Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(24)
Hmm, asparagus with hollandaise and a wedge salad will be perfect accompaniments , she thought. Even if Mike didn’t catch any bad guys today, he’ll be happy with dinner. Plus, I’ve got enough time to make that brie and egg strata he loves for breakfast tomorrow morning. We can enjoy breakfast while I do the Sunday crossword puzzle, and he decides if there’s anything in the newspaper I need to know about, or if it’s just the usual “if it bleeds, it leads” type of news.
She spent the next hour assembling the strata and making the stuffing for the game hens as well as the orange sauce she liked to spoon over the hens just before serving them. While she was cooking, Kelly became aware that it was very quiet in the back yard, unnaturally quiet. She walked over to the door and saw all three dogs patiently sitting in front of the door, waiting for their dinners.
The dogs had just finished eating when Mike opened the door and said, “Okay everyone, I’m home. I know you all missed me, right?”
“Right,” Kelly said as she walked over and hugged him. Skyy raced over and sat in front of him whining and demanding to be picked up. He obliged and petted the other two dogs at the same time. “This family is growing. I’m not sure I have enough gas in my tank for all of you,” he laughed.
“Sheriff, I don’t think your deputies want to hear you say that. I’d keep talk like that right here at home. Think your deputies are more interested in whether or not you’re going to catch the bad guys.”
“You’re probably right,” he said, setting Skyy down. She immediately tried to jump up on Rebel who looked at her and growled. She sat back on her haunches, head cocked, trying to figure out what she’d done to earn the growl, but Kelly and Mike both noticed she didn’t jump on the big boxer again.
“Sit down and relax, Mike. Seriously, did you have any luck today with the Barnes murder?”
“I wish I could say I did, but absolutely nothing new has developed. I know the pit bull guy and the Yorkie woman both have motives, but I’m having a hard time seeing either one of them as a killer. As much as I hate to ask, did you call Madison and find out anything about Ricky Anderson?”
“Yes, not only did I find out about him, I met him.”
“Kelly, that wasn’t part of the agreement. You were only going to find out what Madison knew about him, period.”
“Uh-huh,” she said handing him a glass of wine and taking a seat across the table from him. “Actually, what I found out is kind of interesting.” She filled him in on what Madison had told her about Ricky as well as her impression of him after she met him.
“I’m gathering from what Madison said and from your tone of voice, you think he could be a possible suspect. Would I be right?” he asked.
“Well, yes. He clearly didn’t like Mary, he doesn’t like his job, and he was almost giggling about the pit bull getting out. Something is not right with that guy. I think the rumors Madison heard about him are probably true, which means he’s heavily into drugs. His eyes, the fact he wore a long-sleeve shirt completely buttoned up, and his cough are all signs of heroin use. Before I went out to the kennel I searched the Internet to see what it said about observing heroin use in someone. All three of those signs were listed as possible indications that a person is using heroin.”
“Of course, and if it’s on the Internet it must be the truth, right?” he asked in a teasing voice.
“I recognize that tone of voice,” she said, “but I looked at a bunch of different sites, so I think I can say that with those identifiers he probably is on something, and most likely, it’s heroin.”
“Let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. If he is on something, would he have it together enough to be able to commit murder?”
“I don’t know. For that matter we still don’t know which came first, the chicken or the egg. In other words, was Mary killed before the dogs were let out, or did she see someone letting them out and then that someone killed her?”
“I agree. The answer to that question has really been bothering me.”
“Mike, I hate to add to your trouble, but I think I have a couple more suspects for you.”
“What’s this ‘you think you have a couple more suspects’ Kelly? As I recall, we had an agreement that this was my case, and you would not get involved in it. I’m getting the distinct impression you’re getting involved, seriously involved.”
“Don’t get up on your high horse, Mike. I’ve been pretty lucky in the past. Cut me some slack for a few moments and just hear me out.”
“Like I have a choice,” he grumbled.
“I think you need to take a long look at the manager of Doggie Love Kennel, Sandy Reston.”
“I know you’ll tell me, but I’ll play dumb and ask why?”
“She has a motive, actually several. Number one, her dog was viciously attacked because of Mary’s affinity for the pit bulls. Number two, neither the kennel’s insurance nor Mary would pay the hefty vet bill for her seriously injured dog, and number three, her husband threatened to divorce her because of the incident. Evidently she and Mary had argued about the pit bulls being on the property several times before. It was pretty clear to me there was no love lost between the two of them. And lastly, Ricky indicated that maybe Sandy isn’t quite what she appears to be.