Michael used the key to open the lock to the shed as Dixie took a minute to lean on her crutches. One look inside made him groan. "This place has no rhyme or reason. No wonder the baby Jesus got lost."
Dog kennels, dog beds, old rabbit hutches were stacked to the ceiling—every corner was filled. "So Brad was the one to look in here for Jesus?" Dixie asked, sounding skeptical.
"And knowing Brad, I bet he didn't look that hard. Maybe that's why he acted so defensive. He probably opened the door, looked inside, and ran away."
Dixie nodded her agreement. Then she followed Michael inside the shed. He pulled down a chair from a stack in the corner and sat on it. Before she could say anything, he wiggled in the seat and stood up.
"Pretty sturdy. Why don't you sit there and give me directions. We'll start pulling this place apart."
She didn't bother to argue. Every muscle in her body ached. She sat with a thump, stretching her booted leg in front of her. "Thanks," she muttered, still not used to feeling grateful.
Michael disappeared behind a stack of boxes. She heard a thud. "You okay back there?"
He appeared holding a jumbled mass of red, white, and blue flags. "I've got summer flags and banners. We've been looking for those. Meadow will be pleased that she doesn't have to buy them for the next Memorial Day."
"She can be happy in May. This is December. Keep looking," grumbled Dixie.
Twenty minutes later, he stood back to assess his progress. "No baby Jesus, but at least all of the boxes are on this side and the extra cages and kennels are over there now." He nodded. "Let's look inside the boxes. If we don't find Jesus, we might have to assume he's left the building."
Dixie laughed. "Pretty funny. If I were religious I could make something of that."
Michael shrugged. "Okay then, let's tear these open and see what we can find."
"I'll help." She stood, but her good leg buckled as both crutches dropped to the floor. He lurched forward and grabbed her arm.
"A bit wobbly for a cop," he muttered, both hands at her shoulders, helping to keep her steady. He reached over to grab her crutches and hand them to her.
"The pain pills aren't helping," she admitted. Her eyes narrowed as she shrugged off his hands, dragging herself closer to the stack of boxes. "I'm getting a strong feeling about the contents of the boxes. This feels off." She tore open the top of the first box she came to. Then she reminded him, "We need to get a look at those dogs before we leave." Her voice softened. "Well lookie here…"
He came closer to peer inside. "Bottles and boxes," he said, "must be dozens of them." He ran his hand through the pile. "Basically two types."
She pulled up a bottle. "CBD supplement," she read. She dug back into the box for more.
This time she held a white container with labels on both sides. "Benadryl," she announced. With a twist of the lid, she used her fingernail to pull back the protective foil top. Bright pink pills spilled into her palm. "Unless I'm mistaken, what we have here are dozens of containers of medications, both antihistamines and CBD. It doesn't take an expert to know what's keeping the dogs quiet."
"They're being drugged?" Michael ran his hand through his hair, looking surprised. "That's stooping pretty low. If anyone knew about this, there would be trouble."
"That's what I'm thinking." Her jaw tightened. "And if the doc owns this place, I suspect he knows and may be behind all the quiet. Drug-induced."
"Not our doc," came a voice from the open door. "He'd never harm an animal."
Both Dixie and Michael looked up. A woman with thick blond hair braided over her shoulder smiled. Her eyes flashed as Michael swooped forward to pick her up in his arms. He spun her around as she laughed. Once her feet hit the ground, she let her arms drop from his neck, giving his cheek a kiss.
"You're back," he said, still grinning at her.
"My last final is done," she said, nodding. "One more semester and I graduate."
He turned to Dixie. "This is Sage McCloud, Meadow's daughter. She's home for Christmas."
"So I see," mumbled Dixie. Now isn't this the chummy reunion. I don't care if she's beautiful and Meadow's offspring. She was too quick to defend the doc. If there's such a thing as a Young Rocker, she'd be one. Dixie looked her up and down, as if she were a suspect.
When Meadow mentioned a daughter, I thought she'd be early twenties. But now I see that she's older than I thought. Closer to my age. Doesn't look much like her mother. Smaller and more compact. Blue eyes. Dixie sighed. Speaking of which, I wouldn't object if he wanted to swing me in the air like that.
Michael continued. “Sage, this is Dixie Jones. Meadow probably already told you Dixie’s been staying with her while she’s visiting Lily Rock.”
Sage nodded a greeting to Dixie. “Yes, she told me. Nice to meet you.” Hands on hips, Sage looked over the storage shed. "Mom said I'd find you here when I called her while I was driving back from college. I thought I’d stop here first since it’s on the way home. Looking for the baby Jesus?" The corner of her mouth twitched.
"By some miracle he didn't get burned in the fire," Michael explained.
Sage's smile disappeared. "I heard about Lola's and old man Maguire. Gosh, I'll miss him and that place. The doc took me there for my first beer when I turned twenty-one."
"How old are you?" Dixie asked.
"I'm thirty-four. I know what you're thinking, that I'm too old to be in college. I went back late to finish a degree I started over a decade ago. There was some talk in town that I could get a job at the music academy, so I decided to finish the rest of my education. I'd love that job."
Dixie smiled. I'm just a few years older, but we have more in common than I thought. Two women going back to school to make a change in their lives.
Sage pointed to the open box. "So what did you find in there?"
"Enough drugs to put the entire town of Lily Rock to sleep," muttered Dixie.
"Have you noticed," Michael began, "that it's gotten really quiet at Paws and Pines? There used to be dogs barking day and night."
"A couple of them finally yipped at the motorcycle gang," Dixie admitted. "But that's all I've heard and we've been here for nearly two hours."
Dixie raised her finger in the air to call for quiet and listen.
After a pause, Sage shrugged. "I mostly come up here to exercise the horses for Doc. It's been a while since I was last home. But now that you mention it, I don't remember hearing the dogs last time or the time before that."
"Do you think you could get us access to the kennels? It's possible that most of the animals got adopted, you know, for Christmas."
"That would account for less barking," Michael admitted.
Sage reached for her phone. "I can ask Brad if we can visit the dogs and cats. Give me a minute." She texted and hit Send. A ping came right back. Sage read from her screen. "I guess they've locked up for the night, earlier than usual because it's Christmas Eve." Sage frowned.
Dixie kept staring at Sage. I think I like this woman. She took charge and made that phone call. She's not making excuses for Lily Rock.
"So let's get going." Dixie pulled her crutches close to her body. "I've got another idea."
Sage stood by the door, waiting for her to pass. "For someone who’s just visiting, I'm surprised you're taking such an interest in the animal shelter."
Dixie lifted her crutches, swinging her body out of the doorway. "I led your mother to believe that I’m a tourist looking for a Christmas getaway."
"But you're not…" Sage's voice trailed off.
When they all stood outside the shed, Sage asked, "So you're not a visitor?"
Michael smirked.
Dixie blurted out, "I am a cop and I can't say much more. A need-to-know kind of thing. But I will tell you that my name isn't Dixie Jones."
Michael spoke up. "So what is your real name? I may want to send you a gift card for the holidays." His eyebrow lifted.
Both Michael and Sage stared at her, waiting to hear what she had to say. I like these two and I have to say it surprises me.
She cleared her throat. "My captain will kill me, but I'm going to tell you anyway. My name is Janis Jets. I'm the cop sent to find out who’s been sending anonymous emails and what's up with Lily Rock." When Michael smiled and Sage nodded, she grinned back.
Now they know and no one's overly upset. It's like they expected me, like they knew I'd be coming. Maybe not me personally, but somebody like me. She looked them over more closely for telltale signs of discomfort. Michael shifted his gaze to look at the ceiling. Sage's lips drew a straight line as her eyes darted here and there. Yep, they suspected.
Janis hoisted the crutches under her arms. "Time to get going. We have to report back to Meadow before the tree lighting ceremony." She shoved her crutches ahead of her, swinging her legs forward.
Ouch.
Who knew sore armpits could be so debilitating.