by Laura Scott
Ally was just paying the bill when Roxy lunged to her feet, once again growling low in her throat. Ally tucked the cash in the billfold and glanced around, expecting to see Officer Roberts nearby, as she began unwinding Roxy’s leash from the arm of the chair. “What is it, girl?”
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Roxy’s staccato barks made Ally jump to her feet. Too late! The boxer lunged forward, taking the chair with her as she continued barking.
Ally’s feet tangled in the leash and the chair legs, sending her face first onto the pavement. She let out a muffled oomph, and managed, just barely, to catch herself with her palms, rather than adding bruises to her face.
“Roxy, sit!” She still had Roxy’s leash wrapped around her foot. The boxer continued to bark like mad.
From her supine position it wasn’t easy to see, but there was a flurry of activity off to the side. Ally caught a glimpse of two people—a man and a woman, she thought, hurrying away from the café.
“Roxy!” She yelled at the dog with the same volume Gramps used during his cell phone calls. “Sit!”
Roxy sat, the barks giving way to low growling. Ally pushed herself upright, untwisted the leash from her foot and the chair legs, and tried to ignore the restaurant patrons gaping at her.
“Come, Roxy.” She took off in the same general direction the two diners had gone. Roxy was eager to go yet didn’t keep up the growling, barking alarm that had caused the hoopla in the first place.
Reaching the sidewalk running along Main Street, Ally looked right and left, but couldn’t see anything unusual. There were plenty of people strolling around, but none that reminded her of the couple who’d hurried away from the Lakefront Café.
Had they really left because of Roxy’s barking? And if so, was it just because they didn’t like dogs in general or more because they were afraid of Roxy in particular?
Was Officer Roberts one of them? Maybe he was off duty by now—it was six thirty in the evening—and planned to take his wife or girlfriend to dinner.
Until Roxy chased him off.
She fumbled for her phone and called Noah’s cell. No way were both of these episodes of Roxy’s growling and barking a coincidence.
“Ally? Are you okay?” Noah’s deep voice sent shivers of awareness down her spine.
“Yes, mostly.” She glanced at the open hole in her jeans, where her knee had scraped the concrete. “Listen, I need you to meet me here at the Lakeview Café.”
“I can be there in five.” A pause, then Noah added, “You’re sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m okay, just a few more bruises.” To add to the colorful assortment she was already sporting. “But I think Roxy knows who Marty’s killer is.”
Another long pause before Noah repeated, “Be there in five.”
She paced the sidewalk with Roxy at her side until Noah arrived. As tempting as it was, she resisted the urge to throw herself into his arms again.
His gaze took in her torn jeans and bleeding kneecap. “What happened this time?”
“Roxy leaped forward and started barking like crazy.” She flushed. “It was my fault I fell, because I had the leash wrapped around the arm of the chair.”
Noah’s expression turned skeptical. “Dogs bark for all kinds of reasons. Not because they’re tracking a killer.”
“I think it was Officer Roberts.”
Noah blinked then scowled. “And what makes you say that?”
“You don’t like him very much, do you?”
He looked taken aback by her comment. Then his gaze turned thoughtful. “I guess you saw how irritated I was with him at the scene of Marty’s murder.”
She nodded. “He doesn’t seem to like you, either.”
“It’s nothing, just an old cop that doesn’t like to be shown up by a younger guy.” Noah folded his arms across his chest. “So again, why do you think Officer Roberts is the killer?”
“Roxy doesn’t like him.” As soon as she said the words, she knew they sounded lame. “I mean, she growls anytime he’s nearby and that’s happened twice now that I know of, and if this last time was really him, then that’s three times she’s growled at Roberts.” Noah didn’t say anything, so she added, “I told you, Roxy was in her crate when Marty was murdered. Why wouldn’t she know who was responsible?”
“Ally.” He sighed. “I appreciate your concern over Roxy and her ability to find the killer, but this isn’t helping.”
“But if you just talk to Officer Roberts, see if he or anyone he knows personally met with Marty Shawlin before he died …”
“I can’t make him talk to me,” Noah interrupted. “And it’s not like I can give a dog’s growl as evidence to justify a search warrant.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Okay, tell me this. Is Roberts married?”
“Divorced, no kids.” Noah frowned. “His mother lives here in town, he does yard work for her.”
“Aha! So it’s possible his mother might have been one of Marty’s clients. And wouldn’t Roberts be upset if his mother had been swindled by Marty?”
Noah didn’t respond, but she could tell the idea intrigued him.
Ally reached down to pet the boxer. “You’re a good girl, Roxy. I just know you’re going to help Noah crack this case.”
“I told you, she’s not a K-9 cop,” Noah said testily. “Trust me, I’ll find the murderer by using good old-fashioned detective work.”
Before she could offer an apology, Noah stalked away, clearly unhappy with her.
She glanced at Roxy. “We’ll find a way to help him, whether he likes it or not. Deal?”
Roxy wagged her stubby tail in agreement.
Chapter Fourteen
Ally woke up early on Tuesday morning to Roxy licking her face. “No, girl.” She gently pushed the dog away and swiped at her cheek. Sitting up, she blinked and brought the clock into focus. “Roxy, it’s barely six o’clock.”
Roxy didn’t care, she clearly wanted to go out. Granted it wasn’t the dog’s fault that Ally hadn’t slept well. Last night, after Noah had walked away, she couldn’t get his woodsy scent—or the rest of him for that matter—out of her head.
She took Roxy outside, remembering how Sheila Young, Marty’s ex-wife, was supposed to have come last night to pick up Roxy. Had she missed the woman because she’d been at the Lakefront Café? Maybe, but Sheila hadn’t called, either, so she highly doubted it.
Keeping Roxy wouldn’t be a hardship, especially if Sheila was going to be mean to Roxy.
After she’d showered, changed, and eaten her requisite oatmeal for breakfast, she headed down to the clinic. There wasn’t a single appointment scheduled for the day, and that was more than a little depressing.
Maybe having Gramps helping out as her receptionist had been her good luck charm. And if that was the case, she needed to get him back there, ASAP.
But she couldn’t do that without a car.
She decided to call the garage for an update. She had the police report, but still no clue about the amount of damage that had been done.
“Good news,” the mechanic said cheerily. “The repair estimate turned out to be just under a thousand dollars.”
That was the good news? It was the amount of her deductible, which meant more money coming out of her bank account. Peachy. “Okay, when will the car be ready?”
“I can have it ready to go by noon as long as you give me the authorization to do the repairs.”
“Yes, please do. Thanks.” She disconnected and contacted her insurance agent to provide him the information. Now that she knew the repair would be on her dime, she figured he wouldn’t need the police report.
Surprisingly, he asked for it anyway. She scanned and sent it to him, then glumly looked through her client list. There had to be another animal who was overdue for their vaccinations.
Ten minutes into her second round of reminder calls to those who hadn’t responded the first time, a woman walked in carrying a schnauzer.
“E
rica?” Ally recognized her old high school friend. She jumped out of her seat, smiling broadly. Roxy came too, sniffing at the schnauzer. “It’s great to see you!”
“Hi, Ally.” Erica grinned and hugged her. “I wanted to come sooner, but I had to wait until I could arrange for childcare to run errands.”
“Childcare?” Ally belatedly saw the wedding ring. “You’re married with kids? Congrats!”
“Yep. A five-year-old and a two-year-old.” Erica blew out a breath. “It’s nuts but I like it.”
“And who’s this?” Ally bent to pet the schnauzer.
“Tinker Bell, name courtesy of my five-year old daughter, LeAnn.” Erica shook her head. “We call her Tink.”
“Tink.” The name and the dog clicked in her memory. “I called to remind you about Tink needing shots. I never even put Erica Kirby together with the Erica Logan I went to school with.”
Erica waved her off. “It’s fine, we haven’t seen each other in a long time.”
Ally nodded. “Since freshman year at University of Wisconsin Madison.”
“I left and never came back.” Erica shrugged. “I was never as smart as you, Ally.”
“Don’t say that, you’re plenty smart. But college isn’t for everyone.”
“You’re right about that. I like being a hairdresser.” Erica eyed her wild curls. “I work three days a week at the Bluff Salon, if you’re interested.”
“This”—Ally tugged on her hair—“is hopeless. But I could use a trim.” She smiled again, thrilled to have a friendly face in town. “Seriously, Erica, it’s really good to see you again.”
“Agreed.” Erica gestured to Tink. “Ready to vaccinate her?”
“This way.” Ally led the way to the first exam room. Roxy tried to follow, but Ally made her sit, and closed the door. “Did you marry anyone I know?” She thought back to their high school days. Her eyes widened in surprise as she remembered one of the football players who’d laughed at her the night of the fire ant incident. “Jim Kirby?”
Erica blushed and nodded. “Yes. Jim works for his dad’s construction business.” Her gaze turned uncertain. “I know I should have invited you to the wedding …”
“Don’t be silly,” Ally interrupted. “I totally understand. When I headed off to college, I thought I’d left Willow Bluff behind for good. But now?” She thought of her grandfather, the widows, and the quaint town. Marty’s murder wasn’t great, but everything else was. “I like it here and can’t figure out why I was so eager to leave in the first place.”
“Well, I’m sure some of your high school experiences didn’t help much. Between the chemistry lab fire and the fire ants, people weren’t exactly kind to you.” Erica paused and added, “You know Noah Jorgenson also came back about four years ago. He and Jim have been hanging out some.”
“I’ve seen Noah, he’s a detective with the Willow Bluff police department.” Ally was surprised to hear Noah had only been back four years. For some reason she’d gotten the impression he’d been here since high school or maybe after college. Since she didn’t really want to talk about Noah, especially her jumbled feelings toward him, she patted the table. “Bring Tink up here and give me a minute to get the vaccinations.”
Vaccinating the schnauzer didn’t take long, and soon they were back in the main area of the clinic.
Erica handed over her credit card. “We should have lunch together to get caught up.”
Ally felt a little guilty charging Erica for the vaccinations, but business was business, and she wouldn’t expect free haircuts. “I’d love that, but it sounds like your schedule is worse than mine. Tell me what’s best for you and I’ll make it happen.”
“Yeah.” Erica blew out a sign. “My mother-in-law has the little monsters now and helps out while I’m at work. My shifts are short, Tuesdays and Thursdays from four to nine and Saturday mornings from eight to noon. I can do lunch either Saturday after work or Sunday.”
“Weekends are fine. Like I said, I can work around your schedule.” Ally waved a hand at the clinic. “As you can see, I’m not bursting at the seams with clients at the moment.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard some of the ladies saying how much they miss Greg Hanson; apparently several of the more mature single women had their eyes set on snagging him.” Erica grinned. “I get all the good gossip while doing hair.”
“I bet you do.” Ally knew she’d been right about Hanson getting friendly with the pet owners. She crossed over and gave Erica another hug. “Is this coming Saturday too soon to do lunch?”
“That’s perfect.” Erica returned her hug. “Can’t wait. See you then. Come, Tink. We’d better get home so I can finish my errands. Bye, Ally.”
“Bye.” Ally held Roxy’s collar as Erica and Tink left the clinic. Amazing to find out Erica had not only married one of the football players from high school but also had two small kids, a dog, and worked in a hair salon.
Erica had acted as if dropping out of college had made her something less, but Ally knew her friend had everything. A home, family, career.
Enough. No need to wallow in a pity party. She liked being a veterinarian. And was generally good at it.
Most of the time.
She scheduled another grooming appointment for the following day, then decided to head over to the garage to pick up her car. It was almost a mile out of town, so it would take her a while to walk there. Good thing Roxy needed the exercise.
As she clipped Roxy’s leash to her color, she thought again how she’d heard nothing from Sheila Young. It was becoming clear the woman had no intention of picking Roxy up, ever.
“I don’t want to do it, Roxy, but I guess I’ll give her a call.”
Roxy ignored her, standing at the door, waiting impatiently to go out.
She opened the door and walked right into Noah. Roxy greeted him as if he were a long-lost friend.
“Hey, girl,” he said, rubbing his hands over her coat. “Miss me?”
Ally just barely resisted responding in the affirmative. On Roxy’s behalf, of course. “I was just heading out to pick up my car. Tell me you have good news.”
“Nothing new, sorry.” Noah straightened. “But I came specifically to drive you over to pick up your car.”
“You did?” Why-oh-why did he have to be so nice? It was hard enough to keep her distance; these sweet gestures were so not helping. They only made her like him more than she should.
“Figured you’d need a lift.” He stepped back and gestured to his SUV. “Hop in.”
“Okay, but I’m bringing Roxy.”
He nodded. “Not a problem. But I thought Sheila Young was coming to pick her up?”
“Yeah, that was the plan. I get the impression she’s not interested in keeping her.” She glanced back at the boxer. “Which is too bad, she’s a great dog.”
“You going to keep Roxy?” He sent her a sidelong glance.
“If Sheila never shows up? Yeah.” She grinned. “Although you might want to think about taking Roxy off my hands, because I think she’d be an amazing police dog.”
“K-9s are highly trained dogs. And Roxy is great, but I don’t think she’d pass the K-9 requirements.”
“She’s not that old, might not be too late for her to learn.” Ally knew a little about police dogs—they’d cared for several of the Madison PD K-9s at their clinic. Mostly Tim had, but she’d done her fair share. “I ran into Erica Kirby today, she brought Tink in for shots.”
Noah let out a low chuckle. “Jim was the one who told me that Hot Pants was back in town. Meaning you, of course.”
“Stop!” She held up her hand. “Enough with the nickname. That was a long time ago.”
“But it was still funny,” Noah protested.
“To you, maybe,” she muttered. “Those ant bites hurt.”
“I’m sure. Anyway, it’s crazy to see how domesticated Jim has become since marrying Erica. They have two kids, a boy and a girl.”
“I know, and don’t forget t
he schnauzer named Tink.”
“Tinker Bell.” He shook his head with a sigh. “Pathetic name, but LeAnn wasn’t interested in any other name. I’m her godfather, by the way.”
Her jaw dropped. “Really?”
“Yep.” He pulled into the parking lot of the garage. “Do you need me to hang around until your car is ready?”
“No need.” She quickly pushed open her door and jumped down. “I have Roxy for company.”
His green gaze clung to hers for a long moment, and she had to force herself to look away. Was she blushing again? Probably. She opened the back door. “Come, Roxy. Thanks for the ride.”
“See you later, Ally,” Noah said as Ally shut the door and led Roxy away from the SUV.
Whew. She resisted the urge to fan herself.
Not if I see you first, she thought.
* * *
Ally’s Honda didn’t look any worse for wear. She put the repair costs on her credit card, hoping that a month from now her business would be booming and making the payment a piece of cake.
One could dream, right?
Instead of heading straight back to the clinic, she detoured to the Legacy House. She had Roxy with her, but Harriet would just have to get over it.
Especially since it was looking more and more like Roxy was going to be her dog from now on.
Instead of knocking at the door, she took Roxy by the leash around to the patio. As she’d hoped, Gramps and Tillie were outside playing cribbage.
“Hi, Ally.” Gramps greeted her with a broad smile. “You must have your car back.”
“Yep. It’s running great.”
“Good timing, you showing up. Tillie’s been kicking my butt.”
She embraced her grandfather, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Great to see you, too. But don’t let me keep you from your game. Roxy, sit.”
Roxy stretched out between Ally and Gramps as if knowing that was her spot.
“Oh, Oscar will use any excuse to get out of a losing game,” Tillie teased. “You missed lunch, Ally, but I can see if Harriet has any leftovers.”
Tempting, very tempting. “No thanks, I’m fine.”
“Okay, then. How about some iced tea? I was going to get some for Oscar anyway.”