Fourteen

I looked around. Trixie and Cooper lay side by side, but Huey was nowhere to be seen. “Oh no!”

In a panic, I excused myself, called Trixie, and ran for the inn. John caught up to me. We were breathless, and the dogs were panting by the time we reached the reception area.

“What’s wrong? Is it my ex-husband?” Zelda ducked partway down behind the registration counter.

“No,” I gasped. “I lost Huey.”

Zelda pulled out the iPad and brought up a map. “Okay. Catch your breath. Unit number four? There he is. I love this gadget. Saves so much worry.”

I staggered toward her. “Where? Where is he?”

Zelda bit back a smile. “Looks like he’s out on the lake side of the inn.”

I barged through the office and out the French doors onto the immaculate lawn. Zelda, John, and the dogs followed me. I did a panoramic sweep in search of Huey. “Do you see him anywhere?”

They both said no.

Desperation welled up inside me. I couldn’t lose that sweet dog. I walked forward, toward the lake.

“There he is!” John pointed at the dock, downhill from where we stood.

“Thank goodness.” Zelda patted me on the back and walked inside.

Huey jumped into a boat with two men.

I ran down the hill. “Stop! Huey! Stop! That’s my dog!”

But as I neared them, I recognized Lulu and Duchess. Huey was with Nessie and Sky. I arrived at the dock seconds after they cast off. The pontoon boat was only a couple of feet away. Huey’s tail wagged like crazy, and he lifted his nose in the air to catch scents.

Sky waved at me. “Hope you don’t mind Huey tagging along.”

I guessed it was okay. He certainly seemed happy. As long as he didn’t jump off and swim to shore, he should be fine. “Don’t lose him!”

Nessie waved and gunned the boat forward, crying, “Yeehaw!”

John wrapped his arm around me. “He’ll be all right. They seem like nice women. A little crazy, but nice.”

“It’s a shame Ben isn’t interested in Huey.”

John’s arm dropped, and he turned toward me. “You know, most people would have taken him back to the shelter by now.”

“Look how much fun he’s having. I can’t bring myself to take him back to a cage. WAG is amazing, but he’d still be in a cage.”

“Maybe someone will meet him this weekend and want to adopt him.”

I sighed. “I wish.”

We walked back up to the inn on broad stone steps. Masses of red geraniums and giant daisies mingled with cascades of purple-blue petunias lining the stairs. A few guests in bathing suits were carrying towels on their way to the lake for a swim. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t known it was summertime, but except for our ice cream outing today, I’d spent so much time working that I hadn’t taken advantage of all summer had to offer yet.

“Dinner tonight at six?” asked John.

I hated to say it, but I had to. “Can I give you a call? I’ll have to check to be sure the inn is covered. Oma may have plans with Gustav.”

“Sure.” John wrote down his number and handed it to me.

Officer Dave arrived at the door to the inn at the same time we did. He nodded a greeting to John, who said, “See you later,” to me.

When we were inside, Dave turned around to watch John walk away with Cooper. “So, you like this John Adele guy?”

Hadn’t Oma asked me the same thing? “He’s kind of sweet.”

“He tell you where he works?”

I frowned at Dave. “For himself, I think. He edits history textbooks. What are you getting at?”

“Nothing.”

I didn’t like the way he said that. “Are you here to see Oma?”

He nodded. “Need to update her a little.”

He didn’t ask me to join them, but I followed him anyway. He must have called ahead, because he said hi to Zelda and walked through the inn to Oma’s private kitchen.

I couldn’t believe the transformation in my beloved Oma. The worried expression was gone. She hummed as she poured hot water into a teacup.

“Excellent timing. Would you like hot tea or should I have Shelley bring coffee?” She delivered a plate of cream puffs and chocolate-dipped strawberries to the table.

“Iced tea for me, thanks.”

“I’ll get Dave’s tea, Oma.” I hurried out to where people were enjoying afternoon tea, grabbed a tall glass, and filled it with ice cubes and cold tea. I rushed back in, set it in front of Dave, and stepped away to make my own hot tea.

“I have a little bit of news, Liesel.” Dave took a long drink. “Good news and bad news, unfortunately. The victim was a psychiatrist named Randall Donovan. Your letter was full of fingerprints. They haven’t identified all of them yet, but interestingly, the prints of a small-time thief came up, too. A guy named Mick Huff. He has a long record, mostly for petty crimes, but he has also burglarized homes and businesses.”

Dave slid a picture across the table to Oma. “Recognize him?”

I spooned sugar into my tea and brought it to the table so I could see the picture. Mick wore metal-rimmed glasses that looked too big for his face. A thick mustache covered his upper lip, but his mouth hung open. His hair was cut short in front but curls in the back touched his shoulders.

“Such a man killed Randall?” Oma shook her head. “He looks small, and, please forgive me for saying this, but he doesn’t appear very intelligent.”

Dave selected a strawberry. “Most petty thieves don’t have PhDs, Liesel. And we don’t know that he murdered Randall, but it’s a pretty good guess.”

“What’s the bad news?” I picked out the smallest cream puff and bit into it, savoring the insanely decadent cream.

“No one knows where he is.”

Oma gasped. “Holly, would you please make copies of this photo and be sure all the employees see it? Perhaps post it at the registration and concierge desks?”

“Of course.” A bit reluctantly, I left my lovely cream puff and afternoon tea behind to make copies. I hurried down to the office.

“So, what’s the scoop?” Zelda tossed back her hair.

I held out the photo. “Small-time crook. His fingerprints are on the letter.”

Zelda frowned. “I saw him! Seriously. I saw him last night at Hair of the Dog.”

“Go tell Dave. He’s in Oma’s kitchen.”

While I was making copies, Ben returned.

“Is this a better time to talk?”

“Not really.” I showed him the photo.

“I saw him last night.”

“So did Zelda. Where did you see him?”

“At Hair of the Dog.”

“You better go tell Dave.”

“Holly?” Ben asked.

“Hmm?” I removed the original photo from the copy machine.

“I have a confession. I came here and filled out one of Macon’s forms in a way that I thought would match me to you.”

“You what?”

“I filled out my form the way I thought you would fill out your form because, well, I thought if we were matched up you might have to reconsider our relationship.”

“Oh, Ben. That’s about the sweetest thing you have ever done.”

“Then last night, I met Laura.” Ben looked down at the floor. “Now I feel kind of conflicted.”

“Did you have a good time?”

“Surprisingly, yes. Did you know that she’s a professor? She’s smart and funny. She’s a pun genius. You know how I love puns. She even talked me into singing karaoke.”

“That’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

“We’re having dinner tonight.”

“I think that’s great. I won’t have to worry about you sitting around my apartment all by yourself. You better hurry to the kitchen before Dave leaves. He needs to know what you saw.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Go on.”

He left with his head slumping down, which made me wonder if he had expected me to throw myself in his arms and beg him to reconcile with me. I hoped that wasn’t the case. I wanted him to be happy.

When Zelda returned, I went back to the kitchen. Dave, Ben, and my cream puff were gone, but Oma still sat at the table with her cup of tea.

“Do you feel better now? I’m sure they’ll catch this Mick guy tonight.”

“Holly, I have a confession to make.”