“I remember she said her dog went missing near the cliffs,” Patrick said, tapping his lower lip. “I’m sure I’ll remember later.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, anyway,” Jennifer said to Paige. “Barkley is barely trained; he wouldn’t fetch much of a price, so I don’t think he’s in any danger.”
Paige nodded, but her mind whirled. She had never thought to check whether or not all the dogs had gone missing in a common area. Naturally, the thief would choose an area where it was more likely that the dog would momentarily be out of sight of the owner, and the beach was a good place for that, as the dog played fetch or splashed in the water.
Though it didn’t explain how the dogs could disappear without a trace. It was as though they had been irresistibly summoned, and then bundled away without a single sound. How had the thief done that?
Had Jonathan figured it out?
Alice had said that she thought Jonathan knew something. Perhaps he had realized how the dogs had been kidnapped and had followed that train of thought to the thief. When the thief found out, they had decided to silence him.
Paige wished they could somehow ask Jonathan what he knew. But it was too late now, and he hadn’t left anything behind to indicate his suspicions. All they knew was that he was dead and that there was a strong possibility that his murder was connected to the dog thefts, somehow.
“Are you alright, Paige?” Jennifer asked, breaking into her thoughts. “You looked miles away.”
“Just thinking,” Paige assured her.
“Well, get your head out of the clouds and come and eat,” Jennifer said with a smile. “You can brood later.”
Paige laughed and obediently took the plate that she was being offered. She could think about all this later.
Chapter 15: Empty
15: Empty
As soon as she got home, Paige spied the file that Jack had left behind at her apartment. She had put it on a higher shelf so that Barkley couldn’t get to it, hoping to return it to him next time he came over, if she didn’t remember to take it directly to him.
Now, however, she pulled it down and sat on the couch, Barkley gamboling around her feet. She hadn’t really thought much about the missing dog reports; she knew the dogs were missing, so they hadn’t told her much.
She pulled out the first report and scanned it. Finally, she found what she was looking for. In the section where the dog owner had described the incident, they had noted where they were.
“Otter Crest Loop,” she mused out loud.
She hadn’t been there in a long time. It was a long stretch of beach walled in by tall cliffs. In the evenings when she was younger, she and her friends would sit at the top of the cliff and watch the waves while they passed around bags of candy.
Shaking off her nostalgia, Paige turned to the next report, scanning that as well, then picking up a third. By the time she had looked through all ten reports, she had found what she was looking for.
Every dog had gone missing at Otter Crest Loop.
Why there? she wondered.
Or maybe the reason didn’t matter. Maybe the thief had just decided that it was a good place to kidnap dogs, and, after getting away with it several times, had decided not to change locations.
“What do you think, Barkley?” she asked the puppy.
Barkley just blinked at her and went back to gnawing on the toy bone she had gotten him. Paige laughed and let him be, turning back to the reports.
There was a high probability that Jack knew about this. He wasn’t a fool, and he would have definitely seen the connection. He had probably even investigated the beach already, and come up empty-handed. Unfortunately, there was no way to shut an entire beach indefinitely, especially one as long as Otter Crest Loop, without causing upset.
She found Jack’s page of handwritten notes and looked through it. There was a small note saying “Otter Crest Loop clear,” but, otherwise, there was no mention of the area at all. Jack had investigated Otter Crest Loop, but the thieves had cleaned up after themselves too well, leaving no evidence behind.
If Jack had already looked around, then it wouldn’t hurt for her to go and have a look, too, right? She doubted she would find anything that the police couldn’t, but she couldn’t help but be curious about the area.
She yawned widely and sat back on the couch. She could do that tomorrow.
It was as Paige pulled Barkley out of the car that it occurred to her that this was the first time she had brought the puppy to the beach. Barkley jumped and looked around as a wave crashed on the shore, and Paige pulled her jacket tighter around herself as the crisp sea breeze cut through her.
With dark clouds hanging overhead and the high wind that had picked up through Otter Rock that morning, Paige wasn’t surprised to see that there weren’t many other people here. She carefully picked her way down to the shore; the water had risen quite high and there wasn’t an awful lot of area to stand.
Barkley huddled at her feet on the dark ground and barked at a wave that came too close. Paige grimaced as she looked around. It seemed that this wasn’t the best idea, after all. She was cold, the sea spray was getting in her eyes and poor Barkley didn’t look like he wanted to be here any more than she did.
“Come on, let’s look around a bit,” she said to the puppy, tugging on his leash.
They walked along the cliff, which protected them from some of the wind. As they walked, Barkley perked up a little and started sniffing around, interested in all the new smells. Paige smiled as he started to bound away from her, scratching at the ground and carefully sniffing the water when it came too close.
“It’s interesting, right?” she said to the dog.
Barkley barked at her and hunched as a strong gust of wind flowed around them. Paige winced and rubbed her frozen, aching ears.
“I think we should probably head back soon,” she said, looking around. “There’s no one else here, and it’s too cold. Come on, Barkley.”
She tugged on his leash but, to her surprise, he didn’t move. He was scratching at the ground, nosing at something he had found.
“If you’re playing with a bug, I’m leaving you there,” she warned him, walking back to see what had caught his interest.
It wasn’t a bug. Frowning, Paige knelt down and eyed the glint of gold that she could see, half covered by sand. She reached out and helped Barkley uncover it.
It was an old fashioned pocket watch. By the look of the scratches on it, it was well-used, but dirty sand had gotten in the grooves and covered the face. It wasn’t working anymore, either, and Paige had no doubt that it was probably ruined if the tide had risen enough to get it.
Still, no one carried watches like these around unless they meant something. Paige brushed it off as best she could, noting several dents and a brownish rust stain, and stuck it in her jacket pocket. She could take it to Jack later and see if he could find the owner.
“Alright, I think we’re done,” she said to Barkley. “Ready to go home?”
Barkley lifted his head and wagged his tail. They climbed back up to where Paige had left the car and she brushed them both off as best as she could, trying to get rid of the sand before they got inside. Once that was done, she lifted Barkley into the car and slid in after him, closing the door so the wind couldn’t get them anymore.
It felt like a wasted trip if she was honest with herself. Paige didn’t know what she was hoping to find, but it was definitely more than an old pocket watch and an empty beach.
It was probably for the best, anyway, she decided gloomily. If she had found something, she would have to tell Jack, and then he would probably get mad again.
The next day, Paige dropped off Barkley at her parents’ house and headed into work once more, trying to organize the few notes she had on the Wilson case. Jessica had messaged her that morning and asked for another appointment and, as much as Paige wanted to say “no”, especially since it was a Saturday, she couldn’t afford to. Without any ot
her clients right now, she was relying on the money she got from Jessica to pay her rent for the month.
“How are you doing, Jessica?” Paige asked as the woman sat.
“Not bad,” Jessica said with a small smile. “Daniel went and found his own lawyer, so you don’t have to worry about him calling again.”
Good, Paige thought.
“Well, I’ve had a look through the notes we took last time,” Paige said. “Despite your obvious disagreements, the way you want to split the assets is quite even, so I don’t think we’re going to have many problems. I think it might be best if you and Daniel leave as much of the negotiating as possible to his lawyer and I. Do you have their name, yet?”
“No, he didn’t tell me who he went to,” Jessica said, shaking her head.
“Well, he can give his lawyer my name, and they can contact me directly,” Paige said. “I’ll expect to hear from them within the week.”
“That’s quick,” Jessica said, startled.
“By the way, I noticed you didn’t take your dog to class again this morning,” Paige commented.
“It’s kind of hard wanting to go without Jonathan there,” Jessica sighed. “It wasn’t the same when Alice ran it alone. Then there was the way your partner accosted us like that.”
“If it helps, I didn’t know anything about it, either,” Paige promised. “But I can understand, since he’s trying to get to the bottom of a murder.”
“I understand, too,” Jessica assured her. “But I thought I might just train Max myself.”
“You don’t need help anymore?” Paige asked.
Jessica laughed. “I didn’t really need help in the first place; I only took Max to the training school because I didn’t have the time to train him myself. I was a dog trainer some years ago,” she added at the confused look on Paige’s face. “Mostly with the family dogs. Daniel was taking Max to school while I worked, but then we decided to get a divorce and it’s made everything harder.”
“It’s pretty awesome that you trained dogs,” Paige said with a smile. “Do you still do it?”
“I do, on and off,” Jessica said, digging in her bag. “Look, I have some pictures of some of the dogs that my father and I trained in the last year. One of them even won first place at a show.”
She passed over a small bundle of pictures. Not really interested, but not wanting to offend Jessica, Paige took the photos and looked through them. There were five pictures of proud-looking dogs, including the Rottweiler that had won first place.
Then she noticed something.
It was in the picture of the Rottweiler, sitting just behind it with a silver medal on its chest. Paige might not have taken much notice, except that she recognized the dog. It was a large, golden retriever, its tongue lolling out as its owner patted it. What made it stand out, however, were the unique brown spots on its left ear.
Paige had seen those exact same markings before. She had seen them in the picture of one of the missing dogs, a Golden Retriever with one spotted ear.
She remembered what her mother had said. She had claimed that the missing dogs were probably being sold for a lot of money. This, here, was the proof of it; someone had stolen this dog and sold it to another trainer.
“That one was our prized dog,” Jessica said, seeing how closely Paige was looking at the picture. “We trained him from a puppy.”
“Right,” Paige said. “Do you have any other pictures of him? I’d love to see them.”
“I can look,” Jessica said, opening her bag again.
Paige eyed her carefully for a moment, playing with the buttons on her phone under the desk. When she had the camera on the screen, she casually sat back in her chair and held the photo so that it was half covered by the desk. Then she snapped a picture of it.
“Here,” Jessica said. “I have one more.”
She held out a picture, which had been taken at the exact moment the Rottweiler was doing a jump. It was a nice picture, but there was nothing interesting in it, so Paige pretended to study it for several moments before handing it back with the others.
“Those are all nice-looking dogs,” she commented.
“Thank you,” Jessica said, pleased. “Once the divorce is finished, I was thinking about quitting my job and going back to training full-time. I enjoy doing it.”
“That’s great,” Paige said, not really paying attention. She shook her head. She had to keep her mind on her work now and think about this later. “Now, let’s get back to this paperwork. I need you to fill out some forms for me, if you would?”
She handed a pen to Jessica, as well as some forms, and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She could show Jack later and see what he said.
Chapter 16: Request for Help
16: Request for Help
The appointment with Jessica went so smoothly that Paige almost wasn’t sure why she had dreaded it that morning. By the time the woman left, Paige felt like they had gotten a lot done, and she was more than prepared to close up the office and head home.
As she was putting her papers together, however, she heard the office door open. She paused, wondering who it was.
“I’m in the office,” she called.
She was highly surprised when River Townsend peered inside, looking sheepish.
“Paige, I hope you don’t mind me dropping by,” she said.
“Not at all, come in,” Paige invited. “What can I do for you, River?”
“I was sort of hoping you were joking when you said you couldn’t do criminal cases,” River said, but there was a joking edge to her voice. “I think I’m going to need a lawyer soon.”
“Are the police still suspecting you?” Paige asked, frowning.
“I guess they kind of have to,” River said with a shrug. “But they can’t find any evidence on me, and there’s no motive, either. All they have is opportunity, Sheriff Lewis said, and they can’t hold me for that. So, they’re just keeping an eye on me.”
“I’m sorry,” Paige said. “I swear I didn’t tell them about your false alibi.”
“It’s fine,” River said with a half-smile. “Jack told me how they figured it out; I never told my uncle that I was using him as my alibi, so he was confused when the police suddenly turned up asking about me.”
Paige winced. “Yeah, that didn’t work very well for you.”
“It was my own fault,” River said. “I lied and couldn’t back it up.” She shook her head. “Anyway, that isn’t why I’m here. I had a favor to ask you.”
“I’ll help however I can,” Paige promised.
“Thanks,” River said with another smile. “Do you know that Jonathan was looking into these dog thefts?”
“Alice mentioned it when I spoke to her,” Paige said, remembering the conversation. “She was convinced that it was the reason why he was killed.”
“She said the same to me,” River said, nodding. “But I also asked Jonathan about the kidnappings, once. I was worried about Sadie.”
“What did he say?” Paige asked.
“He told me that only well-trained dogs were going missing, and teased me about Sadie having a mind of her own,” River said with a wry smile. “But…he also told me not to worry, because he had a lead. That was a week before he died. He wouldn’t tell me what the lead was, but he looked pretty upset about it.”
“Alice mentioned that she thought Jonathan was onto something, but she didn’t know what,” Paige pointed out, thinking. “She had her own suspicions, but she wouldn’t say what those were.”
“So, they probably both suspected that it was someone in relation to the school,” River said.
“It would make sense,” Paige said. “So, what does this have to do with the favor you want? Jack already knows about this because he spoke to Alice.”
“I know,” River said. She bit her lower lip. “I want to search Jonathan’s apartment for a clue. I know the police looked, but I knew him better than they did. I could probably find his hiding spots.”
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“How would you know that?” Paige asked, surprised.
“I don’t think I told you…but Jonathan and I were cousins,” River said, and Paige gasped.
“No, you didn’t mention that,” she said, blinking. Suddenly, a lot of things made sense about River’s reaction to the man’s death. “I’ll be honest…part of me thought you were in love with him.”
That startled a laugh out of River. She shook her head, bemused.
“Jonathan was the one who helped me get Sadie,” River said. “He enrolled me in his school to help me out. “ Her smile dropped and she straightened her shoulders, her eyes narrowing. “I want to know who would kill him. I know everyone seems to think I did. But that just means that the person who really did it is getting away with it. If Jonathan suspected someone, then they’re probably the reason he’s dead.”
Her hands were clenched at her side and Paige found herself leaning forward, caught by the passion in her voice. Then she shook her head with an apologetic frown.
“The police searched for anything Jonathan left behind, but there was nothing,” Paige reminded her. “They would have looked everywhere. Would Jonathan have such a good hiding spot that he could keep whatever he might have left behind so well hidden?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so,” River said. “But I told Sheriff Lewis that Jonathan had a journal he always wrote in. He was really confused because they never found a journal. I think he thought that the journal got taken from him, but there’s still a possibility that he hid it.”
Paige felt her interest pique. A journal would be just the thing they needed in order to find another clue. If they could find it, that is.
“Please come with me?” River said. “I know it’s a lot to ask. Jonathan’s apartment has been cleared by the police, and Alice is leaving me to sort through it because she can’t handle going through his things, but I don’t really want to go there by myself. Besides, two sets of eyes are better than one, right? We might find it faster if we look together.”
The Comfy Canine Murder Case Page 10