Sniffing Out Murder (Mina's Adventures Book 7) Page 4

  That would be pain in the neck changing his daily routine. What was he up to now? Another hour of sleep would have been wonderful. All she did most of the night was torture herself with all kind of ifs, and as usual, every scenario had the same main protagonist: Diego Moran. Everything had happened so quickly, leaving her with a ton of unanswered questions and a carload of pure guilt for mistrusting him.

  Now a loud meowing underscored the running of the stairs. Better go find out the reason for such behavior, strange even for Houdini. Aria switched from massaging her neck to nuzzling her cheek while Zeus, at the foot of the bed, surveyed the whole scene without even curling a whisker. Smart cat.

  Her bare feet hadn’t found her slippers when the phone chimed. Diego?

  She reached under the pillow. Yes, it was his phone. This morning was becoming like something out of a science fiction movie, not that she knew much about science fiction. “Hello?” Her tone cautious. No, suspicious.

  “Mina? Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”

  “No, no, the cats saw to that. Are you okay?”

  “I am now—I miss you. I should have brought you here with me. To see you, even in a crowd, makes the rest bearable.” A catch in his voice told his pain. “I’ll be back in the States soon. And I—sorry, they’re ready. Got to go.” She didn’t get a chance to ask what the rest meant.

  Houdini’s claws couldn’t be ignored. Something very disturbing must be going on. Mina couldn’t remember her cat ever using his claws to get her attention. He clearly didn’t mean to hurt her, and soon even Zeus and Aria showed up. Houdini suddenly darted down the stairs as if his tail were on fire.

  Mina heard the strange clattering even before reaching the last step. But the noise came from the back of the property, where the Ritzy Cats B&B and Millie’s quarters were located. Better check that out. She tightened the belt of her robe and marched through the garage to see what was going on. The cats followed her like a small parade, probably because they expected breakfast regardless of where she would be serving it. Okay, not all three cats. Houdini, the leader of the trio, acted more like a predator than a hungry feline.

  When she unlocked the door between the garage and the adjoining building, a slice of anemic sunshine lit the narrow passageway, and then she saw them—Tom and his band of jolly retirees all busy at work, the windows and door wide open, blue masking tape on their frames. A folding table had been set up against the outside wall with boxes of donuts and bagels, but what hit her most of all was the fabulous aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

  “Good morning, Mina. Hope we didn’t wake you, but we needed to get going while the natural light is good in order to be done by five. I’m working tonight and—”

  “I’m fine, Tom, don’t worry. I’m impressed at your well-organized project—very, very impressed. Wait until I tell Millie. Did you make the coffee?”

  Tom shrugged and pointed to one of those commercial coffee thermoses or whatever they were called. This one was dark blue with fancy white lettering saying, Life is short. Stay awake for it. She couldn’t help but nod and smile. Before she could say no he put a Styrofoam cup in one hand and a napkin in the other and pointed for her to help herself. She could hear voices inside the B&B, joyful voices and soon some of the helpers peeked out and greeted her.

  Their cheerfulness was hard to resist. Zeus recognized his home and walked right into the front room, but Aria stuck by Mina’s ankles and made it clear she expected breakfast. As for Houdini, he had disappeared, as usual.

  “Mina, the picture of the woman at the shooting range, a friend of yours?” Tom asked.

  “Shooting range? Oh, you mean Millie. Yes, it’s her place you and your buddies are painting. She takes care of the whole Ritzy Cats operation. Okay, I still talk to customers and make a point to greet and meet especially new ones, but yeah, she is very efficient.” She smiled knowingly. “And I’m told she’s good at hitting her target.”

  “Where is she?”

  “She is on vacation and due back on Saturday. Now you understand my panic when the crew working on my neighbor’s home took off without leaving a phone number or a way to get hold of them. You saved my neck.”

  “This is the best spur of the moment thing I’ve done in a long time, and my friends are also having fun. Beats sitting at home watching TV. And I hear Aspen is back at the shelter. Who knows? I may have a four-legged companion riding in the truck with me one of these days.”

  “Hey, Tom, are you done flirting with the boss? Roll up your sleeves and get back to work.” one of the men called from inside the cats' room.

  Tom winked at Mina. “Help yourself.” He pointed to the table with the food and the coffee.

  “I intend to, but I need to get Zeus, the calico that went inside, and bring him to my place to eat. No clue where Houdini went, that vagabond. He’ll be back.” Just then Zeus reappeared by the same door where he had disappeared. She went to get him, very aware she was still in her night clothes, but no one seemed to notice, and if they did they were too polite to mention it.

  As usual she spent her driving time organizing her day. Today was E day. Enough dogs had been adopted in the past few weeks they now had room for ten more. And it was Leigh’s turn to go pick them out of the E-list. The euthanasia list. At the Orange County Animal Shelter.

  Mina forced herself not to dwell on the subject because it was simply too hard to handle or justify how such a wealthy and educated community could still have regularly scheduled euthanasia, and it wasn’t just the old and sick.

  Clear your mind, Mina.

  Over the years they had worked out a rotating schedule, taking turns on who was to go and play God, deciding who would live and who would die. By alternating between Leigh, Linda, and Mina, they assured a variety of dogs as each tended to pluck her favorite types of dogs from the death roll. When Linda went they ended up with a carload of small curly dogs. Any combination possible of poodles and other breeds stole Linda’s heart. On a positive side, once they were vaccinated, micro-chipped, neutered, groomed, and taught acceptable behavior, they easily found forever homes. Leigh liked medium-sized dogs and spent time teaching them tricks and basic commands. As for Mina, she always fell for the ones no one else wanted. The not so pretty or not so young, the ones with the sad eyes that told a story. Like Aspen/Buddy. Something had to be done. She would see if Sky could mine more information regarding Buddy’s owners from the Facebook friends.

  She spent the afternoon scrubbing dog carriers to stack in the van they used to transport animals to adoption shows or to and from vet visits. Then she went to spend a little time in the free-roaming cat room. That was always fun and uplifting. Even if cats couldn’t escape missing previous owners or their own cozy home, they somehow managed to play and get into mischief—like the big grey tabby found roaming the streets (or so said the young boy who'd dropped him off). The cat had quickly discovered how to turn on the sink faucet and had nearly flooded the place. Often some of the dogs that had been at the shelter for an extended period of time and were well behaved were allowed to roam around the lobby and by the front desk. Buddy could be one of them once the vet cleared him.

  She went into the room where the poor dog sat all by himself, petted him, and scratched behind his ears, deciding that the next day she would take him to the vet herself. The shelter was closed to the public on Thursday mornings, so Linda and one of the volunteers could keep everything running smooth. She would take the dog to the vet and perhaps make a little detour to that neighbor’s place to see if she'd heard from the kids. The neighbor should know where they were, at least that was the impression she'd given.

  Most of the day Mina managed not to obsess over Diego, but once she got in the car and was on her way home, she couldn’t help but replay his phone call over and over in her head. That was such unusual behavior, she just knew there was a lot going on that he wasn’t saying. He was in Greece, and funeral or not, Nadya Veggos was the favorite niece of the deceased. The right combinati
on for a bright spelling of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

  Even before getting to her garage Mina could see Tom and the men busy packing up, so she walked their way instead of going to her place.

  The morning table rested against the wall, neatly folded along with a box containing the coffee thermos, paper plates and other disposable items, one of the men was hosing down the concrete walkway between the adjoining buildings. The smell of new paint lingered in the late afternoon air. “Whoa, you’re already done? Can I take a peek?”

  “Of course, of course, watch that Hank there don’t give you an unwanted shower,” Tom said to Mina and the man with the water hose. Then he guided her inside the cat room and Millie’s living quarters, warning her not to touch the walls as they might still be wet. Everything looked light and bright. What a difference a few gallons of paint could make.

  “This is great Tom. I’m so grateful. You got me out of a big jam.”

  “I’ll stop by tomorrow to remove some of the tape left because the paint isn’t quite dry, and I don’t want to take a chance. It may be close to noon by the time I get here. Is that okay?”

  “Sure, no problem. I should be here also, need to meet the yardman regarding my neighbor’s yard.”

  “Oh, we met one of your neighbor’s kids today. He must have seen the pizza delivery vehicle, and he joined us for lunch. Boy did he ever enjoy it.”

  “Really? I don’t know which one of my neighbors has kids. How old was he?”

  “I’m pretty sure he said he was almost ten, didn’t he, Hank? You know, that pizza lover? We teased him about being Italian. Leo, yes, his name was Leonardo, he said his mom was a big fan of the movie Titanic, and that’s how he ended up with the name.’

  Still Mina had no idea to whom the boy belonged. Then again, this was spring break week, probably a visiting relative.

  “Tom, don’t forget to figure out how much I owe you. If you want, you can leave the bill at the shelter before leaving work tomorrow morning, and I’ll bring you a check when we meet back here. Would that work?”

  “Yes, that would work. Can’t wait to see if Miss Millie will be pleased.” An intriguing smile lit his eyes as he said that. Huh? Millie and Tom? It was Mina’s turn to smile.

  SEVEN

  BY 10:30 THURSDAY morning, Mina had already received a clean bill of health for Buddy. His leg had healed just fine, and she was cruising down Avenida Palizada in the hope of finding enough information to reunite the dog with the Cordero kids. If all attempts failed there, wasn’t much choice but to let Tom have the pooch.

  Buddy had been pleasantly quiet the whole morning, garnering a good boy treat from the vet, but as they approached his former home he began to stir. How did he know?

  Mina watched the morphing through the rearview mirror. At first he straightened his upper body as if listening to a call only he could hear. Then his ears went up, stiff as a bishop’s miter. By the time the LTD cleared the bend and approached the sidewalk by the former Cordero’s home, Buddy stood on the back seat, balancing his tense body and anxiously glancing from the car windows. Better make sure his leash is tightly secured.

  Mina parked in the same spot as her previous visit. The For Rent sign was now gone from unit B. And no pink tricycle by the door of unit A. She hopped out of the car and walked around to get Buddy who was frantically pacing and trying to jump over the front passenger seat.

  “It’s okay, Buddy, it’s okay. We are going to say hello to your old neighbors.” For the first time since she picked him up at the San Clemente rescue center, the dog wasn’t listening to anything she said. He yanked on the leash so hard, he nearly sent her flying.

  Well, that was a strong willed dog, better be prepared. He headed straight to unit B and started scratching, jumping up on his hind legs, and pushing against the locked door with all his weight and his might. Broke Mina’s heart. He caused enough ruckus to get the neighbor's attention. When door of unit A opened ever so slightly, it wasn’t rock music filtering out but angry voices. A man and a woman. Fighting?

  Mina could see the little girl with the pink socks and the dark circles under her eyes peeking at Buddy from the narrow opening of the door.

  “Doggie,” she said out loud at the precise moment the grown up voices quieted. A minute later the door was yanked open, and the mother rushed on them faster than a bird of prey. “Lizabeth, get in the house.” She pushed back the tot who had headed toward Buddy with open arms and a big grin.

  The dog pinned his ears and snarled in such a quiet threatening way the hair on Mina’s spine bristled. It took both her hands to hold Buddy back while the woman shrieked, “Get that beast out of here. Get him out of here before someone gets hurt.” She backed away, dragging the little girl along. When the man’s voice joined in from inside unit A, Mina made a quick retreat, pulling Buddy along, and he resisted every inch of the way.

  She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Even after the place was out of sight Buddy kept on barking and circling in the back seat. Talking in soft tones while glancing at the rearview mirror to make sure he didn’t jump to the front was all Mina could do. He finally sat on the back seat minutes before the exit to her house. Her hands were still shaking way after the barking ceased. What was that all about? Something was very, very wrong. Instead of driving into her garage, Mina drove through to the B&B where she could see Tom’s truck. She was right on time as they had agreed. She would give him a check and then head back to the shelter, enough excitement for one day. She shut off the engine and turned to look at the dog.

  He wailed softly, the cry of a mourning soul. Mina sat there, stunned. Could he be acting strangely because he was in pain? But only a few hours ago Roger the Vet had checked him out and declared him well and fit. No, he didn’t seem in pain while pawing with eager anticipation at the door of unit B. If only Buddy could talk.

  Mina hesitated to get him out of the LTD. What if Houdini came prancing by? Tom walked over to the car, a curious look on his face, probably wondering why she was sitting in the car for so long. She rolled down the window enough to speak to Tom and gave him the short version of the morning events while slipping him his check.

  “Don’t you want to take a quick look at the work we did before you pay me?” A smile. “Hey there, Asp—Buddy—how you doing?” If the dog recognized his former benefactor he didn’t show it. “Mina, maybe he needs to do his business. Get out of the car. Do you want me to take him?”

  She shrugged, torn about what to do. “You may be right. I need to go meet the yardman down at Kalinda’s place. Did he come by yet?”

  “Don’t know. I got here few minutes before you drove up. Let me get some water for this poor dog. It’s warm today.”

  “Good idea.” Out of habit she fished Diego’s phone from her purse and slipped it in her jean’s pocket. You never know…

  She let herself out of the car and went to help Buddy who had finally quieted down. Tom brought a plastic dish with water and rested it on a plant stand by the door of the B&B.

  Good call. Buddy made a beeline for the water and Mina watched Tom’s smile stretch wide. What a wonderful sight. It wasn’t often that she’d seen the lonely man happy. Maybe it was meant to be.

  “I’m collecting the last of the trash and paint rubbish to take with me. I’ll drop it in the commercial bin down at the office. No need to leave it around here.” He squatted by the large plastic bag, now almost full, and suddenly Buddy’s ears went up again. The dog quickly spun and went to sniff the trash bag. He sniffed and clawed. “What do you have in there, Tom? A dead body?” Mina joked.

  “Empty pizza boxes.” Tom answered.

  Voices came from outside the wall. The yard people must have arrived to take care of Kalinda’s front yard. “Tom, I’m going over to talk to the gardener. I’ll take Buddy with me in case he needs to poop, and then I’m heading back to the shelter. See you then? And, Tom, great job. I’m so grateful.”

  She left Tom to finish up cleaning and forced Buddy to go
with her, grabbing a ripped plastic bag that had come with the pizza delivery in case she needed to clean up after the dog. The two of them left through the rusty gate with Buddy pulling on the leash and Mina practically jogging to keep up. He seemed to follow some imaginary trail, nose to the ground, moving faster and faster. The landscapers were still unloading the tools from the truck at the edge of Kalinda’s long driveway when Mina came by or more accurately, when Buddy came by, dragging Mina along. The men laughed. They all knew Mina.

  She waved while keeping up with the dog’s frantic pace. He headed down the driveway toward the main entrance. As he zipped by the overgrown vegetation, low branches hit Mina’s face, and her breathing labored as she struggled to control this unpredictable creature. He kept going. She was hardly dressed for a run and tripped on her own feet, but none of her pleas to stop seemed to reach Buddy.

  He cut through the thick oleander edge, and Mina’s hair became entangled. Loose pink petals stuck to her moist skin. Her heart thumped in her throat, and suddenly a shadow leaped from a large bush and started to run downhill.

  Buddy vaulted after the moving target with such force either the collar or the leash in Mina’s hand snapped, and the pulling ended as the dog took off. Mina watched him disappear, chasing after the shadow as she tumbled backward onto the rocky ground. Something exploded inside her head. Voices and sounds came from far, far away.

  Buddy, must get Buddy.

  She moved her lips, made no sound. Her body relaxed, she closed her eyes and surrendered to the silent darkness filled with the scents of earth and grass like the mountain meadows of her childhood.

  EIGHT

  EMBARRASSMENT. MINA COULDN’T remember the last time she’d felt so utterly embarrassed. Standing in front of her bathroom mirror she studied the scratches left on her face and neck by the branches that had hit her while running. The sleeve of her top had a rip and dried blood where her elbow hit a rock in the fall. What a mess.