Groomer Has It

by Katie Hagen

  “Mayor Trull.”

  Immediately, I jumped up and started pacing the floor. “Mayor Trull? So, Mayor Trull brought Vicki Perring flowers and brownies on the day she died. Why didn’t he mention that when I was in his office?”

  “Why would he say anything about it? No one knew he was sneaking around her back door. That’s why I didn’t want to talk to the sheriff about it. Family is family.” Roberta tapped her fingers on the counter then looked at her watch.

  I knew I’d only have a couple more minutes with her. My head was spinning.

  “Roberta. You knew Vicki better than anyone I’ve talked to.”

  Roberta nodded sadly. “And really I didn’t know her that well. It’s sad.”

  “It is. But I really do want to help.”

  Roberta went to put her cup in the sink then turned to face me. There were tears in her eyes.

  “Roberta, I hear they are going to arrest Vic.”

  Roberta’s head sunk low. “I was afraid of that.”

  “Was Vicki? I mean, was she afraid of him? I heard she was planning on kicking him out of the guest house.”

  “Oh no,” Roberta shook her head. “She loved that boy. She just wanted him to grow up a bit. The boy spent all his time playing games in that little house or sitting around at the bookstore. Vicki was just showin ‘im a bit a that tough love she showed all her tenants.”

  Roberta wiped her hands on Kitty’s dishtowel and went to grab her coat. Picklepuss and I followed her to the door.

  “I guess he’ll have to grow up now. He’s got a lot of work to do.”

  “It can’t be that hard to run a bookstore,” I laughed.

  “Oh, no. With Vicki gone that means Vic has to take over as landlord for a whole heap of properties. Vicki worked really hard to make sure all her renters were safe and successful. It wasn’t easy. Believe it or not, she was a bit of a saint, that woman. You know she had people coming to her all the time to get her to sell. She could have been a millionaire. Corporations, lawyers, they all kept on her. But if she did that, if she sold, then people would be out of work, small businesses would close, some people might even lose their homes.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  Roberta opened the door and patted Picklepuss on the head. “Well, give me a call if you need to bring her over. I’d love to see her actually.”

  “Of course,” I smiled. “I’ve got your card. Thank you so much, Roberta.”

  I’d barely closed the door when Carlie came through it with a paper bag full of groceries. “Woah was that the dog walker?”

  I nodded, took the bag from Carlie and began rifling through it.

  “So?” Carlie laid on the couch and swung her legs over the arm, kicking her shoes off as she did. “What did she say? Anything juicy?”

  I pulled out a bag of chips and ripped them open along with a bottle of ginger ale. “Mmmhmm,” I answered with my mouth full. “You are never gonna guess who she thinks Vicki Perring’s boyfriend was.” Carlie sat up on her elbows and I did my best Roberta lean-back. “None other than Mayor Trull.”

  “No.”

  “Yes! Do you think Ashley knows? I’ll bet she did. It’s probably a whole cover up thing. That’s illegal you know, being an accomplice to murder. I’ll bet she gets prison time.”

  “IF she was a part of it and IF there was anything to be a part of.”

  “Well Roberta said that she saw the Mayor buying the brownies and flowers on Vicki’s table. That puts him at the scene of the crime. She also saw him sneaking around the back multiple times.”

  “That doesn’t mean he killed her though.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. It would make things a whole lot easier though.”

  “What did she have to say about Vic? Or did you even ask?”

  “I did actually. She said Vicki loved her nephew and that she was just trying to get him to grow up.”

  “That makes sense. He is kind of a man-child,” Carlie said while braiding a piece of her hair.

  “I wonder why the Mayor is so set on arresting Vic for the murder? Did he know something because he had a personal connection with Vicki? Or is he just trying to cover up his own guilt?”

  Carlie came over and grabbed a chip from the bag. “Don’t forget about the Bianchis.”

  “You’re right. Daniel did admit to doing something the other day, and Sofia definitely knew more than she let on. We’re going to have to look into that too. Maybe this whole Mayor and Ashley thing was just family drama. Weird, awkward family drama, but still…” I wiped my hands on my lap and looked at Carlie. “Speaking of family drama…”

  “We’re fine. I just think you need to back off of Ashley a little bit. She’s really not that bad.”

  “So, are you guys, what, like friends now?”

  “I guess?” Carlie shrugged.

  “Wow. I really was gone a long time.”

  “But we’re cool, right?” Carlie was trying to look casual, but I could tell she was worried. It would be hard to accept that she was friends with my mortal enemy, but she was still my little sister, faults and all.

  I crossed my heart, kissed my fist, and crossed my fingers to the sky. “Always.”

  We spent the rest of the morning watching tv. Without grooming appointments, we were quickly running out of money, so we knew that we’d have to be careful about going to the salon or out to eat for a bit. Our financial concerns were hindering our sleuthing abilities. We couldn’t think of anything to do besides listen to the rain on Kitty’s roof and hope that it would still be ours next year.

  Eventually I took a shower and came out to find Carlie making dinner. The whole house smelled like garlic and butter. I was in heaven. I wondered how long it would take before I had to buy new jeans. She dished up two plates of shrimp scampi with pasta and I poured us some wine of which we seemed to be running out of. What if we never got the town back on our side? What if I completely ran out of money and had to sell? I shook the idea out of my head. No, I couldn’t let that happen.

  I scooped up some noodles and glanced at the pile of papers still on the counter.

  Glaney Commons.

  “Hey,” I said, holding up the designs. “You know how Vicki owns like half the town, right? Well, Roberta said that people were always trying to get her to sell the land. Like corporations and lawyers.”

  “Right…”

  “Well what if those corporations had something to do with this?”

  “Glaney Commons? I mean, I guess that would make sense.”

  “Ok, so what if someone wanted Vicki out of the way. Roberta said that Vicki would never sell her land. What if Vic would?”

  “You think Vic killed her so that he could sell the land to whoever wanted to build this?”

  “Or someone thought Vic would be an easier sale.” I gnawed on a piece of garlic bread and thought about it. “I think we need to figure out more about this project. We could go to the city and look for permits but that might get back to the Mayor. I’m just not sure that he should know we are looking into this.”

  “I think you’re right,” Carlie popped a shrimp into her mouth and chewed. “What about Sofia? At that party I heard that she was the head of the chamber of commerce. That’s businesses, right?”

  “Yeah, it is. I’m not sure if they would know anything about a business that hasn’t opened, or even been built yet but it’s worth a shot. So how do we get to her? We can’t just keep buying pizza…can we?”

  Carlie shrugged and held up our empty wine bottle. “They do sell other things…”

  Picklepuss barked at me once from the car as we walked around the back of Main Street Pizza to the patio door.

  “I hope she doesn’t bark the whole time. You know she was parked in that same spot a few days ago.”

  “Yeah, and her owner was killed then. Maybe we had it all wrong and it was a rogue meter maid!” Carlie gasped. “And now you parked in the same spot! You’re doomed!”

  “I am
doomed, but not because of my parking abilities.”

  While my regular jeans were a no go after a day of chips, soda, and pasta, I managed to slip into a pair of dark stretchy jeans and a silky blue button up top. I left my hair down and put on one of Kitty’s long sparkly necklaces. It was only Wednesday. No need to go all out.

  Carlie went for a look that said, I don’t know that I am out of the house right now and that people can actually see me. She wore a baggy v-neck t-shirt, semi-tucked into loose sweats with a pair of Ugg boots. Her hair was tied into a more than messy bun on top of her head and I could see her bra through her shirt. I wasn’t sure if I should applaud her for her confidence or hide my face and stay three steps behind.

  “Get over here, loser,” she grabbed my arm and pulled me up to the bar. “Two gin and tonics please,” Carlie purred to the tattooed bartender.

  “On the house,” he winked when he set them down.

  “See?” Carlie said once he’d walked away.

  I took a sip of my drink and ignored her.

  The bar was busy for a weeknight, but we managed to snag a high table near the back windows. I took a drink of my free gin, gagged a little, and watched for signs of Daniel or Sofia.

  There were a few people gathered near the bar and the dance floor had been replaced with shorter tables. Each table had four chairs, and most were full.

  “Oh man! I forgot tonight was trivia night.” Carlie pointed to the DJ booth where a tall man with glasses and a beard was tinkering with a microphone while simultaneously handing out slips of paper and pencils.

  “Ooh, fun!”

  “You’re such a dork,” Carlie teased. “But we have to have four people so…”

  I immediately started scanning the room for singles, something I had never planned to do in Glaney. I waved to Frannie and Doc who sat at a table with a couple people I recognized from around town. I returned polite nods from a couple of the local police officers and finally in the back I saw Jordan and Ashley sitting with two girls I remembered as some of Ashley’s cheerleading minions. Jordan didn’t seem to notice I was there, and Ashley looked like she was trying really hard to do the same. While I was trying not to stare daggers into her little blond head, I saw Vic slip out the back door.

  A familiar cologne caught my attention as did the man pulling up a stool at our table.

  “Peter!” I grinned from ear to ear. “Carlie, it’s Peter!”

  “I see him.” Carlie continued to look around. “We still need one more.”

  “One more for what?” Peter rested his arm on the back of my chair, and I felt instantly warm all over. I really needed to get my hormones under control.

  “Trivia. Do you play?”

  Peter looked around the room as though he finally realized where he was and what he’d gotten himself into. “Never in public,” he laughed. “But I do like Jeopardy.”

  “I should hook you up with Beverly,” I laughed.

  Peter looked confused and leaned back in his chair.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I winced. He must have thought I was calling him old.

  “No, it’s fine. I just thought…nevermind. It doesn’t really matter. Let’s play some trivia.”

  I looked at Carlie to save me from myself, but she was waving to someone across the room. Through the crowd came the bartender. Well that’s service, I thought.

  I was about to ask Peter what he wanted to order when the guy took a seat next to Carlie.

  “Can you play?” She leaned toward him as she asked, and I watched him watch her t-shirt sag. Gross.

  “Oh yeah, I’m off for the night. You got a ringer now,” he winked.

  “Yay!” Carlie giggled and hugged him.

  “So, you’re pretty good at this then?” I asked him.

  “I’m awesome,” he smirked.

  I turned to Peter and whispered. “He’s awesome.”

  Peter elbowed my side then reached out his hand. “Hey man, I’m Peter.”

  The bartender reached an arm across the table and shook Peter’s. “Logan.”

  Logan smelled like cigarettes and Axe body spray with a hint of unbathed man beneath it. He wore a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a whole lot of swagger.

  From the front we heard the microphone screech to life before the host started going over the rules.

  “So,” I leaned into Peter. “Is this your normal Wednesday night hang out?”

  Peter laughed. “No, I was just ordering some food actually from Sofia and she said that you were back here.”

  “Sofia’s here? I didn’t realize.”

  “Huh, well she knew you were here.”

  “She’s actually the reason we came in. I wanted to ask her a couple questions about…business stuff.”

  “Oh, well I think she was heading out for the night. Kitchen was closing. I got the last order.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Can I help? I do run a business,” he smiled.

  The host was just finishing up and I noticed that Carlie and Logan had been flirting the whole time. I guess none of us knew the rules.

  “Ok, well, how about after the game’s over?”

  “Deal,” he grinned.

  As it turned out, Logan was awesome. Any answer that he didn’t have, which tended to be math and geography, Peter knew. Carlie got a lot of the pop culture ones and I knew everything animal related. We actually made a good team and Logan was slowly growing on me. We didn’t win, but neither did Ashley Trull so I considered that to be good enough.

  Even I was surprised however, when I accepted Logan’s invitation to an after party at a local barn. Peter looked shocked. What he didn’t know was barn parties had been my jam since high school.

  “You’ve never been to a barn party?” I asked him as we got ready to leave.

  “I’m not even sure what you mean by that.” He looked at Carlie and Logan. “Am I the only one?”

  Logan slapped him on the back. “No worries man, I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

  Peter shot me a worried glance. “We don’t have to go,” I whispered.

  “No, it’s cool. Let’s go party in a barn.”

  “Woo!” Carlie yelled and we all piled into Tom’s little blue car for the drive.

  Picklepuss sat on Peter’s lap, facing the back seat, and judged Carlie’s choice in men the entire ride. I was starting to think that the little dog might have been made for me.

  When we pulled up to the barn, Carlie and Logan went straight inside. Peter hung back with me so I could walk Picklepuss.

  “You want to ask me about that business question now?” Peter said as we walked in the moonlight. A light breeze came through the tall grass in the field behind us and somewhere in the distance a cow mooed. Picklepuss stopped to growl toward the sound then went back to sniffing.

  “Sure,” I averted my eyes while Picklepuss squatted. “Have you heard anything about Glaney Commons?”

  I saw recognition pass over his eyes even in the dim light. “How did you hear about that?”

  “Small town,” I shrugged. Peter didn’t seem convinced. “Actually, I found some papers near my trash about it. Some drawings and a letter.”

  “What did it say?” Peter glanced back toward the barn as people milled about smoking and drinking.

  “I couldn’t really read much. It was all faded and a little dirty. I think it was outside for a while.”

  “Huh.”

  “So, you’ve heard of it.”

  “Yeah. It’s kind of a big deal but no one is supposed to know. It’s something we’ve been discussing in the chamber of commerce meetings. Apparently, the mayor wants to go ahead with the project, you know, to upgrade the town. But there are a lot of people that think that it would change Glaney too much and hurt the small businesses like ours.”

  “Well, who has the final say? About whether it happens?”

  “Ultimately Mayor Trull has to decide if as a town we would allow corporate business. I think we all know how he was le
aning. But there was a problem.”

  “What?”

  “He needed Vicki Perring to sell off some of her land to make it happen. Word was that she was going to say yes.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. I was told that she would never sell.”

  “I guess the mayor thought differently.”

  “That must have been hard for everyone. Was that why Daniel confronted Vicki that night?”

  “The night she died? No, I don’t think so. I heard that the Bianchis bought their building from her. They wanted more control. From what I heard, Daniel went to Vicki to tell her off about her complaints. He couldn’t say anything before since she was the landlord.”

  “And you don’t think that maybe it went a little too far. He was pretty steamed when I saw him in the restaurant.”

  “He’s a big teddy bear. There’s no way,” Peter shook his head.

  I took a deep breath and let it out through my lips. It felt like every question had an answer.

  “Where have you been all this time, Mr. Trivia?”

  Someone hollered toward the barn and we both looked over at the commotion. In that instant, the leash slipped from my hand and Picklepuss disappeared into the field.

  Chapter 11

  “Crap, crap crap!” I yelled as Peter and I trampled through the waist high grass. “Picklepuss!”

  Peter called as well. Every now and then we stopped to listen.

  The nearby road felt closer and closer with every passed moment. I had to find her before she followed whatever it was she was chasing too far.

  “Picklepuss!” I yelled into the darkness again. Then I started yelling anything that I thought might be recall words for her or at least words that might get her attention. “Cookies! Treat! Come! Here! Crap, what else? Wanna go for a ride in the car?”

  Finally, something must have clicked because I felt a scratching on my leg. I sunk down into the muck, found her and picked her up. “What were you thinking?” I scolded in a baby voice.

  Peter slowly crossed back across the field in my direction.

  “Did you find her?”

  “Yes! She’s here!”

  When he got close enough, he reached out and scratched her behind the ears. Then he put his hand on my cheek and left it there.