Kevin convinced me to go to Giorgio’s even though I’d lost what little appetite I had. Julie had a way of bringing out the worst in me, and I would have preferred to go home and wallow in my frustration, but it was probably good to get out instead of letting it ferment.
We sat at the bar instead of a table. Kevin ordered a martini, and I had a sparkling water.
“Are you sure you don’t want a glass of wine at least?”
“I’m fine, thank you.” Wine and I loved each other until the morning. Then we became brutal enemies, no matter how many friendly glasses manipulated their way into my system the night before.
“We’ll have the fried ravioli, please,” he said to the bartender.
He hadn’t asked my input. I was a fan of chivalry, but not the kind where I didn’t have a say in the matter. I was too frustrated with the pittie situation and Julie Salmonelli to put my foot down. Besides, he was being nice, and I knew his intentions were good, so I kept my mouth shut.
For the moment.
“She’s a real peach, isn’t she?”
I sighed. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”
Originally, Giorgio’s bar balanced out the backside of the restaurant, but a recent redesign had the bar facing the entrance instead, and I had a perfect view when Max and Julie entered.
Apparently, Kevin did too. “Are you friends with that guy?”
I nodded. “He’s been a family friend for years.”
“I’m not sure I like him.”
“I question the company he’s kept of late, but he’s been good to my family, especially since my husband passed.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay,” I said, a fake smile plastered over my face. “It’s been several years now.”
“What happened?” He paused. “If you don’t mind talking about it, of course.”
“No, it’s okay. Sam suffered a brain aneurysm. It was quick and painless. At least that’s what the doctors said.”
He laid his hand on top of mine. “I’m sorry. That must have been awful.”
I nodded. “My daughter and I are lucky. We had a lot of wonderful years with Sam, and I feel blessed for that.”
Julie and Max took a seat at the far end of the bar. As they passed us, I spied Julie loop her arm through Max’s. I glanced up at him, but he kept his head down.
“Are they a couple?” Kevin asked.
“I have no idea. Max and I haven’t talked much lately.” I didn’t mention that Max and I had tiptoed around the couple thing several times. It didn’t need to be said because it didn’t seem all that important to Max anymore, and it definitely wasn’t important to me.
“Do you think this ban will come through?”
I shrugged. “What Max did is just a Band-Aid. We’ll need to gather our resources and work to stop it completely.”
“Do you have a plan?”
I cringed. “Let’s just say I’m working through some ideas.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“You could adopt more than one pittie.”
“That might be doable.”
“I was kidding. That’s a lot to ask. You’re a busy man, and you’ve got Boomer already. Who, by the way, should come to the shelter with you tomorrow. It’s important to see how the dogs interact before just picking one and bringing it home.”
“I can do that. I’ll come by first thing. I’ve got calls most of the morning, so the earlier the better.”
“Perfect,” I said. I’d go by Shelly’s early in case she needed more than a few minutes to talk. Something was bothering her, and it concerned me. I didn’t really know Shelly all that well, but I didn’t like the look on her face when she asked me to drop by.
* * *
“I heard it was practically a riot last night.”
“If Julie had her way, it could have been,” I told Kerry. I’d called her on my way to Shelly’s. “I’ll be there in time for opening, I think, but I know we’ve got three volunteers coming, so they should be able to help you get things moving.”
“Already on it,” she said. “Text or call when you’re on your way. We might need donuts to energize us to put away all the stock arriving today.”
“It’s better to be prepared than not, but I’m sorry you’re stuck with all that work for nothing now.”
“It’s never for nothing.”
A few minutes later, I pulled into Shelly’s driveway and parked behind her minivan. Both Scooter and Leroy acknowledged me with a barking duet when I knocked on the door.
They continued to bark. “Hey, babies, where’s your momma?”
A loud engine drove by. I turned to look and saw a white van in dire need of an exhaust pipe driving up the street. It reminded me of the one that almost barreled into me the day before when I visited the Meyers’ house.
I moved toward the window and noticed the TV was on. Strange, I thought, since Shelly told me she only kept it on when she wasn’t home. I knocked on the door again, but she still didn’t answer, and I began to worry.
I walked down the sidewalk and checked her car. It was cold. She could be in the shower, and that would be a reason to put on the TV for the dogs, but nonetheless, something didn’t feel right. A sense of dread swept over me, and I knew I had to do something. I walked around to the back of the house and saw the gate to the yard was open, adding to the foreboding feeling in my gut. I shut it behind me and secured the lock in place.
The dogs barked as they jumped on the back door. I walked over and peeked into the window, saying hello to both of them in a high, sweet voice. They continued to bark as I knocked and hollered for Shelly.
Nothing. No movement other than the dogs. No sounds other than the TV and the barking.
“Shelly?” I knocked louder. “It’s Missy Kingston. I’m at the back door.” I knocked again and waited a moment before twisting the handle. The door opened. The dogs backed up to let me in, then greeted me with quick nudges and proceeded to bolt out the door. I called for Shelly several more times but got no answer.
Knowing something wasn’t right, I immediately asked Siri to dial Justin. As she did, I walked through the house. He answered when I made it to the master bedroom.
“Hey, Mrs. Kingston, what’s up?” he asked.
I dropped the phone when I saw Shelly Wishard lying across her bloody bed with a butcher’s knife sticking out of her chest.
* * *
“And you didn’t touch anything?” Justin asked. He’d pulled me outside and sat me on a chair on Shelly’s patio.
“Just the doors to get in. I checked her pulse, but she was already gone.”
Detective Bruno walked over. “A minute?” he asked Justin.
“You going to be okay?”
I nodded. “I’m fine. Go.”
He squeezed my hand and walked over to Detective Bruno.
“She’s quite the dead body whisperer, isn’t she?” Bruno said, loud enough for me to hear.
I glanced at them and caught him eyeing me, so I waved half-heartedly.
“She’s not out looking for them, Detective.”
“Sure seems like it to me.”
“Cut her some slack. This is one of her—”
The dogs ambled over and sat next to me, and I stopped listening to Detective Bruno talk behind my back right in front of me. I wasn’t his favorite person, and he’d made that clear. It was very likely because I did his job better than he did once or twice, and entirely because of luck.
I rubbed Scooter and Leroy behind the ears. “You’ll be fine, babies, I promise. No more shelter for you. You’re now guests at my house until we figure out what to do, and I’ll let you in on a secret: it’ll probably be a permanent situation. Allie and Bandit will be thrilled to have you stay with us.”
Leroy gave me a big swipe up my left cheek with his monster-sized tongue.
“Thanks.”
Justin walked back over. He didn’t bother apologizing for the detective. We’d been through this before. “Did you see anything unusual when you arrived?”
I thought it through, retracing my steps from just an hour earlier. “I don’t think so, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I just recall noticing the TV was on.”
He tilted his head. “And that surprised you?”
“Shelly mentioned she’s not a TV watcher. She got it to keep Scooter and now Leroy company while she’s gone.”
He nodded. “Okay, and how did the dogs act?”
“Like dogs. Jumping and barking. And when I opened the door, they both rushed out to potty.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “When I touched her wrist to check her pulse, it was cold. This happened last night, didn’t it?”
“We think that’s the case. Did you see her last night?”
“I saw her at the dog park, but I don’t know what happened after.” I stood. “Justin, she was arguing with Julie Salmonelli about the pit bull ban.”
“Did you see her talking to anyone else?”
I let my mind replay my time at the dog park. “I did see her talking to two women, but I can’t say they were arguing, and I’m not sure what they were talking about.” Kevin and Shelly’s conversation flashed through my brain. “And she got a little upset with Kevin Poplar.”
“The guy you told us about?”
I nodded. “He said he dropped his license and when she picked it up, she scolded him because it’s expired.”
“Doesn’t sound like a reason for murder, but you never know these days.”
“If you’re thinking Salmonelli is a possible suspect, she’s got an alibi, at least for early in the night.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because I saw her with Max at Giorgio’s while I was there with Kevin.”
He tried not to smile, but I caught it anyway. “That must have been awkward.”
“Just a bit.”
“What time did you see them?”
“I don’t know, maybe around nine?”
“How long were you there?”
“Not long. I got home around ten-thirty.” I appreciated that he avoided making any comments about my being out with a man. Then again, he was a professional, and he was doing his job.
“Can you give me a list of people who were at the dog park last night?”
“Oh! Tammy Simpson tried to calm Shelly, and it got bad enough that Shelly almost punched her.” I kept reviewing the night in my head, and I realized I hadn’t answered Justin’s question. “I’m sorry. A list. Yes, I actually have a petition everyone signed. It’s in my car.”
“Great. Can you get that for me?”
I walked around the back of the house to the fence and closed it behind me. The petition was sitting on top of a pile of files. I made sure to snap photos of the pages for my own records before bringing it to Justin.
“I’m taking the dogs,” I told him.
He nodded.
“So I need to get some things from the house.”
“Things?”
“Dog things. Their beds, food, bowls, any toys she may have bought them. They need their smells. If I can have a shirt of hers, that might help them. They may not act like it now, but they knew something was wrong. I could tell when I got here.”
He glanced over at the easily angered detective. “Let me get it. Give me a few minutes.”
When he went inside, I gathered the balls and chew toys in the backyard and placed them in a pile on the patio.
“You have a beef with the way she handled her dogs?” Bruno asked.
“Detective, if you’re trying to be coy, you need to take acting classes.”
He blinked.
“And if I was uncomfortable with Shelly’s treatment of the dogs, they wouldn’t be here. The shelter has a visiting schedule and behavior assessment in every adoption contract.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve got this for the people you saw last night?”
“The ones who have adopted from us, yes.”
“I’m going to need those files.”
I nodded. “I’ll have them to you later today.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Justin returned with the dogs’ things, and I made a swift exit. I had a call to make, and I wanted to get the dogs situated at my house right away.
* * *
“Max Hoover.”
“Hi, Max. It’s Missy.” As if he wouldn’t recognize my voice or didn’t see my contact information pop up when I called. I was uncomfortable, and I felt awkward. I didn’t do either of those well. “Are you free?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Shelly Wishard was murdered last night.”
“What?”
“Can you come by my place?”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Great. Thanks.”
Scooter and Leroy immediately crashed in the backseat, so I knew they were struggling with what happened. Poor babies were probably up all night worried about their momma. And Leroy had just gone to his new home. I hoped he’d recover from the tragedy of it all. Some dogs were very sensitive and emotional, and Leroy was one of them.
Max and I pulled into my driveway minutes apart. I was just getting the dogs out of the car when he arrived.
“Need some help?”
“That would be great,” I said, heaving a fifty-pound bag of dog food from the back.
He took the bag from me so I could gather the toys and beds.
“Tell me what happened,” he said once we were inside.
Bandit and Allie greeted their friends with zoomies around the house. I walked over to the alarm box and disabled it, then let them out back to zoom around the yard instead. “Someone stabbed her in the heart.”
He winced. “That’s awful. I’m sorry.”
“I found her.”
“What?” He wrapped his arms around me, and I stiffened in his embrace. “Again? Missy, you’ve got to stop doing that.”
It was impossible not to laugh, and his lightening the mood comforted me. “I know, but it just keeps happening.” I pulled away and wiped my eyes. He smiled and kissed my forehead. “What time did you leave Julie last night?”
“About that, Missy. It’s not—”
I interrupted him and finished his sentence. “My business, I know. I just want to know when you said your goodbyes.”
“You think Julie did this?”
“They had a confrontation, and then a few hours later, Shelly’s dead. You do the math.”
“Missy.” He ran his hand through his hair. “No, Julie’s not that kind of person.”
I filled the dogs’ bowls with food, adding half a cup to my dogs’ bowls too so they didn’t get jealous or territorial. I set them in opposite corners of the kitchen just in case. “You know her well enough to say that?”
He paced the length of my kitchen’s bar. “She didn’t do it. She’s a politician. She’s planning to run for city council again. She wouldn’t screw up her chances like this.”
“Wow. Murder is a screw-up?” I leaned against the bar. “What’s wrong with you? You sound like you’re protecting her.”
“I’m not protecting her. I just don’t think she’s capable of murder.”
“Everyone’s capable of murder, Max. It’s just a matter of whether they’re driven to it or not.”
“Why would she do it? What would be her reason?”
“I don’t know. You seem to know her well enough to defend her, so why don’t you tell me?” Heat rose up my neck, and I knew I was turning bright red.
“Missy, I—”
It hit me then, and I swallowed hard, surprised by the stab of emotion in my heart. “You spent the night with her, didn’t you?”
He walked over, reaching out for me. “It’s not what you—”
I flipped around and marched to the door to let the dogs in. “You should go. I’ve told Justin about their fight. You better rush back to her place and let her know what’s coming.”
“Missy.”
I held up my hand. “You need to go.”
He stared at me with his mouth hanging open, like he couldn’t believe what was happening. At least we had that in common.