Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(27)
“Doggie Love Kennel, how may I help you?” the voice that answered the phone asked.
“This is Kelly Reynolds. I'd like to speak with Sandy Renton.”
“Oh, hi Kelly, this is Sandy. I was just getting ready to leave. My husband’s picking me up in a few minutes. He's leaving for New York tomorrow, so we thought we'd go out tonight for a nice dinner. There's a new restaurant not too far from where we live, and we’ve decided to try it out.”
“What’s the name of it? Because of the coffee shop, I know most of the restaurants in the area.”
“It's French. I believe the name is Bon Ami. I think it means good friend in French.”
“It must be very new. I've never heard of it. Where's it located?”
“It's in the Trunsdale Estates shopping center. We bought a home in that area several months ago.”
“Isn't that one of the new developments south of town?”
“Yes. We just love it. My husband's a lawyer for one of the lumber companies and travels a lot. He feels much better knowing we live in a gate-guarded community, and thinks it's much safer for me when he’s away."
“I can understand that,” Kelly said. “Enjoy your dinner. I'm just calling to see if you've had any luck finding Lady's ID tag.”
“Sorry, absolutely none. I've told all of the people who work here, but no one knows anything about it. Oh, I can see my husband's car turning the corner. He calls it grey, but I think it's more of a silver color. I'll call you if we find Lady’s tag. Bye.”
Kelly ended the call and sat for a few moments, deep in thought. He drives a grey-silver car, lives in a new development south of town, and he’s a lawyer. Those are an awful lot of coincidences, and Mike's made a believer out of me about coincidences. I wonder if the man who was in the coffee shop today is her husband. I also wonder if it was his car I saw earlier. If it was him, and if it was his car, why would he be following me? I can't think of any reason. This is really strange. Maybe I should tell Mike.
CHAPTER 21
Later that afternoon Kelly caught herself constantly looking out the kitchen window at the street to see if there was a grey or silver car driving by the house. The fact that there wasn't made her wonder all the more if the man who had been at the coffee shop was Sandy's husband.
Her attention was diverted by a furry whirlwind in the form of Skyy who went flying by Kelly’s feet with what looked like a pair of glasses in her mouth. Skyy ran down the hall and into the bathroom where she stopped and began chewing on the earpiece. “Oh no you don't. Come here Skyy,” Kelly yelled, as she ran after the puppy. “Those are Mike's, and he is not going to be happy about you chewing on them.” She reached down and took the glasses away from the puppy who was clearly unaware of why she shouldn't have taken the glasses and chewed on them when the ear smells on them were so good!
Kelly heard the front door open and Mike's deep voice resonating through the house. "Hey everybody, I'm home. Kelly, where are you?"
“In the bathroom taking care of a little puppy business. Skyy decided your reading glasses would be fun to chew on, and I had to take them away from her."
Mike walked into the bathroom and looked at Skyy. “How did she get those? They were on my desk when I left this morning.”
“I have no idea how she got them, but I would venture a guess that she stood up on her back legs with her paws on top of the desk and saw them. They proved to be irresistible to her, and since I’d never told her they were off limits, she decided to take them from the desk. Bet you didn’t tell her either.”
Mike reached down and gently petted Skyy. “That is unacceptable behavior, little one. Glasses are definitely not for puppies." He stood up and kissed Kelly lightly on the cheek. “How was the start of the week at the coffee shop? Rumors still flying?”
“Yes, and I've been debating whether or not I should tell you something,” she said as they walked down the hall and into their bedroom. He unstrapped his gun and began changing clothes.
His muffled voice came from the closet. “Kelly, if you're debating whether or not you should tell me something, you absolutely should. What is it?”
“Let's go sit down in the great room and watch the sun set on the bay. It’s always so beautiful to see the colors of the sky as they begin to blend with the ocean. I know it’s silly, but I almost think I can see Hawaii when it happens. You know this is my favorite time of the day. Sunset over the bay and a glass of wine. What’s not to like? Life doesn't get much better than that!”
“Lady, your wants are pretty simple. Give me some time to wash up, and I'll join you in a couple of minutes.”
A few minutes later after they'd watched the sun fade into the ocean, Mike said, “Okay, time to tell me what it is that you were debating about telling me.”
“Mike, I really don't know where to go with this, but before I tell you I want you to promise me one thing.”
“What's that?”
“Promise me you won't go all macho man on me and try and protect me.”
“Kelly, what in the devil have you gotten yourself into this time? I’ll promise you I won't go all macho man as you put it, but I can't promise you I won't try and protect you.”