Davis, Krista - Murder, She Barked - A Paws & Claws Mystery (A Paws and Claws Mystery)

“Who’s that?”

“One of the guests. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but the night I arrived, he came in after I did. He was a mess and claimed that someone had beaten him up.”

Holmes’s forehead crinkled. “I’m not seeing the connection.”

“Don’t you get it? Nobody attacked him. That was a line he made up—because he’s the one who pushed the car over the cliff! He probably fell in the process. Maybe it’s harder than we’d think to shove a car over the side of a mountain.”

My pulse quickened as my thoughts became clear. “And the next morning, I saw him running right along there.” I pointed at the east side of the walking zone. “He could have been on his way to Jerry’s, to lie in wait for him.”

“Motive?” asked Holmes.

Air fizzled out of me. My brilliant idea deflated like a balloon. “Kind of falls apart right there. I don’t know. I wonder what he’s doing here. Oma met with him in her office earlier today.”

“Maybe he wants to buy the inn.”

Few things could have sent as big a shudder through me. “No! Do you think so?”

“You okay? You’re pale.”

“I never thought about Oma selling the inn. That would be like losing a family member. It would . . .”

“Oh, Holly! Don’t cry.”

I blinked back the moisture in my eyes. “I’m not crying. It just never occurred to me that the inn would be out of the family.”

“You could still come back and visit.”

“It wouldn’t be the same, and you know it. They would change things.”

“You’ll get used to the idea.”

“Do you know something? Tell me!”

“I don’t know beans. But Oma isn’t getting any younger. Most people her age have retired and are cruising with drinks in hand instead of waiting on people.”

I slumped back against the bench. “Now I’m depressed.”

“You have to be kidding me. What did you think would happen? You know your dad and his sister aren’t interested in the inn. They fled Wagtail as soon as they could. And Josh, I don’t know about him. If he was ever going to quit globe-trotting and settle down, you’d think he would have done it already.”

I nodded. My cousin, Josh, had itchy feet. I couldn’t imagine him taking over the inn.

Holmes shot a sideways glance at me. “ You don’t have a job.”

“I’m a fund-raiser. My life is in Washington. Ben is there, my house, my friends.” Trixie whined softly and licked my chin. “Don’t worry, you’ll go with me. I can’t just uproot myself.”

“Oma’s right.” He grinned at me. “You’re dry as toast.”

“Am not. You just called me sly.”

“That just proves there’s hope for you.”

“I don’t see you moving back to Wagtail, Mister I-have-to-visit-every-other-weekend-but-I-live-in-Chicago.”

“Touché.” Holmes gazed at the inn. “I’d try to finagle a way to buy it in a heartbeat. But it’s a big place, Holly. With the inn and the grounds and the new additions, we’re talking megabucks. It’s not like Joe Schmoe can come along and buy it. Besides, my fiancé would never agree to live here.” His sigh reflected my feelings.

I knew what he meant. We had other obligations. We had built lives where we lived. I tried to push the ugly thoughts about losing the inn away. “Back to where we were, do you think Luciano would have tried to kill her so he could buy the inn?”

“Let’s walk through this. He steals the car—”

“The car was stolen weeks ago.”

“Okay. So he stole the car and hid it somewhere. Then he parked it on Oak Street?”

“Right. He opened the gate to let Dolce out, walked over to Hair of the Dog, called the inn and reported that Dolce was loose, then returned to the car, and wham—he hit Sven instead of Oma.”

“Then why did he kill Jerry?” asked Holmes.

“I don’t know. In fact, nobody seems to know where Jerry was that night.”

“Are you suggesting that Jerry murdered Sven and Luciano killed Jerry?”

I grabbed his arm. “Maybe! Luciano couldn’t have made the phone call. Chloe said she was busy giving him directions when the call came in.” I handed Trixie the empty butt of my ice cream cone. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. You ask around town to see what you can find out, especially where Jerry went that night. In the meantime, I’ll find out what I can about Luciano.”

“Deal. Uh-oh. Here comes trouble.”

Ben ambled toward us. “I can’t find her. Not anywhere. Wagtail isn’t that big! What am I going to tell Kim’s father?”

“You’re looking for a little girl?” Holmes sat up in alarm. “I thought we were talking about an adult!”

“Relax, Holmes. Kim is an adult. And she intentionally ditched Ben.”

And just like that, she reappeared, carrying a shopping bag from Prissy Clodfelter’s store.

“Where have you been?” demanded Ben. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.”

“Don’t be put out, schnookums.” Kim held her head down and raised her eyes in a manner calculated to be flirtatious.

That raised Holmes’s eyebrows.

“They used to date,” I explained.

“I just stopped to do a little shopping.” She leaned over to Trixie. “Look what I bought you!” Kim reached into the bag and withdrew a cat-shaped cookie.

Trixie almost lost her balance in her eagerness to reach it. Her tail wagged, and she extended her neck as far as she dared trying to reach the bag. Her little black nose twitched. There must have been more in the bag.

“Thanks, Kim. I’m going to have to put her on a diet. People have been offering Trixie treats all day long.”

“Trixie!” Kim crooked her neck. “That’s so cute. “Well, you’d better enjoy these treats, Trixie, because I’m not shopping there again. The woman in that store was so rude. Cute place with a terrific window display, but she was such a snoot.”

Trixie wore an expectant expression and wiggled her behind. No doubt hoping for another treat.

“Aww. I want a dog,” Kim whined.

“Want that one?” asked Ben.

I pulled Trixie closer. “Very funny.”

“They don’t allow dogs in my building,” Ben reminded me.

“I don’t live in your building.”

“What are you going to do with her when you come over? Leave her in the car? Hey! Speaking of cars, where is mine?”

“Parked in the inn lot.” I dreaded the moment he would see it. Might as well get it over with.

“I’ll drive the golf cart back to the house and change for dinner,” chirped Kim.

Ben seized her arm without looking at her. “Not so fast. You come with me. I’m checking out of the inn and sleeping at your cabin tonight.”

Twenty-nine

“I can’t trust you not to say or do something that might get you into trouble,” said Ben, scowling at Kim. “I’m not losing you for hours again. I could use a leash for you.”

That was a fine excuse! Painfully aware that Holmes watched me, I tried to play it cool. “Do you need a chaperone?”

Kim’s eyes flickered over Holmes, head to toe. “Depends on who it is.”

“Down, Kim. He’s engaged.” I apologized for not introducing them.

Kim swayed a little, cocked her head again in her obnoxiously provocative way, and made eye contact with Holmes. “Engagements were made to be broken.”

Ben huffed.

“Well, hurry up! I don’t want to miss all of Yappy Hour.” Kim glanced at her wrist as though she’d forgotten she wasn’t wearing a watch. “Let’s all have dinner together. Won’t that be fun?”

I couldn’t think of many things that would be less fun.

But Holmes was game. “In an hour and a half at Hair of the Dog?”

Kim pouted. “Oh, not there.” She wrinkled her nose. “Can’t we go someplace more interesting? Let’s see, I feel like . . . barbecue!”