Seventeen

Although I had been up late, I had slept fitfully. As the first streaks of sunlight broke over Wagtail, I hopped out of bed, annoying Trixie and Twinkletoes, who were worn out after their gala night. They grabbed a few more minutes of sleep while I showered and dressed.

Twinkletoes heard me dishing catfish breakfast stew into her bowl. Or maybe she smelled it. The odor was powerful. She joined me in the kitchen, meowing and rubbing her head against my legs as though she was eager to eat.

I made sure the pet door in my dining room was open so she could stroll around the inn if she felt like it. Then I called Trixie and locked the door behind us.

The smells of brewing coffee and sizzling bacon wafted up to us. Trixie raced downstairs as fast as she could. I found her with Mr. Huckle, who was eating his breakfast in the dining area. Not another soul was up yet.

Mr. Huckle had been a butler to the richest man in Wagtail most of his life. When his employer fell on hard times, Oma hired the elderly butler as a kindness. But her thoughtfulness had turned out to be a terrific business decision. Mr. Huckle insisted on wearing his butler’s uniform, an old-fashioned waistcoat and bow tie. Not only did he give the inn a little class, but he always had time to help a guest. He walked dogs, delivered food to rooms, arranged buffets, scheduled appointments for people, and much more. We were convinced that he was everyone’s favorite at the inn.

He stood up when he saw me, but I motioned for him to be seated and took Trixie outside to do her business.

Trixie and I left through the main lobby. The rocking chairs on the front porch were empty. Birds sang joyously in the trees. We were among the first to be up and about in Wagtail.

I didn’t even see any joggers yet. The gala attendees must have been sleeping in, but that made it all the more obvious when I spied Joanne outside. It was the first time I had seen her in casual clothes. She wore black leggings and a shapeless long-sleeve black top.

“Good morning,” I called.

She jogged toward me. “I’m so used to getting up early that I can’t sleep late when I need to. You, too?”

Not really, but I nodded. “It’s pretty quiet out here.”

“They’re all worn out. We brought in an unprecedented amount of money. Jaw-dropping!” Joanne leaned over to stretch, and I noticed a price tag still hanging off her top.

When she stood up, I said, “Thanks in large part to you.”

“It was nothing. And I’m so glad to be able to help all those beautiful animals.” She checked her watch. “I wonder if the others will be available for our bottle-feeding times today. You wouldn’t believe how those kittens are thriving.”

It was probably mean of me, but I asked how Rose had liked her gift.

Joanne started for the briefest moment, “She loved it. What was going on with Louisa last night?”

I supposed it had been unreasonable of me to expect Joanne to explain what happened with her credit cards. Had it been me, I might have blathered a funny story. But maybe it was Joanne’s pride that caused her to switch the subject so abruptly.

“Everyone is having a hard time coping with Seth’s death,” I said.

“What did she tell you?” demanded Joanne in a tone so sharp that I wondered what she was afraid of.

I fudged. “Not much. He had asked her to lunch, and she turned him down. She was ruing how his death happened so fast, and she felt terrible that she hadn’t taken that small amount of time to spend with him. It’s something we all think about when a person passes on.”

“I see. Perhaps we do.”

“How well did you know Seth?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“I barely knew the man at all. Certainly least among my friends. To be honest, I wouldn’t have known him had he approached me on the street. None of us knew him very well.”

That was a bald-faced lie. And quite unnecessary. Yet she felt compelled to say it. Either she hadn’t received the memo about Addi’s and Louisa’s relationships with him or she was determined to protect someone. I looked at her in a different light. When you were always on top of things, it must be hard when something happened outside of your control.

Garbo, the elegant saluki, appeared. She nuzzled Trixie politely.

Oriana strode toward us from the direction of the lake. “Where is your husband?” she demanded of Joanne.

I would have sworn that Joanne stood more erect than usual. But the color drained from her cheeks.

“I was counting on him to keep my husband busy today,” said Oriana. “Fortunately, that adorable Mr. Huckle lined us up with a boat and fishing gear. My hubby acted like a child. I have to remember that for gifts in the future. He was thrilled to be off on his own for a day on the lake. Mr. Huckle even supplied a lunch and snacks. Holly, that man is a gem. I’ve told him that I’m ready to hire him. He can come whenever he wants.”

“I hope he doesn’t take you up on that!” I didn’t think he would, but it probably made him feel good to know he was still appreciated.

“So, where is your husband?” Oriana asked again. “I didn’t see him last night.”

Joanne was silent for a few notable seconds, as if she was considering what to say. “Something came up. He wasn’t able to make it.”

“That stinks. At least you don’t have to figure out how to entertain him today. Are we ready for breakfast? Shall we go in?”

I couldn’t imagine Oriana fishing. She was dressed all in white, with double bell sleeves on her top, and trousers that fit like they had been made just for her. They probably were.

When we returned to the dining area, Brenda was yawning and Addi was chugging coffee. Oriana and Joanne joined them at their table.

I helped myself to a cup of hot tea before taking a seat across from Mr. Huckle.

Shelley swept by me and whispered quickly, “The great debate this morning is what happened to Joanne’s husband.”

“Did I miss something?” asked Mr. Huckle. “Gossip from last night, eh?” he asked, looking at me with disapproval. “You know how I feel about that.”

I changed the subject. “Thank you for lining up a fishing day for Oriana’s husband. They’re delighted.”

“My pleasure. They’re such fine people. I do hope they’ll come back to the inn sometime. But I’m quite concerned about Joanne. No one knows why her husband didn’t arrive for the gala.”

I sipped my tea so he wouldn’t see my grin. Mr. Huckle insisted that he didn’t gossip. He was even known to frown on such behavior. But the truth was that not much got by him. He was so proper and dignified that everyone in town confided in him. Guests at the inn disclosed all sorts of information to him. And despite his protests about the evils of gossip, he didn’t hesitate to share what he learned.

He dabbed his mouth with a napkin and leaned toward me. “I gather they had a rather heated discussion on the phone yesterday.”

I wondered if that had anything to do with the credit card issue.

At that moment, Trixie yipped, demanding my attention. She looked up at me with those big, innocent eyes. Sometimes I thought she understood what we were saying about her. But this morning, I suspected she wanted breakfast.

Shelley was laughing when she came for our order. “Somebody is hungry! Our specials this morning are cinnamon-buttermilk pancakes or a croque madame with cheese, ham, and an egg.”

“Who could resist cinnamon-buttermilk pancakes?” I asked. “Twinkletoes has eaten, but I’m pretty sure Trixie would like the dog version of the croque madame with chicken instead of ham.”

When Shelley brought our breakfasts, she pointed at the grand staircase. Twinkletoes sat on a step quite regally, but she was stretching her neck to watch Inky stalk Fagan.

Shelley giggled. “They’re as bad as we are, spying on one another.”

Trixie ate her breakfast with gusto. Mr. Huckle left to take care of a guest request, and I ate alone, listening to snippets of conversations between guests.

Half an hour later, I heard Oriana say, “She isn’t answering her door.”

I didn’t think much about it until Brenda speculated that Louisa might have gone out early. Maybe to exercise Loki.

That made perfect sense to me. They continued eating while I dashed upstairs to brush my teeth, then headed to the office for my handy clipboard. I started my rounds on the second floor of the main building where Louisa’s room was. No Do Not Disturb sign hung on the door, but I could hear Loki crying inside.

I hesitated. Maybe she had left him there while she went for breakfast. Or maybe she was in the shower and he needed to go out. I knocked gently. “Louisa?”

There was no response. I checked my watch. I would make my way through the hallway and then come back and look in on her. Trixie gazed up at me as though she wondered what was going on.

“Can you tell what Loki is saying?” I asked. Trixie sat at the door and stared at me. Her little tail wagged the tiniest bit, like she was acknowledging what I had said.

I walked on but realized that Trixie wasn’t coming with me. She had parked herself by Louisa’s door. She yelped at me.

Trixie didn’t like Loki. But maybe she sensed something in his cries? Trixie had different barks, and I recognized most of them. It probably stood to reason that she would understand the nature of another dog’s whines.

Oriana walked along the corridor toward me. Garbo ran to Trixie and then sniffed the crack at the bottom of the door.

“Do you have a key?” asked Oriana. “I’m getting worried about Louisa. We all had a late night, but I’m sure Loki is desperate to go out by now. I hear him whining.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said. I could hear Oriana banging on the door and calling out Louisa’s name. The room was close to the inn office. I explained to Oma, grabbed the key, and sped back. Trixie had remained there the entire time. It wasn’t normal. Not at all. I shivered a little bit and fervently hoped we wouldn’t find a disaster when we opened the door.

I slid the key into the lock and twisted it. I opened the door slowly, afraid Loki might bound out.

But he didn’t. I stepped inside with Oriana right behind me.

Oriana screamed.