Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(19)
“Not really. She’s the one who hired them and thinks they’re all pretty solid. Sandy did mention she didn’t particularly care for one of them, a young man named Ricky Anderson. She said her boss, Mary Barnes, had insisted she hire him. She told Sandy that she and the boy’s father had been an item at one time, and she hired him as a favor to his father.”
“What does he do there?”
“He cleans the kennels and the grounds. I talked to him, and I don’t think he has a lot going on upstairs. Actually, having known Mary over the years, I’m kind of surprised she did hire him.”
“Hmmm. How old is he?”
“I think he’s about nineteen or so. Why?”
“That would make him about the same age as Madison and Brandon. I wonder if they went to school with him. Maybe I should call Madison tomorrow and ask her.”
“All right, since she’s your employee you can ask her, but that’s it. I don’t want you talking to him or investigating anything about him, nothing, and I mean zilch, zero, nada. Is that understood?”
“Of course, Mike. You know I wouldn’t get involved in one of your cases if you didn’t want me to. I just thought one of them might have a little information about him.”
“Right, Kelly, right. Why do I think you already know more about this case than I do?”
“Well, you know how things just seem to kind of happen to me. It seems like a couple of things happened to me today that sort of fall into that category.”
“I’m sure they did, Kelly. I’m sure they did,” he said, raising his eyebrows, “Would you care to tell me what things kind of happened to you today?”
“Of course. I thought you’d never ask.”
“Don’t push it, Kelly. You’re already skating on very thin ice here.”
“Well, here’s the thing, Mike. I heard about a dog show that started out at the fairgrounds this afternoon, and I thought I’d see what a dog show was like. It was the luckiest thing I went because…”
She told him about her conversation with Jack Powell and the conversation she’d overheard about Lisa and Duchess. When she was finished talking, she asked, “So, what do you think?”
“I think you lead a charmed life. You just happened to be in the places where you’d talk to and overhear conversations from two of the people who hated Mary Barnes. That is a little too much coincidence for me. It could only happen to you. Did you see any other breeds?”
“Well, no. Since Noelle told me that Jack specialized in pit bulls and Lisa had a Yorkie, I thought I’d start with those two. After my success there, I didn’t feel I needed to go anywhere else. Oh wait, I did take a peek into the grooming room.” She told him what she had seen there.
“I love our dogs,” Mike said, “but murdering because of one? That seems like a very far stretch, but I’m beginning to think I’m wrong from what you’re telling me. Sounds like there’s a lot of money and ego tied up in these dog shows and champion dogs, and both of those things can sure be the basis for a murder.”
“Have you gotten a coroner’s report yet?”
“Glad you mentioned it. There was a call from the coroner when I was talking to you just before I got home. I’ll check it out after dinner, speaking of which, what are we having tonight?”
“One time when I was in Portland I was really pressed for time, and I stopped at a fast food restaurant. You know they’re generally not my favorite kind of restaurant, but the hamburger I had there was hands down the best I’d ever had in my life. I told the young woman behind the counter that I’d like to speak to the manager, and I asked him if he could share the recipe. He told me it was a secret recipe, and he couldn’t give it to me. I’m not too proud about it, but I took a twenty-dollar bill out of my purse and told him I’d really appreciate it if he could give me the recipe, and he did.”
“Kelly, that shocks me. That is so unlike you.”
“Wait until you taste this burger. It was worth every penny of the twenty dollars I spent.”
“Well, with an intro like that, bring it on!”
When Mike finished the last bite of his burger he said, “I would gladly have given the manager fifty dollars for the recipe for that burger. Easily the best I’ve ever had, and you know how I love the special way you fix those beans. I think the first time I had them was at the coffee shop.”
“It was, and as simple as they are, they’re still one of the best sellers, particularly on an overcast winter day. Why don’t you go listen to what the coroner has to say while I clean up the dishes? Actually, before you do that you might want to get Skyy off of the couch and take her outside. I have never allowed Rebel or Lady to get up on the furniture, other than our bed, and I sure don’t want to start now.”
A few minutes later Mike walked into the kitchen, Skyy next to him, wagging her tail.
Kelly put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and turned to him. “What did the coroner have to say?”
“Mary died from being hit on the head with a blunt instrument.”
“Did he say what the instrument was?”
“No, he couldn’t tell. He didn’t think it was from a gun handle, and he said it seemed to be more like from a hammer or something heavy like that. From where she was hit, he thinks she must have been facing her killer. There was nothing to indicate she was hit from behind.”