Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(2)
“Any sign of Rebel, Ralph?”
“’Fraid not, Mike. Noelle, Mary’s daughter, called several people to help look for the dogs, and I called the county animal shelter as well as putting a couple of our deputies on it.”
“How many dogs do they think are missing? I know the kennel was the biggest one in the county.”
“They estimate around thirty. They were able to find a number of them, and they’ve been placed in secure kennels. I’ve cordoned off the murder scene area, but I’ve been waiting for you. Thought you would want to oversee the investigation.”
Mike turned to Kelly and handed her the car keys. “Start looking for Rebel and any other dogs that look like they may be strays or appear to be confused. Keep your phone next to you. If he’s brought in, I’ll call you.”
Kelly ran back to their car, unsure where she should start looking. Her main concern was the freeway, so she began driving the roads that led to it. She drove back and forth on various different roads, trying to set up a grid type of search pattern. The thought crossed her mind that some of the dogs might have just taken off and were running through the nearby brush or residential yards and might make it to the freeway. She resigned herself to the fact that she couldn’t do anything about it.
Fifteen minutes later she saw a beagle running alongside the road. She pulled in front of him, got out of the car, and began saying, “Kennel, boy, kennel.” The beagle stopped and looked at her. She chided herself for not thinking to bring any dog treats, something she always had in her minivan. She opened the back door of the car and said, “Kennel, boy, kennel.” The beagle jumped in the car, and she quickly closed the door behind him. She said a silent prayer of thanks to whoever had taught the beagle the “kennel” command, the one she always used for Lady and Rebel.
A half hour later she’d found three other dogs, but no Rebel. She drove back to the kennel, went through the gate, and yelled to Ralph, “Here are four of the missing dogs. Have someone kennel them. Tell Mike I haven’t found Rebel yet. I’m going back out.” She put the car in reverse and left the kennel, slowly driving up and down nearby streets. When she neared a school, she slowed down and thought she saw some movement in the bushes next to the school. She stopped the car and looked out the window. There, lying down under a bush, she could just make out the fawn colored coat of a dog who was panting heavily. She opened the back door and began to slowly walk towards the dog, her heart thudding. “Rebel, Rebel, come,” she said, hoping against hope it was Rebel. Suddenly the big dog came running out of the bushes towards Kelly, almost knocking her down.
“Easy, Rebel easy. Let’s go for a ride. Kennel, boy, kennel. We’ll get Lady and go home. No matter what the facts of the murder are, Mike is going to be one happy man when he sees you.”
A few minutes later Kelly drove through the gate of the Doggie Love Kennel, and Mike strode towards the car with a big grin on his face when he saw Rebel sitting in the back seat. He opened the door and gave the big dog a hug. “Rebel, I’ve never been so glad to see a dog in my life. Come on. You look like you could use some water.” He walked Rebel over to the big tub of water Mary always kept filled for the dogs.
He turned to Kelly. “Why don’t you take Lady and Rebel and go home? I’ll get a ride with Ralph when we finish here. There are still about twenty dogs missing. Mary’s daughter just got here, and I need to spend some time with her and see if she has any thoughts on why this happened.”
“Okay, see you at home.” Kelly put Rebel back in the car and walked into the kennel area, found Lady, and took her out to the car. On the drive home Kelly thought about why anyone would want to kill Mary Barnes, one of the sweetest, most loving women she’d ever met.
And to deliberately release dogs from a kennel? All of them would be unfamiliar with the surrounding area. What kind of a sick person does something like that? Talk about cruelty to animals. I know I’ve promised Mike several times I’d never get involved in another one of his cases, especially a murder investigation, but this one’s personal. If it hadn’t been for me, Rebel would probably be a statistic – just one more dog that was killed on a freeway. Thank heavens I found him.
CHAPTER 2
Susan Yates stood at her window and listened to the constant yelping and barking coming from the Doggie Love Kennel next door. Even though the kennel was situated on three acres of land, she could still hear the dogs, and she hated it.
Darned dogs have it better than I do , she thought. I can barely make ends meet as it is with the small amount of money I get from the state for being disabled. Lucky my parents died and willed me this piece of property, or I’d be homeless. Be nice if my back didn’t hurt so much, and I could clean up the yard, but I’m the only one who lives here, and I don’t care. I suppose it really doesn’t matter, considering no one ever comes out here anyway.
She looked out at the rusted washer and dryer sitting next to the driveway and the abandoned car with broken-out windows. Various other items of junk were scattered helter-skelter around the property. Inside the house was more of the same, only worse. She couldn’t bring herself to throw anything out, and over the years she’d become a hoarder. Trash and clutter were everywhere. The house was small, almost a dot on the two acres of property that were covered with weeds and dry dirt. There were a few trees here and there. An old rusted chain link fence on three sides of the property separated her from her neighbors. The Doggie Love Kennel had replaced the fencing between its property and hers with a shiny new chain link fence, so none of the dogs could get loose from the kennel through the many holes in Susan’s fence.