Canines and Crime

by Sandra Baublitz

  Bruce gestured for me to walk ahead of him. We left the parking lot, stepping up onto the sidewalk and around the corner to the doors of the studio. I grasped the handle and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. Placing a hand on either side of the glass, I shielded my eyes to peer inside. No lights were on and I saw no one moving about. I stepped back in time to see Bruce tap a sign pasted on the door. It listed the hours. The studio was closed.

  “Rats! I forgot. Shelbee told me the artist studio wasn’t open every day.

  Bruce stood with one hand rubbing the back of his head. “Well this has been a wasted trip.”

  “Now what?” I grumbled, disgruntled at my oversight.

  “Any idea where else the artist could be today?”

  “As far as I know, he lives with Charlotte. I suppose that would be our next best guess to look for him.”

  Bruce snapped his fingers. “That’s where Lillian went.”

  We hurried back to Bruce’s car.

  Bruce parked along the street across from Charlotte Tanner’s house. The house looked the same from when I had been here the other day with Mrs. Booksteen picking up donations for the thrift store. The only exception was Mark’s car parked in the driveway. Bruce and I got out of our vehicle and crossed the street. We walked up the front porch steps, and just as we reached the top, the door flew open and Mark hurried out with a protective arm around Lillian. Behind them a voice said, “And stay out!” The door slammed shut.

  “That woman is a—” Lillian grumbled as she stopped next to me on the top step. “What took the two of you so long?”

  Bruce steadied me on the step. “We went to the studio because we thought that’s where you were going.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. The studio’s closed today.” Lillian stomped down the steps and over to Mark’s car. Over her shoulder, she said, “And I’d have gotten more information out of that woman if he,” she pointed a finger over her shoulder at Mark, “hadn’t been such a scaredy-cat.”

  Mark’s face darkened with a scowl. “And you would’ve come to blows with her.” He glanced at Bruce and me. “Those two sounded like two tomcats fighting on a back-alley fence. We weren’t going to get any more information out of her, so I figured the best thing to do was get out of there.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Aren’t you the reporter who used to cover violent crime in the big city?”

  “Those two would have made the Mafia cringe.” He stalked past us and headed for his car. Surprisingly, the two of them got in and Mark backed out of the driveway. Each one glared at the other but didn’t appear to be arguing.

  “Now where are they going?” Bruce asked, throwing his arms up in the air.

  “I don’t know.” I glanced back at the house as the curtain twitched, indicating Charlotte had been watching us. I would have loved to have asked her more questions, but I doubted she would even answer the door.

  “It doesn’t appear that Ned is here. I bet Lillian has an idea where he is and she and Mark are going.”

  “And do you have any idea where that would be?” Bruce asked. I grabbed his arm and dragged him down the steps and across the street to his car. Once inside, I said, “No, I don’t, but perhaps Shelbee would have an idea. She and Jac know many of the artists at the studio. Maybe one of them knows where Turner goes on the days the studio is closed.”

  Bruce stared at me.

  I sighed. “It’s a long shot, I know, but all I have to go on. Charlotte certainly won’t tell us where he is, and I don’t know of anyone who is his friend.”

  Bruce shrugged and started the car, pulled away from the curb and turned a U-turn, heading back to the main part of town.

  “I’m assuming Shelbee is at her apartment.”

  “I’m not sure about that. She has several clients this week so she could be walking dogs or feeding pets. Jac will be at her dad’s, I think.”

  “Then let’s try there first.”

  We were driving down Main Street when a man in a hoodie and torn jeans dashed out in front of us. Movement to my right caught my eye and I turned to see Mr. Wong chugging across the sidewalk yelling, “Stop thief.”

  Chapter 17

  Mr. Wong was a head shorter and fifty pounds heavier than the man with the hoodie which slowed his progress.

  Bruce slammed on the brakes and I braced myself as he threw the car in park, shoved open his door, and ran after the man in the hoodie. Since he was in top athletic shape, he easily overtook the thief and tackled him to the ground. He grabbed the guy’s arms and held them behind the man’s back then yelled over his shoulder at me, “Clarissa, get the handcuffs from the glovebox.”

  I popped open the glove compartment and rummaged, coming up with the handcuffs, then shoved the box shut, clicked off my seatbelt, and shoved open my door as I hurried to give the cuffs to Bruce. People along the street stopped and stared and Mr. Wong trundled along beside me. Traffic in both directions had stopped and several drivers had stepped out from their cars. I handed the cuffs to Bruce who applied them to the thief’s hands.

  “Hey, you stole cigarettes,” Mr. Wong said, pointing at the man who lay on the ground, cursing.

  Bruce patted the guy down and pulled several packs of cigarettes from the man’s pockets.

  Mr. Hoodie struggled to get up and cursed Mr. Wong. “You lie, fat man. You put them there.”

  Bruce pulled the guy to his feet. “Tell that to the judge.”

  To me, Bruce said, “I’m taking him down to the station. Please stay here.”

  “Mr. Wong,” he said, “you’ll need to come down to the station and file a report.”

  Mr. Wong nodded his head vigorously. “I’ll do that.”

  Bruce walked hoodie man to the car and shoved him in the back seat then jumped in the car and sped away.

  Mr. Wong and I returned to his store where he hustled out two other customers. Before they left the store, I asked them if they had seen the altercation. Both did and I suggested they go to the station to file reports to backup Mr. Wong. I stepped out of the store as Mr. Wong locked up, nearly bumping into a young woman walking past. “Sorry.” I looked up at Laura Davis. “How is your husband?”

  “Sam’s still angry. You opened up a wound that I don’t think has ever healed.”

  I couldn’t tell from her body language what she was feeling. “David Tanner is dead, and your husband had motive for killing him. I have to ask the hard questions in order to solve this case.”

  Laura crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. “You’re not the police as far as I know so you’re simply interfering in a murder investigation. Why should we answer any of your questions?”

  Mr. Wong excused himself and hurried off.

  “Would you prefer the police interrogate your husband? If he is innocent, he doesn’t have anything to hide. Telling us his whereabouts and explaining his side of the story could clear him from any suspicion.”

  She opened her mouth then closed it and just stared at me. A car horn blared from the street and I instinctively turned my head to see what was going on. It was one of our town residents beeping her horn to get the attention of her sister on the opposite sidewalk, and once she looked around, the driver waved. I turned my attention back to Laura, who stood with her hands rubbing her upper arms.

  “Sam had nothing to do with David Tanner’s death, but I’ll speak with him and then contact you so that you can talk with him.”

  “Okay. Thank you.”

  She brushed past me without a word, her light floral scent lingering.

  I sneezed.

  “Gesundheit.” The sister from across the street handed me a tissue. I hadn’t seen her cross the street having been so focused on Laura.

  I gratefully accepted the tissue. “Allergies,” I mumbled as I wiped my nose.

  “I know what you mean,” the sister, Hannah Renaud, said. “I have them all season, and perfume is one of my worst offenders.”

  I nodded.

  “Do you know
the young woman you were just speaking with?” Hannah asked as she pulled out a second tissue from her pocketbook.

  “Yes. She’s vacationing here with her husband.”

  “No wonder I didn’t know who she was. I saw her at the fundraiser and then later that night at the park but couldn’t place her.”

  I jerked my head in surprise. “You saw her later that evening at the park?”

  Hannah paused in the act of pulling a tissue from a tissue packet. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

  I debated whether I should tell her the reason for my interest, but decided I needed to impress the importance of what she saw. “What time did you see her?”

  “I guess around midnight, maybe.”

  I raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was doing out that late.

  “Becky, my daughter, lost her bracelet, and we thought it happened at the fundraiser. She is seven and couldn’t sleep worrying about it, so we trudged to the park to search. I know it sounds crazy, but when you have a child who can’t sleep for worrying, you do what you can. My husband was out of town on business, and it was the only thing I could think to do for Becky.”

  “And you saw Laura, the young woman I was speaking to, at the park that late?”

  Hannah nodded. “She was standing behind the gazebo near the flowerbeds. As I shined the flashlight around, I caught sight of her. Although she turned her head to avoid the light. I did wonder why she was there, but I was relieved that she didn’t look to be any threat. About that time Becky found her bracelet and I hustled her home.”

  “Did you see anyone else?”

  “No. You never answered my question. Why are you so interested in her being in the park?”

  “Because that was the night David Tanner was killed.”

  Hannah gasped. “That’s right. I didn’t make the connection. I remembered thinking afterwards that we were fortunate when we were in the park. Not to run into the killer. Do you think that young woman was the murderer?”

  “I don’t know. I think you should tell Chief Harry what you saw.”

  Hannah took a step back. “Oh, I don’t want to get involved. I have a daughter to protect.”

  I placed my hands on my hips. “Which is precisely why you should tell my uncle Harry. There is a murderer on the loose, and I would think you’d want to protect your daughter by catching the killer. The information you have could do that.”

  Hannah started backing away from me. “… I’ll… think… about… it.” She turned on her heel and rushed away from me.

  Why did people not want to get involved? I stood a moment watching my fellow residents going about their business in town. This was a peaceful place, for the most part, and I would’ve thought they would want to keep it that way. Shaking myself from my thoughts, I considered my next step. Since Bruce was busy at the jail, I might as well find Shelbee and Jac and figure out where Ned Turner was so that I could question him again. I wasn’t looking forward to it as he seemed to be a nasty person. Perhaps Lillian and Mark were speaking to him now and could get more information out of him. I admit I felt kind of naked without Paw there by my side.

  I walked past the empty storefront below Shelbee’s apartment, aiming for the side stairs. But as I passed the storefront, through the windows, I saw Jac and Tammy Williams talking. Curious, I stepped up to the door and knocked. They both turned at the sound. Tammy scowled, but Jac waved for me to come in. I pulled on the door, stepped inside, and looked around at the empty place.

  Tammy Williams turned her back to me as I entered the building. She continued her conversation with Jac, gesturing around the store, saying, “You could put shelves along that wall and use the counter over here for display. The door behind the display counter goes to the attached kitchen. I think you would be quite pleased with it and the rent is quite reasonable.”

  Jac nodded, gazing around as though picturing the store and its use. I wondered why Jac was continuing this ruse, but I figured she thought it was a good way to question Tammy. Since Tammy’s reception to me was cold at best, I wondered over to the display counters and studied the setup, allowing Jac to continue speaking with Tammy.

  “May I see the kitchen,” Jac asked.

  “Of course,” Tammy said, and I heard the clack of her heels as she approached me. Veering around me without a word, she opened the door behind the display counters and gestured for Jac to proceed her. As Jac passed me, she reached out and grasped my wrist, pulling me along with her. We stepped into an industrial kitchen with shiny new chrome appliances and a large island in the center of the space. Jac dropped my wrist and hurried to inspect the double oven on the other side of the room. “Electric?”

  Tammy nodded “yes” while keeping a wary eye on me. Jac moved from the oven to the refrigerator, whistling to herself at the size of the appliance. “This could hold quite a lot of food.”

  “You’re really interested in this, aren’t you?” burst out of my mouth in my shock.

  Jac smiled at me over her shoulder. “Yes. I am”

  Tammy crossed her arms over her chest. “Why are you here?”

  Jac ignored us in favor of inspecting the cabinets so I walked over to Tammy. “I was going to see Shelbee, who lives upstairs, which you should know as you own the building.”

  Tammy raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a crime.”

  “No. I had no idea that you and Jac would be here, but when I saw you two, I thought I would stop and speak to Jac. However,” I raised a finger to make my point, “since you are here, I’d like to discuss David Tanner.”

  “I have nothing more to say to you about David Tanner.”

  “If you didn’t kill him, then why won’t you help us find his murderer?”

  Tammy’s face reddened. “I didn’t kill David. Yes, I wanted to sell his house. But I wouldn’t kill him for it, and I had no idea that he was leaving money to the Betterment Foundation.”

  Tammy turned on her heel and headed back into the store.

  She screamed.

  Chapter 18

  I jerked my head around to see Shelbee standing in the doorway with a baseball bat raised, preparing to strike. Samuel stood in front of her, hair bristling on his back, and Bitsy stood slightly behind Shelbee’s right foot.

  Shelbee lowered the bat on an exhale. “I thought somebody had broken into the store,” she said in a rush of breath.

  She dropped the bat on the floor and bent forward to place a calming hand on Samuel’s back. “It’s okay, Sammy. They’re friends.”

  Tammy Williams huffed. “Why would anyone break into an empty storefront?”

  Shelbee shrugged. “You never know. I didn’t see your car out front, so I assumed that someone had broken in.”

  “Then why didn’t you call the police?”

  Shelbee placed a hand on her hip and tapped her foot. “Would you want me to call the police?”

  That stopped Tammy in her tracks. “True. I’ve had enough of police and nosy amateur detectives.” She edged around Samuel and pushed past Shelbee back into the main store. Jac passed me with a wink then gave Sammy a pat and Shelbee a nudge and returned to the main shop as well. Shelbee gazed after her then turned back to me with a raised eyebrow, mouthing, “What’s going on?”

  I motioned her to me, and she stepped close while Samuel and Bitsy sniffed around the kitchen floor. “I think Jac is interested in leasing the store.”

  “Really? She didn’t say anything to me. Why did she tell you and not me?”

  “She didn’t. I was coming to find you when I passed the store and saw Jac in here with Tammy. I was curious, so naturally, I knocked on the door and Jac waved me inside. Tammy’s been showcasing all of the benefits of the store and its amenities and Jac seems to truly be interested.”

  “As soon as Tammy’s gone, we’ll get the truth. In the meantime, how did your talk with the young couple go? You found them, right?”

  “Yes, we did. But I didn’t get too much information out of them. Sam Davis has a real grud
ge against David Tanner. Apparently, years ago when David still drank, he killed the guy’s brother in a hit-and-run.”

  Shelbee gasped. “I can see why he holds a grudge.”

  “Me too. Still, he wouldn’t talk to us and stormed out of the café and his wife isn’t much help. Oh, I found out that she was in the park at midnight the night David was killed. “

  Shelbee cocked her head. “She told you that?”

  “No. But I met her on the street a little while ago and Hannah Renaud saw us and told me how she saw Laura in the park that night.” I filled Shelbee in on Mr. Wong’s altercation and the subsequent meeting I had with Laura and Hannah.

  “You’re going to have to confront her with that.”

  I stretched my arms over my head. “I know and I’m going to have to talk to her husband again and that artist if I can ever catch up with him.” I glanced at my watch – four forty-five. “But first I want to get some supper and we need to pick up Paw from the church.”

  “Paw’s at the church?”

  “Yes. I’ve got a lot more to fill you in on. Let’s do it in the car on the way to the church and let’s see if Jac’s finished and wants to go with us.”

  Shelbee called Samuel and Bitsy and we left the kitchen, closing the door behind us. Jac was ready to leave, and Tammy Williams stood at the door with keys in hand, tapping her foot.

  Shelbee whispered to me, “Should we ask her more questions?”

  I thought about that for a moment but decided that Tammy wasn’t going to be very cooperative. “No, let’s catch up on things and get back with Bruce and maybe Lillian and Mark before we proceed further.”

  Shelbee nodded and clipped on Samuel’s and Bitsy’s leashes. “I’ll run upstairs and meet you both outside in a moment.”

  I nodded, and she headed for the inside door at the back of the store that led up to her apartment.

  Tammy watched her go with a frown on her face but refrained from saying anything.