Luke and I stood at the window and watched Caldwell. He was dressed in another one of his expensive suits and looked out of place in my driveway. When he glanced at the house, I took a step back even though I knew he couldn’t see us. My front windows are tinted. It was one of the improvements I had made during the remodel. Caldwell looked back at the driver and then gestured to the trunk of the car. The man opened the trunk and started to wrestle with a large dog bed.
“Damn,” I said quickly. “Luke, take Hero out of here.”
“What? Why?”
“That bed. Caldwell said he would get something that smelled like the Great Dane. If Hero gets a whiff of the bed and it really does belong to Simba…”
“He won’t act on it without your command, Lexie,” Luke said.
“I know, but if he smells Simba, he might give a cue that he recognizes the scent. I don’t want Caldwell to see him at all.” I glanced back outside and saw the driver had the bed out and was shutting the trunk. “Please, Luke. Take Hero to Harvey’s.”
“I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“Look at him. He’s a businessman. He won’t do anything to me himself. I’ll be all right.”
Luke muttered under his breath. Caldwell and the driver started toward the house. I hurried over to my desk where Luke had picked up my backpack and was digging through it. He pulled out my stun gun, held it up, looked at me, and very deliberately laid it down on the desk. I nodded once. I glanced out the window and saw Caldwell walking up the sidewalk.
“Hurry, Luke.”
“Hero,” Luke whispered sharply as he snapped his fingers. Hero rose from his bed and trotted toward Luke. I glanced at the window. Caldwell had reached the porch steps. Luke gave me one last look and then opened the door to the house. Heart pounding, I watched the door close just seconds before the front door opened. Schooling my features to show only concerned surprise, I watched Caldwell hold open the door for the other man.
“Mr. Caldwell,” I said sharply. “What are you doing?”
The driver dropped the dog bed on the floor and turned to walk away. I stepped forward just as Caldwell closed the door behind the man. Caldwell looked around the room, searching. There were no traces of Simba, but I still held my breath for a moment. He finally turned back to me. His eyes were just as hard and calculating as I remembered. He gave me his polite, charming smile. My hand itched to slap the look off his face so badly that I had to clench my hand into a fist to stop myself.
“What is going on?” I asked him. Thankfully, my voice came out even and calm.
“Ms. Prescott. I have brought you something that smells like the dog,” he said, pointing to the bed. “You said you needed something smelling strongly of Buddy. So here it is.”
“Why did you bring it here?”
“I don’t…” He paused a moment. “I told you on the phone I wanted you to conduct the search with your dog. Don’t you need the bed to get started?”
“The bed is perfect to get a scent, but we’ll need to take it back to your house to begin the search.”
A frown appeared on his face. “Why?”
I stared at him a moment. He seemed genuinely perplexed. Was he really that clueless or was he trying to fool me? I didn’t like the feeling of not knowing. So far, I had been able to read the man fairly well, but the only reason for him to bring the dog bed to my office would be as an excuse to look around.
“Hero, my search dog, can get a scent to follow from anything that smells strongly enough, but he needs a place to start. He follows a trail, Mr. Caldwell. We need a starting point for Buddy.”
For the first time in all of my interactions with Caldwell, I detected a genuine emotion—chagrin. Caldwell had come here to put me on the spot. Instead, he had been embarrassed. He recovered quickly.
“I see. Well, you can get your dog now, and we’ll take him to my house.”
“Hero isn’t here.”
“Where is he?”
My temper started to flare. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. “Out.”
“Out where?” he demanded.
“That’s really none of your business.”
“Ms. Prescott,” he said, taking a step closer. His voice was soft and threatening. “I don’t think you want to take that attitude with me. I don’t believe you have been giving my case your best efforts. Reputation is everything in business. I can make things very difficult for you.”
That was all it took. I had had enough. Caldwell was a dangerous man. I truly believed he had his wife murdered, and he may have hired someone to kill me as well, but he was standing in my place of business, my home. He needed to know he could not threaten me.
“Mr. Caldwell,” I said distinctly as I walked over to my desk. I heard the anger in my voice, and when I turned around, I could tell he did also. His back stiffened as I continued. “I have searched for Buddy. My agency has clocked the required hours for your down payment. We are no longer interested in working your case. I will send you a detailed invoice. Now, take that dog bed and get out!”
Rage filled his face as he took a step toward me. I’m not a small woman, and Caldwell is only an average-sized man so his attempt to physically intimidate me was almost comical. Nonetheless, his anger was real which made him a threat. I casually picked up the stun gun before he had taken another step.
Caldwell stopped, looked at the stun gun, and then at me. Suddenly the anger disappeared. His face went blank. He straightened his suit jacket and adjusted his tie. His whole body relaxed as if the anger he had shown never happened. That was more disturbing than his rage.
“You will regret this, Alex,” he said coolly. “Turning the dog over to me would have been the smart move.”
Apparently, the gloves were off.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, not even bothering to hide the fact that I was lying. I held the stun gun a little higher, slowly twisting it back and forth with my hand as I studied it. “I did my part. I looked for a dog we both know you never owned.”
Caldwell smirked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
We stared at each other, waiting for the next move. The standoff only lasted a few moments, but it felt like an eternity. It was broken by the front door opening.
“Hey, Alex, I know it’s a little early, but I’m starving. Close up, and let’s get going.”
I finally took my eyes off Caldwell. Harvey stood just inside the office with Luke directly behind him filling the doorway. Harvey was dressed in his usual khakis and polo shirt, but nothing could hide his large frame and fit build. Even at his age, he was an intimidating figure. Luke was an even larger version of his grandfather, and the look on his face would have made even the hardiest of souls quiver. The two of them standing there presented a menacing image. Caldwell froze.
A movement caught my eye, and I saw the driver of the Town Car heading back to the house. Caldwell raised his head and walked to the door. Luke held his ground for a moment, just long enough to make Caldwell stop. Then he nonchalantly stepped aside. No one said a word as we watched him leave. Luke stayed in the doorway until the car was out of sight.
“Damn, Alex,” Harvey said, walking further into the room as Luke stepped inside and closed the door behind them. “That was too close for comfort.”
“He wouldn’t have done anything,” I replied with a shrug.
“What makes you so sure?”
I held up my stun gun. Harvey shook his head, but Luke grinned. I felt myself responding with a grin of my own. Now that the threat was over, I could relax.
“Caldwell’s a bully,” I said, “but it’s obvious he has someone else do his dirty work.”
At those words, Luke’s smile faded. “If we don’t find any evidence against Caldwell, things could get really ugly.”
I shrugged again. “Not much I can do about it. I wasn’t going to stand here and let him threaten me.”
No one else had an answer for that, and we stood around in awkward silence for a moment until Harvey’s eyes lighted on the dog bed.
“Hey, is that Simba’s?”
“I think so. Caldwell claimed it belonged to the dog he wanted me to find.”
“Great,” Harvey said. “Simba’s been sleeping on some old towels at my place. This is much better.”
He reached down, picked up the bed, and walked out the door that led to the house. A moment later, I heard the back door close. I looked at Luke, who started chuckling.
“He’s been spoiling that dog. I think it will be hard to get Simba away from him.”
“There’s really no reason to,” I said. “Santos’s sister said she didn’t want the dog. If Harvey doesn’t keep him, I’ll have to find someone else to take him.”
Luke nodded. “He’s been avoiding getting a pet because he’s worried he won’t outlive the animal, and then someone else will have to step in.”
I hadn’t realized that. Harvey had resisted all my efforts to get him a pet. He had told me he was too busy or didn’t want the hassle. He always enjoyed being with Hero, and my cats loved him, but he said that was enough. I didn’t like to think about the fact that Harvey might be close to the end of his life so I quickly changed the subject.
“What’s this about Harvey starving?”
“I told Granddad I needed to get back over here in case you needed help. He said the best thing to do was to appear as if we were just friends coming to visit. Don’t think it quite worked out that way.”
“Doesn’t really matter. Caldwell was geared for a fight. He knows we have Simba. You and Harvey need to be careful. I don’t think Caldwell knows I gave the dog to you, but he may figure it out now.”
“Granddad can take care of himself, and I don’t see anyone getting into his house without him or Simba knowing about it. They’ll be fine.” He paused a moment. “We need to find out what the information on the microchip means. If Santos was really Simba’s owner, that’s the place to start.”
“I have his address,” I said with a slight smile. “How do you feel about a little breaking and entering?”