“Don’t mind me,” she said to Barkley. “I’m just being silly.” Barkley just snuggled down even more, not prepared to move. She found herself laughing at him. “You’re so easy to please, Barkley. I wish you could help me figure out what to do.”
Even if he couldn’t help her talk through what was bothering her, his presence was making her feel better, at least. She slowly patted him and looked around for the television remote, hoping that it was within reach so that she wouldn’t have to get up and disturb Barkley. After a moment, she found it on the coffee table, and she leaned forward carefully to grab it.
Before she could pull back, however, she saw what it had been lying on. It was a plain, manila folder, not unlike the ones she used to help her keep her files on different clients separate. She couldn’t remember leaving any work at home, though, so she grabbed it to see what was in it.
Immediately, she knew that this did not belong to her. After all, why would she have a folder of dog pictures? Confused, she rifled through them until she got to a handwritten report. She recognized the handwriting; this file belonged to Jack. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, it contained some of his notes on the missing dogs.
The last time Jack had stopped by for any length of time was right before the murder was discovered. He must have brought this over to look through it while they sat together that night, and then forgotten about it due to the murder. She hadn’t even noticed it sitting there all this time, probably believing that it was her own file.
There wasn’t anything exciting in there. Other than Jack’s notes, there were just missing dog reports that the owners had filed. There were at least ten dog photographs in the file, and she looked them all over curiously. Every single dog was well kept, and most of the pictures had been taken professionally at some sort of competition.
Other than just being something interesting, however, it didn’t really mean anything to Paige. She tossed the file back on the table with a sigh and picked up the remote. She would return it to Jack later. Right now, she just wanted to sit here quietly with Barkley and watch television for a little while.
For nearly half an hour, Paige sat there and watched a show that she wasn’t really paying attention to, her mind whirling around and around what had happened that day. By the time the evening news came on, she had a sharp pain at her temples and she was considering nudging Barkley off her lap so she could search for some painkillers and a glass of water.
“…new suspect has emerged in the murder case at Otter Rock this afternoon,” she heard, and her hand froze as she reached out to shake Barkley awake. “A twenty-eight-year-old woman, who was found to have lied in earlier interrogations, was detained for questioning. Currently, the local sheriff has remained quiet on the matter. In other news…”
Paige sat back. It seemed that Jack had discovered River’s subterfuge, just as she had thought he eventually would. Or perhaps River had gone down to the station to tell the truth. Either way, she wasn’t surprised at the outcome; River was now the only suspect capable of having committed the murder.
She closed her eyes and River’s face swum through her mind, full of grief. She really had thought River was sincere in her sadness earlier. She couldn’t say for certain that River hadn’t committed the murder, but she didn’t think she did. It was difficult to replicate grief like that.
Unless she was a very good actress.
Paige groaned and turned the tv off before nudging Barkley off her lap. She was going to go to bed early. Maybe then she could stop thinking.
Chapter 12: No Coincidence
12: No Coincidence
It was Sunday, so Paige had every intention of simply staying in bed and not thinking about anything else. By ten o’clock, however, she found herself too bored to stay in one place, so she got up to at least make a cup of coffee, considering what to do with herself. Maybe she would go and visit her parents properly; it would be a good idea to keep her mind off things that she shouldn’t be thinking about.
As she was pulling on a sweater, however, she heard the lock on her door click open, and, confused, she looked at her door. She shouldn’t have been surprised when she saw Jack walk inside, since he was the one who owned her spare key, but she honestly hadn’t thought she would see him after yesterday.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I…” Jack pulled his hat off; despite it being Sunday, he was in full uniform, likely putting in some overtime because of the case. “I thought I’d just stop by and see how you were.”
Paige wanted to be angry. But it pleased her that he would do that, despite everything.
“I’m fine,” she said with a shrug, turning away and looking around for Barkley’s leash; she had thrown it somewhere yesterday in a fit of temper, and now she couldn’t find it.
“Good,” Jack said. He fidgeted with his hat, looking awkward. “I also wanted to apologize for the way I spoke to you yesterday. It wasn’t fair. Even if you had done what I was accusing you of, I still shouldn’t have said what I did.”
Paige gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I lost my temper, too.”
Jack gave a short nod and then sent her a pleading look. “So, please, Paige, tell me the truth… did you investigate yesterday.”
Paige wanted to stick to her story. But she sighed; there had been too many lies between them already. She should never have lied in the first place.
“Yes,” she admitted, and Jack didn’t look surprised. “I only asked a few questions. When Alex didn’t turn up to class, I just wanted to know why and if it had anything to do with the case.”
“That…could have been dangerous,” Jack said, running a hand down his face. “If Alex was a serious suspect, it could have caused problems to have you suddenly show up and ask a lot of questions.”
Paige had already considered this last night. She knew she had acted recklessly; she had had no idea what situation she was walking into, but she had done it anyway because she was angry.
“Sorry,” she sighed. “I just wanted to help.”
“I know,” Jack said with feeling. “I wish…” He sighed and shook his head. “Paige, please stay out of it. It’s safer if you don’t go off on your own like that. I need you to just let me do my job, without interference.”
Paige pursed her lips and looked away.
“I get it,” she said, hunching her shoulders. “But you won’t even talk to me about it. I’m not asking to be part of the investigation, Jack. But maybe I can help you talk through some things.”
“Sorry, I can’t,” Jack sighed. “I can’t let you be involved at all.”
Paige scoffed, hiding how much that hurt, and turned away. “Yeah, fine. But, just so you know, I’m pretty sure it was a mistake to detain River Townsend. When I spoke to her yesterday, she was genuinely upset about Jonathan’s death.”
“Right now, she’s our only suspect,” Jack told her, frowning. “We need to get to the bottom of this, and questioning River is the only lead we have right now.”
“I don’t care about any of that, because I don’t believe she did it,” Paige said, well aware she was being stubborn, but unable to help baiting him.
“I’m sorry, Paige, but I have to do the investigation properly,” Jack said, his voice flat. “I need to find proper evidence. I understand your opinion, but it isn’t valid evidence considering you barely knew her.”
Paige whirled around, angry, and Jack cursed under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he tried.
“Right,” Paige said, glaring. “You didn’t mean to tell me that my opinion wasn’t worth anything right now. Thanks, Jack. Look, can you just leave? I’m sure you have a lot to do, and I was about to head out, anyway.”
“Paige…” Jack said, helpless.
“Now, Jack,” Paige said, squaring her shoulders. “Please leave.”
For a moment, it looked like Jack might try to stay and argue with her. But th
en his shoulders slumped and he put his hat back on.
“Sorry,” he said. “We’ll talk later.”
Paige didn’t say anything, and he left. Once he was gone, Paige squeezed her eyes shut. What was wrong with the two of them? Why did it turn into an argument every time they spoke?
Well, she wasn’t going to go to her parents’ place now; if she went to see them in this mood, she would only face neverending questions from both of them. She wasn’t in the mood to be questioned right now.
She also didn’t want to stay in the apartment, though. Seeing the end of Barkley’s leash underneath the dining table, she grabbed it and whistled for Barkley. She heard him jump down from her bed, where he had been dozing while she got ready for the day, and his paws clattered on the floor as he eagerly ran toward her.
“Come on, Barkley,” she said. “Let’s get out of here.”
Once she was out of the apartment, though, she wasn’t sure which way to go. She wavered while Barkley tugged on his leash, eager to get going, and then turned left; she had no intention of heading into town, where she would likely see Jack.
“Lead the way, Barkley,” she said, unwrapping some of his leash from around her hand so that he could go a little further.
Barkley barked excitedly and then shot off, almost pulling Paige off her feet. They kept up the fast pace for ten minutes until the puppy finally slowed, wagging his tail and looking extremely pleased with himself. Paige huffed as they slowed to a walk, and bent down to scratch his ears.
“Alright, where have you taken us?” she asked, looking around.
There was a house in the distance, sitting on some acres, but she hadn’t been in this direction before. Squinting upwards, she could see a dirt road leading up a hill, and Barkley was tugging her in that direction. Her muscles screamed at the thought of trying to walk up it, but she shrugged and decided to head that way anyway.
Thankfully, the hill wasn’t as steep as she had expected. As they walked up, she could hear the sound of crashing waves, and she guessed that they were walking up to one of the several cliffs that surrounded Otter Rock.
There was also a building on top of the hill, and she squinted at it as she approached, wondering what it was. There was a sign propped up against the building, but she couldn’t read it until they got to the top of the hill.
“Flying Dutchman Winery”
“Are you kidding me?” she burst out loud, making Barkley start.
Here she was, walking away from her problems, which included everything to do with the murder she and Jack were arguing over, and she ends up at the damn murder scene? She could hardly believe her bad luck.
There were a few people inside, and they had looked up at her outburst. She waved to them and backed away. She didn’t want to be here; all it did was remind her of everything that was currently going wrong.
Though…
Paige paused and looked around. She couldn’t deny a morbid curiosity that was rising within her. This wasn’t actually a murder scene anymore; the body was long gone, and the police had already cleared the place. On top of that, Jonathan hadn’t been killed here.
But that didn’t mean a corpse hadn’t been found here. Slowly, Paige walked around the building, and came to a stop at the side. There was nothing here, anymore, to say that a corpse had once laid here.
“Paige?”
Startled at the sound of her name, Paige’s head jerked up. In her distraction, she had completely missed Alice Campbell, who was sitting, slumped, against several barrels, half hidden in the shadows.
“Alice!” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same,” Alice pointed out. She was tired and pale, defeat in every line of her body. “I didn’t expect anyone to come this way.”
“It was an accident; I was just following Barkley, and he led me this way,” Paige admitted.
“Yeah?” Alice asked without curiosity. “For me… I don’t know, I guess I thought I might feel a bit closer to Jonathan, in this place where he was found.”
She sighed and tilted her head back, staring up at the sky.
“Are you okay, Alice?” Paige asked, taking a step closer and hesitating, not sure what to do next.
Barkley, on the other hand, had no issues. Tired of Paige not doing anything, he bounded forward and rubbed his nose against Alice’s limp hand. She jumped and then gave him a watery chuckle as she scratched his ears.
“Hello, Barkley,” she said. She looked up at Paige. “Sorry about Saturday’s lessons. Jonathan’s death… It hit me really hard.” She gave Paige a half smile. “We never said, but Jonathan and I… We were together.” Tears formed in her eyes. “I loved him so much, and now he’s gone.”
“I’m sorry,” Paige breathed.
Now she knew why Alice’s grief had reminded her so much of Rachel, Cynthia Johnson’s partner. Both women had lost the person they loved most in the world. It was a pain that Paige couldn’t relate to, nor did she want to.
She sat carefully on the ground. Alice was still scratching Barkley, who was more than happy to accept the attention and nuzzle her hand.
“You haven’t been with us very long” Alice suddenly said.
“No, I haven’t,” Paige said.
“That means…” Alice hesitated. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but some dogs have gone missing lately.”
Paige nodded, not bothering to say that she already knew about it.
“All the dogs were clients at our school,” Alice continued. “It started happening a few months ago. Jonathan and I were looking into it.”
“You were?” Paige asked, surprised. Jack hadn’t said anything about that. She wondered if he knew about it.
Alice nodded, her face twisted in grief. “We didn’t realize, at first, that they were connected to us. I think… I think Jonathan had figured something out. He suddenly went very quiet two weeks before he died. He told me that he had an idea…but he wouldn’t say what. He started disappearing a lot.”
Paige’s heart was beating loudly in her ears. “You think he knew who the kidnappers were?”
“Maybe,” Alice said. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. “It makes sense, you see. It might be why he was killed.”
“So you think the two cases are connected,” Paige said. “Have you spoken to the sheriff about your suspicions? I know he’s been looking into the kidnappings as well.”
“Not yet,” Alice said. “It’s been…so hard. And I just can’t bear…to think about going to class, where…”
She trailed off. Paige stared at her, suddenly realizing why Alice had asked her about how long she had been with the school, and why she had trusted Paige enough to tell her this. Paige hadn’t been at the school long enough to be involved in any of this. But...
“Alice, do you suspect someone in the class?” she asked, hushed.
Alice closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, glassy with tears, Paige could see her grief and her hate, even before she answered.
“Yes.”
Chapter 13: Ambush
13: Ambush
Paige ended up sitting quietly with Alice for another half hour before the woman offered her and Barkley a ride home. Her legs aching from the walk up the hill and sitting on the hard ground, Paige gratefully accepted.
She desperately wanted to question Alice about who she suspected, but she found herself hesitating to do so, not wanting to interrupt the calm air that had come over the woman. She resolved to talk to Alice next time they met, and so only thanked her and left the car when they reached her apartment.
She honestly didn’t think she would hear from Alice for some time after that. As such, she was stunned when, barely two hours later, she received a message from the trainer. It was not a personal message, but instead, one that she had obviously sent to several people.
“I’m sorry for having to cancel class on Saturday. I have decided to hold a special class on Wednesday at five o’clock in the afternoon.
I hope to see you all then. Alice”
Paige checked her calendar to make sure she was free and then sent Alice a message back to confirm that she could make it. She wondered what had prompted the woman to decide to have an extra lesson, especially after confessing that she suspected someone within the school. Was she perhaps trying to find the killer as well?
She didn’t know. But maybe she could get some more answers on Wednesday.
At a quarter past five on Wednesday, Jack parked his patrol car on the side of the road in Newport and sat there for a moment. He could see, nearby, a small group of people standing together, scattered in a circle with a single woman in the middle. If he squinted, he could make out Paige and Barkley.
When Alice Campbell called him on Sunday and told him about her and Jonathan Cook investigating the dogs going missing at the school, he had had to stop himself from punching the nearest wall in his frustration. Why was this only coming out now? He and Jackson had been struggling to figure out a motive for the murder, and Alice had apparently had an idea about that the entire time.
She had apologized for holding onto this knowledge, stating that she hadn’t been sure what to think. Then she told him that Jonathan had been almost certain that the thief was within their school. She didn’t know who he suspected, but she felt that it was the reason why he was dead.
Together, the two of them had come up with a plan. Alice would call an extra lesson, to make up for the mess of the lesson on Saturday, bringing as many of the students as possible to the one place. Once they were all there, Jack would arrive and ask them if he could talk to them once more, about both the murder and the dog thefts.
He hadn’t told Paige about it. He didn’t want her to be expecting him, which would clue someone in on the fact that something was about to happen. He could only hope that she wouldn’t be too angry at him.
Though, she probably couldn’t be much angrier than after their argument on Sunday. He had stopped by to see Paige yesterday at her office, and she had at least been willing to speak to him, but she hadn’t been very friendly, either. At least, when he left, she had kissed him, and they had left each other on a better note than they had been lately.
The Comfy Canine Murder Case Page 8