison behind the front counter. Judging by the look of abject boredom on his face when I maneuvered the door open with one hand and pushed Kevin’s stroller into the reception area with the other, he would have preferred to be just about anywhere else rather than inside, answering phones.

  “Cool,” he said, as I walked in. “Is that a baby?”

  I hoped that was a rhetorical question. Either that, or Jason needed his eyes examined.

  “His name is Kevin,” I said.

  I propelled the stroller several feet into the room, then stepped back to close the door. It’s amazing how many extra steps are added to even the most basic procedures when there’s a baby involved.

  “You do know we only do dogs here, right?”

  “I kind of figured that. He’s just along for the ride.”

  Jason stepped out from behind the counter. His legs were long and he crossed the room in three quick strides. Squatting down in front of the stroller, he positioned himself at eye level with Kevin.

  “Hey, little guy, whatcha doin’?”

  “He doesn’t talk yet,” I said, but I gave Jason points for trying.

  Kevin shrieked and waved a hand in the air.

  “Sure he does. He just has his own language.”

  I smiled. Despite my better judgment, I liked this kid.

  Jason looked up. His hand came up and scooped the bangs back off his face. “Can I hold him?”

  I started to say no, then remembered the gentleness with which he’d handled the elderly Dachshund.

  “Do you have any experience with babies?”

  “Two younger brothers. Plus, I used to baby-sit.”

  “From babies to dogs,” I said. “Why’d you switch?”

  “That’s easy. ” Jason grinned. “Dogs don’t talk back. I’ll be careful. Honest.”

  I unclipped Kevin’s harness and lifted him out of the stroller. Jason reached out his hands. To my surprise, Kevin did the same. It was like watching two halves of a magnet pull toward one another.