Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(12)
“That’s fine. If I get tied up on this investigation, I’ll give you a call. Might even stop by the coffee shop for lunch and see how this little girl’s doing,” he said looking down at Skyy who was sound asleep and lying on his shoe. “What do you intend to do with her tonight?”
“I have an old wire kennel out in the garage. Thought I’d put her in that. I’ll get up in the middle of the night and take her out along with one of the other dogs. Usually dogs are pretty good when they’re in their kennel.”
“Since you’re the one who said yes to Noelle, I’ll willingly let you do that. Think we both need to get to bed. Between the travel, the murder, and what I know will be a busy day tomorrow, this man needs some sleep, and I think you could use some too. What an end to a great trip. I think we’re snake bit when it comes to having a quiet peaceful vacation from the beginning to end.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, but you’re right, I could definitely use some sleep. It’s been quite an emotional day between not being able to find Rebel and worried if I did find him there was a good chance it wouldn’t be pleasant. That, along with the murder of one of my closest friends and the addition of a new member to our family. Yes, I definitely need some sleep.”
“Kelly, it’s a temporary addition to our family, not a permanent addition. Remember that,” he said over his shoulder as he walked down the hall towards the bedroom.
Uh-huh. With that attitude I probably won’t be telling you about the dog show that starts tomorrow afternoon at the fairgrounds. Think I’ll pay it a visit, and see if I can find out anything about the pit bull man and/or the Yorkie lady. Anyway, with Skyy’s lineage I probably should become familiar with what goes on in the world of dog shows.
CHAPTER 10
The next morning Kelly had to be at the coffee shop at 6:00 a.m. to get everything ready for the doors to open for the hungry and thirsty customers at 7:00 a.m. She parked in her usual spot next to the pier. Lady jumped out of the minivan when Kelly opened the back door for her, and then Kelly carefully carried the small kennel with Skyy in it to the front door of the coffee shop. She had just unlocked the door when she heard Roxie, her longtime waitress say, “That may be about the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen. Do the Reynolds have a new addition to the family?”
Kelly put the flat of her hand out and wagged it back and forth in the well-known gesture for “maybe yes, maybe no.” She picked up the kennel and walked into the coffee shop followed by Lady and Roxie. In a few minutes they were joined by Madison, who worked as a part-time waitress when she wasn’t in class at the cosmetology school she was attending, and Charlie, Kelly’s longtime fry cook.
“Let me guess, Kelly,” Roxie said. “You’re back from vacation, and I know you boarded your dogs at the Doggie Love Kennel while you were gone. The news station had a long segment on the owner’s murder and about the dogs being set loose, so my guess is this puppy has something to do with that.”
“Very perceptive, Roxie.” She told them what had happened and how Mary’s daughter had asked her to keep the little puppy, at least for a while.
“Well, perceptive as I am, I’d be willing to bet Mike isn’t nuts about the idea of having three dogs. You were kind of stretching it when you got Lady, as I recall.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but for now I have her. I’m going to put her in the storeroom with the fence up. If any of you have a spare minute, I could use a little help walking her outside. I’m having really good luck if Lady or Rebel goes with her, so you might want to take Lady as well. This little girl really is sweet.” Kelly walked back to the storeroom and got Skyy settled while the other three went about their morning duties.
At 7:00 a.m., like it did every morning, the coffee shop began filling up. Everyone wanted to find out the latest gossip about the murder of Mary Barnes and the dogs being released at the kennel. Kelly’s Koffee Shop was always the place people came to get the latest gossip and this particular morning was no exception. The room was abuzz with questions, comments, and speculations. Kelly took Skyy out a couple of times, but the third time she went back to the storeroom she noticed the fence was down and Skyy was missing.
She walked over to the cash register where Roxie was ringing up an order and said, “Roxie, do you know what happened to Skyy? I can’t find her, and I can see Madison and Charlie, so neither one of them has her.”
“Yup. You were talking to a couple of the customers, and I saw Mike go in the back and take her outside. If you look through the window blinds, you can see him holding her and talking to some people a couple of yards down the pier.”
“That’s interesting. He didn’t even bother to say hello to me, but he takes Skyy out and holds her? And he’s the one talking about having her only be a temporary addition to the family?”
“Kelly, I’m not a wealthy woman, but I’d bet everything I have that Skyy will be a permanent addition to your family. Mike might like to act like a gruff tough sheriff, but the way’s he’s holding Skyy is anything but that.”
“I think you’re right, at least I hope so. I don’t think I mentioned that Mary’s daughter told me her mother had really done her research before she bought Skyy, and she comes from an incredible lineage. She even told me Mary expected she could easily be Best in Show. I don’t know much about dog shows, but I have to admit my curiosity’s aroused.”