“Hey, Jack,” she greeted. “How are you?”
“Good,” Jack said. “You sound cheerful.”
“I’m just going for a drive with Barkley,” Paige said with a shrug that he couldn’t see. “Class got canceled because Alice was too upset to run it. Barkley keeps sticking his head out the window.”
“So you’re driving now?” Jack asked.
“Well, no, I pulled over when you rang,” Paige laughed, feeling a small twinge at the lie; she had pulled over to pull up the GPS on the phone. “So, why are you calling?”
“I wanted to see how you and Barkley were doing in class,” Jack said. “This was your second lesson, right?”
“Technically, though it wasn’t much of a lesson,” Paige said. “He’s a bit of a crazy dog, so I’ll be looking forward to when he’s properly trained. I have managed to get him to go to the door when he wants to go to the bathroom…sometimes, at least.”
“It means you’re getting there,” Jack laughed. “I’m glad you and Barkley are getting along. No thoughts of adopting him out, then?”
Paige had honestly forgotten that she had told Jack she would consider giving Barkley to another family if she couldn’t handle him. In all honesty, she was struggling to handle the puppy. He wasn’t trained, so she spent half her time cleaning up after him, and he had broken one of her favorite mugs last night.
But…
“He can stay for a little while longer,” she said, glancing at Barkley in the mirror; he was sitting on the back seat, watching the world out the window with a huge doggy smile.
She was very fond of the puppy, despite the problems.
“I’m glad,” Jack said again, his voice soft. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, it’s a shame class got canceled. Did you get to talk to many people there?”
Paige frowned, confused. That was an odd question. Why would Jack care whether or not she had spoken to anyone in the class?
Then, abruptly, she understood.
“You’re checking up on me,” she said flatly. “You’re calling to make sure that I didn’t go around interrogating all the suspects.”
Jack, at least, didn’t insult her by trying to deny it.
“You were pretty upset when I told you that you couldn’t,” he said. “I’m sorry if this upsets you, but you’re the type that will do whatever you want, regardless. I need to be certain that you aren’t going to break your promise.”
Paige felt a burning sensation in her eyes, and she angrily rubbed away the forming tears. She didn’t know if she was upset because she felt guilty, or because this was just another indication of how little Jack trusted her.
“Don’t worry,” she said coldly. “You don’t have to keep looking over your shoulder to make sure I’m staying obediently out of it.”
Then she hung up the phone before he could answer.
For a long moment, Paige just sat there. If she was honest with herself, the best thing to do now would be to just turn around and go home. Jack already suspected that she was involving herself in his case, and going any further would be a complete breach of trust. She wanted to prove that he could trust her, not that she would go behind his back.
But, more than that, she wanted to be useful. Paige sighed and closed her eyes. She wanted to be useful to Jack, just like she had been in Cynthia Johnson’s case. She knew she could help him. She just didn’t understand why he was so against her helping to get at least a little information. Already, she had discovered something new today, even if she couldn’t tell him, and Alex at least knew her as part of the class, so he wouldn’t be suspicious when she suddenly turned up at his house.
Barkley barked, startling her out of her thoughts. She looked at the back seat, where Barkley was sitting and found him staring at her, his tail wagging.
“What do you think, Barkley?” she asked.
Barkley tilted his head and she sighed.
“Yeah, I don’t know either,” she said. “But I do want to at least talk to Alex.”
With that, she pulled up the GPS again and scanned it, trying to figure out where she was. When she found the street she was looking for, she smiled. At least she wasn’t too far away from her destination. She turned the corner and drove up the street before turning left, putting all thoughts of Jack out of her mind for now.
Northwest Lee Street wasn’t a very wide street, but the houses were well kept. She pulled up in front of a quaint brick house, its garden fenced securely. She could see a dog house in the corner of the yard, and some dog toys scattered on the porch.
Gunner didn’t appear to be outside today, though. Worry broke through some of her suspicions; River had said that Alex would come to class even if he was sick, but what if Gunner was sick?
She made sure Barkley’s leash was secured, and then she allowed him to jump out of the car with her. He leaped around, smelling the ground, and yapped excitedly, no doubt smelling the presence of another dog. Paige rolled her eyes and made sure she had a firm grip on the leash so that he couldn’t go too far.
Alex’s door was plain wood, and he didn’t have a doorbell. She reached out to knock firmly while Barkley raced around her feet.
For a long moment, Paige thought that no one was home. Then she heard heavy footsteps approaching the door and she straightened, pasting a concerned look on her face.
She had only met Alex last week, but Paige’s first impression of him had been that he was arrogant, rude and self-centered. He had been dressed impeccably, his face shaven and his hair brushed back, and he walked around with his shoulders thrown back and his nose in the air.
The Alex who opened the door couldn’t have been more different. He was wrapped in a thick, blue robe, his hair was a mess, and there was stubble on his face. His eyes were sunken, and his lips were pressed into a thin, miserable line.
“Yeah?” Alex asked; gone was the arrogance in his voice, leaving only defeat in its wake.
“Alex…I’m Paige,” she said, eyeing him, wondering what could have caused this change. “From the training school? You weren’t in class today, so I thought I’d check in and see how you were.”
Alex stared at her. And then, to her horror, he burst into tears.
Startled, she took a step back, unprepared for this. Barkley, upset by the sounds, hid behind her feet. Alex sobbed loudly.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “You came all the way out here, but…”
His shoulders shook.
“Is this about Jonathan?” Paige asked cautiously.
“Oh…no, sorry,” Alex said, wiping his eyes, his lips trembling. “It’s horrible what happened to Jonathan…but I didn’t even realize, at first. I was out searching.”
“For what?” Paige asked.
But she had the sinking feeling, as she looked around the empty yard, that she knew. Alex let out another low, agonized sob.
“Gunner,” he cried. “Gunner went missing, and I’ve been looking everywhere for him. We were out training at the beach, and he ran off when I turned to get the ball we were playing with. When I turned back, he was gone. I spent hours searching for him, but he was nowhere.” He covered his face with his hands. “I’ve been looking for him, but he isn’t anywhere!”
“I’m really sorry,” Paige said. “I promise I’ll keep my eye out and let you know if I see him.”
“Thanks,” Alex sniffed. “I reported him missing, and Sheriff Lewis said… He said that he thinks Gunner was taken by a group of dog kidnappers.”
Paige blinked, startled.
“Don’t you live in Newport?” she asked. “Sheriff Lewis is in Otter Rock.”
“Yeah… Gunner went missing in Otter Rock, so I reported it there,” Alex said, wiping his eyes again on the collar of his robe. “He said he’ll look for me. Then he asked me to sit down and questioned me about Jonathan; that was when I found out he had been murdered.”
“That’s awful,” Paige said, frowning. “When did Gunner go missing? I can tell some of my friends and family to keep
a lookout, too.”
“Actually…he disappeared the same day Jonathan got murdered,” Alex said with a choked sob.
Paige frowned. Was that just a coincidence?
“I really hope Gunner gets found soon,” she said, patting him on the shoulder.
“Thanks,” Alex said with a watery smile. “It was nice of you to come out here.” A few more tears trailed down his face. “Gunner is my family. I just want him to come home.”
Paige wished that she could promise that he would get his dog back. But she choked the words back, well aware that such a promise like that would be cruel, when she didn’t know for sure. Instead, she just patted him on the back again and stepped away.
“Please look after yourself,” she offered. “I’ll let you know if I see anything.”
“Thanks,” Alex said.
They exchanged farewells and Alex retreated into the house, snapping the door closed. Paige stood there for a moment before she sighed and turned around, heading back to the car.
She wasn’t really sure what to do next. She had spoken to everyone at the training school other than Alice, and they all - except River - had solid alibis. River, on the other hand, had already lied to the police and was now waiting on tenterhooks for them to inevitably find out.
Then there was Alex, the most suspicious of them all; he had had a terrible relationship with Jonathan, and he hadn’t turned up to the last lesson, which was straight after the murder. Instead of being the most suspicious, however, he was the most pitiful; he’d lost all his arrogance and bravado with the disappearance of his precious dog.
Then there was the fact that Gunner’s disappearance and Jonathan’s murder had happened on the same day. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but Paige wasn’t so sure about that. She knew Jack was starting to doubt his own theory that the murder and the dog kidnappings were connected, but a dog trainer gets killed on the same day that a dog from his class goes missing?
Paige got to the car and sighed. She was getting a headache; there were too many questions and not enough answers. Unlike last time, she didn’t even have Jack to talk it all through with; he would be furious the moment she mentioned that she had even been thinking about it.
She leaned against her car and looked down at Barkley.
“Well, this is turning into a fine mess,” she said to him.
Barkley just barked up at her, and she shook her head at him. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but she knew now that there was definitely more to this case than met the eye.
Chapter 11: Truth and Lies
11: Truth and Lies
Upon hearing a knock at his door, Jack looked up tiredly. He half hoped that it would be Paige, but he wasn’t surprised to see that it wasn’t her; he thought that she was probably pretty mad at him.
Admittedly, he could have dealt with that better than he had. It was really unfair of him to have checked up on her like that. He should have just trusted her, and he could understand why she was angry after the way that he had spoken to her.
“What can I do for you, Olivia?” he asked the woman in his doorway.
“Just wanted to come and see you,” Olivia said with a shrug, coming into the office.
Jack resisted the urge to scowl at her. “I’m sorry, Olivia, but I’m quite busy right now,” he said.
“I can see,” Olivia said, approaching the desk. “What with another murder to solve. You must be run off your feet. Poor Paige must be missing you.”
Jack heard the note of disdain in Olivia’s voice when she spoke Paige’s name, and he sighed. Then he frowned at the red-haired woman.
“Olivia, I’ve already made my position clear,” he said firmly. “Coming in here and bothering me isn’t going to make me change my mind.”
Olivia glared, her hands flat on the desk. “But if Paige came in here, I bet you would make time for her.”
“That’s different,” Jack said, not denying it. “Paige doesn’t come here just to distract me from my work.”
“No, she comes in here to help you with it,” Olivia said slyly.
Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was Otter Rock’s worst-kept secret that Jack and Paige had worked together on Cynthia Johnson’s murder. It was just one of the reasons why he couldn’t have Paige involved in this one; there were already rumors going around that Jack couldn’t do his job on his own, and he didn’t want to make them worse.
“Olivia, why are you here?” he asked bluntly.
“Obviously not for anything you want,” Olivia said bitterly. “You certainly know how to make someone feel unwanted.”
Jack refused to feel bad; he had made it very clear to Olivia, a long time ago, that he wasn’t interested. It wasn’t his fault if she continued to chase him regardless. He knew he had hurt her feelings when he and Paige had gotten together, but he wasn’t going to apologize for that, either.
Suddenly, there was another knock on the door. He looked up and his eyes widened as he saw Paige peering inside, her brow creased in confusion as she looked between Jack and Olivia.
“Am I interrupting something?” she asked with a frown.
“Nothing,” Olivia said sharply, stepping away from the desk. “Bye, Jack.”
She stalked away, brushing past Paige as she went. Paige looked startled.
“That’s the second time she’s looked at me like that,” she said, shaking her head. “I have no idea what I did wrong.”
“I wouldn’t concern yourself with it,” Jack advised her. He paused, looking at her; she didn’t look angry. “I’m glad to see you.”
She didn’t smile, but she didn’t glare either, so Jack took that as a good sign. She came further into the office, Barkley clasped firmly in her arms.
“We’ve just come from Newport,” she said. “I think I’ll take Barkley on a walk after this; he still has a lot of energy.”
“Most puppies do,” Jack commented. “Anyway, is this a social visit, or did you need something? Not that I would mind if it was a social visit,” he added hurriedly.
That got a brief smile from her.
“Actually, I needed to talk to you about something,” she said. “After class, I went to see Alex Ward.”
It took a moment for Jack to place the name. Once he had, he felt irritation rise in him, and he clenched his hands on the desk.
“You told me you were just driving around Newport with Barkley,” he said, unable to help the accusing note in his voice. “Why did you go visit one of the suspects?”
“To check up on him,” Paige said stiffly, her eyes narrowing at him.
Jack wasn’t buying it. “Or to check up on your own curiosity. Why aren’t you listening to me, Paige? You’re a civilian, so you can’t be involved in this investigation! I’m not going to lose my badge just because you can’t keep your nose out of business that doesn’t concern you!”
The words hung in the air between them, and Jack regretted them almost immediately. He closed his eyes briefly, kicking himself. Why did he always say the wrong thing?
Why couldn’t he just tell her that he wanted her to trust him to do his job and to stay out of the investigation, where it was safe?
He hadn’t forgotten the way Paige had gotten kicked in the face at the end of the last case. And he would never forget the fear he felt when Paige dropped to the ground aftwards.
Paige hadn’t really been hurt. But that didn’t mean Jack wanted her to be put in that position again.
“If you must know, Alex wasn’t in class today,” Paige said. Her voice was shaking, and Jack opened his eyes to see that she was glaring at him. “I went to check on him to make sure he was okay. He told me about Gunner being missing, and I thought I would come and speak to you about it, and see if you had any leads on the missing dog - no pun intended. He also told me what day Gunner went missing, and I wanted to tell you that I believe you when you say that there might be a link between the two crimes, and to encourage you to do your best to find it.”
&
nbsp; Jack opened his mouth to say something, but she didn’t give him a chance. She spun around and left the room, slamming his office door shut behind her.
Jack winced and looked around the empty room.
That went well, he thought sarcastically.
Paige didn’t know whether she was angrier at Jack or at herself as she drove home. Barkley, who had jumped into the front seat, was looking at her from between his paws, and she forced her grip to loosen on the steering wheel. No sense hitting a tree just because she was angry.
She was angry at Jack because it wasn’t fair. Fine, he had good reason to be suspicious, especially since she was doing exactly what he had asked her not to, but that didn’t give him the right to jump down her throat like that!
But she was also angry at herself. Because she knew exactly why Jack was asking her to keep away from the investigation, and she was letting her own ego get in the way. She knew she was being stubborn and foolish.
She couldn’t help it, though. The more Jack pushed her away, the more Paige wanted to prove herself.
Pulling up at her apartment, Paige parked the car and got out, allowing Barkley to bound down after her. The two of them entered the small apartment, and Paige looked around. It was such a small place, full of her meager possessions.
Is this all she had to show for her life? All that was left of the dreams she once had? A tiny apartment in the middle of nowhere, a boyfriend that didn’t trust her and nothing to show for what she had achieved or where she had been.
Portland was easier. In Portland, all she had to worry about was the work. Out here, she had far too much time to herself to think.
She sat down on the couch, and was surprised when Barkley instantly scrambled up onto her lap. Normally he ran a few laps of the area before he settled down with one of his toys. She patted his head and he curled up on her lap, his nose nudging her hand.
Paige chuckled and scratched his ear. She had a feeling that Barkley had sensed that she was sad and was trying to help her in his own way, even if he didn’t understand.
The Comfy Canine Murder Case Page 7