by Laura Scott
“I will. Thanks.” Lilly turned and left.
The rest of the day passed slowly. Harriet had sent a feast—chicken salad with homemade bread, fruit, and apple pie for dessert. Ally tried to refrain from sampling the pie, but when Gramps dug in, she couldn’t help herself.
Yum.
“You have another vaccination scheduled for Monday,” Gramps informed her when they’d finished putting their leftovers away. “And another grooming, too.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Ally said, meaning it. “No job too small, remember?”
A ghost of a smile creased Gramps’ features. “I remember.”
She took Roxy for a walk up and down Main Street, removing Pepper’s flyers along the way. She kept an eye out for anything unusual, but the town was busy with what appeared to be summer tourists who loved spending weekends up here.
She saw Rosie Malone heading toward the library and thought about her grandfather’s plan to have lunch with the woman tomorrow. Since she knew very well it wasn’t a date, she made a mental note to tag along.
When she returned to the clinic, she put Roxy upstairs in the apartment and waited a full hour for Kevin Kuhn and Lola.
“You’re Dr. Winter?” Kevin asked in surprise. He was of average height, with nondescript brown hair. “I never went to a woman vet before.”
Another fan of Dr. Greg Hanson? She did her best to keep smiling. “I’m a good vet, I promise.” She dropped to her knees, offering a hand to the dachshund. “Hey, Lola, how are you today?”
Lola sniffed her fingers and wagged her tail.
“You’re adorable, yes you are.” She glanced up at Kevin. “Let’s use exam room number two, okay?”
Kevin followed her into the exam room, and lifted Lola onto the stainless steel table. He spoke reassuringly to Lola, stroking her fur as Ally gave the vaccination. Lola was very well behaved, for which Ally was grateful.
She didn’t want to believe someone who appeared to care about animals the way Kevin Kuhn seemed to love his Lola, could possibly be involved in murder.
Then again, she preferred pets over people, so why not a killer having the same perspective?
When they were finished, she handed Kevin the invoice. As she swiped his credit card, Gramps started in.
“Mr. Kuhn? My name is Oscar Winter. I’m wondering if you would share your opinion of the work Marty Shawlin did for you. To be honest, I had some issues with him, myself.”
Kevin looked surprised, then glared at Gramps. “I’m not telling you anything! In fact, I never want to hear that man’s name ever again, you understand me?” Kevin pounded the counter with his fist. “Never!”
“Oh, but—” Gramps tried, but Kuhn wasn’t having it.
Kevin snatched his credit card from Ally’s fingers and tugged on Lola’s leash, the clinic door shutting loudly behind him.
Chapter Eleven
“Well, that was a bust.” Ally glanced at Gramps. “Guess your charm only works with the ladies.”
“He was very upset,” Gramps agreed, his gaze thoughtful. “Too upset, if you ask me.”
“Being upset doesn’t make you a murderer.”
“No, but it proves he has a temper.” Gramps gave a curt nod. “Yes, a temper like that could easily get out of control, causing a man to do something in haste that he might later regret.” He paused, then added, “Like smashing a glass and marble globe against a man’s skull.”
The memory of Marty Shawlin’s dead body made her stomach clench. But more concerning was that her grandfather wasn’t going to give up on his theory of the murderer being one of Marty’s less-than-satisfied clients.
“Well, it was worth an attempt to talk with Mr. Kuhn.” Secretly relieved her grandfather hadn’t gotten any more information about the murder, she took off her lab coat and hung it on a coat stand near the door. “Ready to head back to the Legacy House? I need to grab Roxy.”
Gramps didn’t answer right away, and she could practically see thoughts tumbling through his head. This was what happened when you spent too much time watching Dateline and reading true crime novels.
Then again, maybe heading over to the library now would serve two purposes. Gramps could talk to Rosie Malone (while she listened in) to get that interrogation done and pick up another book to keep him busy for the next few days.
Her grandfather needed to distance himself from Marty Shawlin’s murder. Before anything else happened.
“Gramps, how about we stop at the library before heading back to the Legacy House?” She smiled. “I don’t have any other clients coming in, so we have plenty of time before dinner.”
That got Gramps’ attention. “To talk to Rosie?”
“Yes,” she admitted reluctantly. “And to see if that true crime book she mentioned has come in yet. Might be a better read than The Evil Within.” Even the thought of Gramps reading a book with that title made her shiver.
“You got yourself a deal.” Gramps stood and reached for his cane. “Let’s take Roxy with us.”
“Speaking of Roxy, we forgot to bring her down to check her reaction to Kevin Kuhn,” Ally noted. She ran upstairs and brought the boxer back down by Gramps. “You know who came into the house that day, don’t you, girl?”
“You’re right,” Gramps agreed. “Although she didn’t growl at Ginny White, but we didn’t have her husband here, either. I hate to say it, but could be the killer was someone that Marty knew well and had been there several times before. If so, would Roxy still growl? I mean, I know dogs can be smart, but to make that distinction? Maybe not.”
“It’s a good point,” Ally conceded. “I met Eli White at the sandwich shop but didn’t have Roxy with me then, either. It could be that I’m putting too much faith in Roxy’s ability to hunt down the killer.”
“Probably,” Gramps agreed.
Roxy licked her cheek, making her laugh. “Okay, let’s go for a walk.”
The boxer jumped around in excitement, making it difficult for Ally to clip the leash to her collar. Making sure Gramps was steady on his feet, they made their way outside.
She locked the door and hooked her arm with her grandfather’s. “Lean on me, Gramps.”
“Bah,” he muttered. “I’m telling you Ally, getting old ain’t for sissies.”
“I know, Gramps.” She truly felt bad that he’d broken his hip and now needed a cane or a walker to get around. At Christmas he’d been full of energy and now they were walking slowly toward the library. “If you want to wait here, I can get the car.”
“Doc insists walking is good for me.” The scowl etched on his features belied his words. “Course it’s not his hip that hurts like a son of a gun.”
Ally wisely held her tongue. The summer breeze coming in off Lake Michigan was nice, the temperature in the high seventies. She’d missed being here amidst the laid-back atmosphere of Willow Bluff.
Madison has lakes, too, but the beauty was marred, at least in her opinion, with crazy busy traffic, all roads leading to the state capital.
“It’s really nice here, Gramps.” She shot him a sideways glance. “I’m glad I came back.”
“Me too,” Gramps admitted. “I think your detective likes having you around as well.”
“Gramps,” she said on a sigh. “You have to stop calling him my detective. We never dated. And even if Noah was interested—which he isn’t—I’m not. I have enough to worry about between keeping my business going and watching over you.” And the widows, she silently added.
“No reason to watch over me,” Gramps shot back.
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that.” She gestured toward the Lakeview Café. “You want to stop and rest for a minute before going to the library?”
“No, I want to talk to Rosie.”
“All right.” They made their way past the café and into the municipal building. The air-conditioning seemed to be on high, making her shiver.
Rosie Malone was at her usual spot behind the circulation desk, chatting
with patrons and checking out books. She looked more somber today, and Gramps stayed back until the desk was free.
“Oscar!” Rosie greeted him with a sad smile, then frowned when she saw the dog. “Oh, I’m sorry, but pets aren’t allowed in the library.”
“He’s my comfort dog,” Gramps said with a wink. “And we won’t be long.”
Rosie sighed. “Okay, fine. Did you come to pick up the book I set aside for you?”
“Yep.” There was no denying Gramps was interested in the new book. He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I need to talk to you about Marty Shawlin. Did you know he came to see me and Lydia at the Legacy House the day before he died?”
Rosie’s eyes widened as she took Gramps’ library card and quickly checked out the book. Rosie’s voice was low. “I didn’t know that. How awful for you, Oscar. I’m sure that must have been a terrible shock to hear he’d been … murdered.”
Gramps nodded sagely. “I wanted to talk to you, Rosie, but I heard Marty met with you, too.”
“What?” Rosie looked momentarily flustered. “My goodness, Oscar, where did you hear something like that? I never spoke to Marty Shawlin.”
Ally tried to keep her expression neutral, but deep down she had the distinct sense the sweet librarian was lying through her teeth.
“Are you sure?” Gramps persisted. “He must have called to try to set up a meeting.”
“Never.” Rosie pushed his book toward him. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, Oscar, but it’s inaccurate.” She pursed her lips with disapproval. “I never spoke to Mr. Shawlin or met him in person. He never came into the library, at least not while I was on duty.”
“I see.” Gramps stared at Rosie for a long moment before reaching for his book. “Well, I guess I have wrong information then.” He looked chagrined. “Here I was hoping to have someone to talk to about the services he wanted to provide.”
Something flickered across Rosie’s gaze but was gone so quickly Ally figured she may have imagined it. “I’m sorry, Oscar, but I can’t help you. I don’t know anything about what Mr. Shawlin was up to.” She stepped back from the counter. “If you’ll excuse me, I have books that need to be reshelved.”
“Sure, sure. Sorry to keep you.” Gramps lifted the book. “Thanks again for looking out for me, Rosie. I appreciate it.”
“Take care, Oscar.” Rosie’s smile did not reach her eyes. And there was absolutely no flirtation in her manner toward Gramps, the way there had been the other day.
Interesting, Ally thought, as she took the book from Gramps and tucked it under her arm. Still holding onto Roxy’s leash with her left hand, she linked her right arm with Gramps.
Neither one of them said anything until they were back out on Main Street.
“You need to call your detective, Ally. Rosie is lying about seeing Marty.” His blue eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “This is definitely a lead that needs to be followed up on.”
“We might think she’s lying, Gramps, but there’s no way to know for sure,” Ally argued. “You know as well as I do that Noah will interview all of Marty’s actual and potential clients. I’m sure he’ll be able to figure out whether or not Rosie Malone had an appointment with Marty.”
“It’s not just that,” Gramps said with a flash of irritation. “I know she’s lying.”
“What do you mean?”
“Marty did come to the library.” Gramps thumped his cane on the ground for emphasis. “I saw him there. In fact, I saw him standing at that very desk talking to Rosie.” He looked thoughtful. “I believe it was the Wednesday before his murder.”
Ally stared at him in surprise. “I don’t understand, why would she lie about something like that? I mean having him come to the library is no big secret. Lots of people come to the library.”
“Exactly.” Gramps’ tone rang with satisfaction. “Don’t you see? I made her nervous, so she lied. About something silly. Which tells me she has something to hide.”
“Okay, but I’m still not sure how this helps solve the case.” Ally gave Roxy’s leash a tug when the dog wandered too close to the edge of the road. “Seriously, Gramps, at this point we have more suspects with a grudge against Marty Shawlin than we know what to do with.”
“True,” Gramps agreed. “But I’m fairly certain only one of them is capable of murder.” He paused, then added, “We just need to figure out which one.”
* * *
Ally’s phone rang as they returned to the clinic. “This is Dr. Winter, may I help you?”
“I think there’s something wrong with my Lab, Patsy.” a female voice said. “Her abdomen is bloated. Do you think she has a tumor?”
“I can’t say what might be the cause of her belly distention until I examine her.” Ally glanced at her watch. So much for closing early on a Saturday. “If you’d like to bring Patsy in, I’m happy to take a look.”
“Well,” the owner seemed to hesitate.
“If she’s eating well, and is having no trouble going to the bathroom, we can wait until Monday.” Ally tucked the phone in the crook of her shoulder and unlocked the door, so Gramps could take a seat inside. “Whatever works better for you.”
“I guess I’ll bring Patsy now, then. You’re—uh, still open, right? I mean, you’re not charging me extra because it’s an emergency?”
“I’m still open,” Ally assured her. She set Gramps’ book on the counter and reached for paper and pencil. “What’s your name and number?”
“Wendy Granger.” Wendy rattled off her phone number.
“Thanks, I’ll see you and Patsy soon, then.” Ally disconnected from the line and looked at Gramps. “I can’t believe how many clients I’ve seen in the past few days. Business is really starting to perk up, Gramps.”
“I’m glad.” Gramps grinned. “I told you it would take some time, but soon you’ll have more four-legged patients than you’ll know what to do with.”
Ally nodded, starting to believe he was right. It made her think about possibly hiring a vet tech, then reminded herself not to go crazy yet. After all, she still had to pay her insurance deductible for the damaged door.
Wendy Granger arrived five minutes later. She was an older woman with graying hair and she gazed down at Patsy, a pretty yellow Lab, with clear devotion. “Oh, dear, I really hope Patsy doesn’t have a tumor.”
“She’s young, maybe two or three years old,” Ally observed, bending over to greet the Lab. “How long have you had her?”
“Since she was a puppy.” Wendy beamed. “Patsy is such a good dog.”
“I’m sure.” Patsy sniffed her hand and wagged her tail. “Let’s get her into an exam room so I can take a look.”
Ally led them into the first exam room, and helped Wendy get the Lab up on the stainless steel table. Ally started with looking at the Lab’s eyes, ears, and mouth, then moved to her belly.
It didn’t take but a second to understand what was causing the animal’s distention. “Ms. Granger, didn’t you get Patsy spayed?”
“Oh, well, I meant to.” She flushed and looked embarrassed. “I just didn’t have time. But it’s okay, she’s never out of my sight.”
Ally bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Patsy isn’t sick, Ms. Granger, she’s pregnant. About four or five weeks along.”
“Pregnant!” The woman’s expression was horrified. “But—that’s impossible!”
“I assure you it’s not.” Ally stroked a hand over the Lab’s fur. “Patsy will likely deliver her pups in the next few weeks.”
“But—who’s the father?”
Again, it was difficult not to smile. “You must have a dog that lives nearby who is also not neutered.” The bane of a veterinarian’s existence. “Once Patsy delivers her pups, you may want to make an appointment with me to perform surgery so this doesn’t happen again.”
Ms. Granger looked upset. “I don’t know anything about dealing with puppies.”
“Patsy will know what to do. And of cours
e, I’m available to help as needed. There are also library books and plenty of information on the computer if you want to read up before the big event.”
“I guess I’ll go to the library.” She lifted Patsy off the table and onto the floor. “Thanks, Dr. Winter.”
“You’re welcome.” Ally followed her out. “Tell you what, Ms. Granger. I won’t charge you anything for examining Patsy today if you promise to bring her in to be neutered a few months after she delivers her pups.”
The woman’s expression turned grateful. “I’d appreciate that, thanks.”
“What was that about?” Gramps asked. “I’m not sure you should be giving away your services for free. First that cat and now this.”
“The dog is fine, just pregnant.” Ally waved her hand. “I can’t charge for that. Besides, it’s more important that we take care of any future litters. I’m already worried these mixed-breed pups may not find good homes.”
“True.” Gramps grinned. “I’d take one, just to watch Harriet have a conniption fit.”
Ally shook her head, hoping he was just teasing. “Let’s go, Gramps.”
“Good timing,” Gramps said. “We’ll arrive just in time for dinner.”
Ally shouldn’t have been hungry, but the idea of eating more of Harriet’s cooking was enticing. She made a last-minute decision not to bring Roxy along, just in case she ended up staying.
Besides, with Pepper/Spot now with her rightful owner, Roxy would have the apartment to herself. Ally took the boxer upstairs, told her to behave, then went back down to meet Gramps.
The drive to the Legacy House didn’t take long. There was no sign, or sound, of a vehicle with a bad muffler, either. She helped Gramps inside, frowning a bit at how tired he seemed to be.
Working two days in a row at the clinic and walking to and from the library might have been a bit too much for him.
“Hi, Ally, Oscar.” Harriet beamed at them. “Did you enjoy your lunch?”
“It was amazing, Harriet,” Ally told her. “We brought back the leftovers. I have to tell you, that was best lunch I’ve had since coming back to town.”